I love Disneyland. It truly can be one of the happiest places on earth, and I have a ton of good memories in that park. I love the rides, the atmosphere, the shops, the entertainment, and the food. But let me tell you about an experience I had there that was truly miserable.
I promise it will circle back around to teaching the gospel.
My family had taken me to Disneyland multiple times growing up, and I never remember having a bad time. I remember fun interactions with cast members dressed as my favorite cartoon characters and the thrills of Space Mountain. It was always a good time. That is, until my last time going to Disneyland. After I was married and my wife and I had our first three children, I remember being given the opportunity to bring my family on a vacation to the park at no expense to our young and financially strapped family. We were thrilled that our children would get to experience the fun and magical atmosphere of a theme park that had been a source of joy for me since I was little. And we would get to share it with my parents, siblings, and their families. What could possibly go wrong?
Despite the fact that half of us had small children who were limited in what they could ride or what they would enjoy, one member of the family took it upon themselves to plan out our entire experience down to the minute. He’d planned what rides we would all go on and when. He planned which areas in the park we needed to be in at specific times to see parades or shows even though some of us (ME) hate parades with a passion. He chose what restaurants we would eat at. Despite his good intentions, he took our fun and turned it into an overstuffed, hectic, and exhausting day. And for my small children, much of their time was spent sitting in a stroller, waiting for the adults to finish their rides. By the end of the day, my wife and I were so flustered that we didn’t get to have fun and freedom with our kids that we turned down a second day at the park in favor of a relaxed, unrushed, unstructured day at the beach.
Guess which part of that vacation my kids remember and still talk about…
So, what does this all have to do with teaching?
We sometimes come to a classroom with an agenda or lesson plan that is so rigid that we suck all of the freedom, learning, and fun out of the experience. We assume that we know best what our class needs, but when we don’t allow for the input and contributions from our learners, we often stifle their growth and make our classroom a source of frustration rather than a source of joy and learning.
So how do we make sure not to step on the toes of the Spirit and allow our students to make meaningful contributions to our learning experiences?
While you are still responsible for studying and preparing a lesson for your students, we don’t need to be so rigid that we don’t allow for our students to share their perspectives, experiences, and understanding of the doctrines and principles being taught. We have to be willing to let them act for themselves and trust that the Lord will lead them to the doctrines and truths that they need.
But what if their experiences are different than ours? Great! What if they approach this doctrine from a completely different angle? Fantastic! The more perspectives and experiences we have, the clearer we may see the doctrines and principles the Lord wants us to see. Every class member has something of value to share. If we try to control the experience too much, we may limit everyone’s opportunities to learn, grow, and find joy in what is being discussed. The more we allow individuals to participate, the more perspectives we see the lesson from, the more ideas on application we hear, the larger our shared pool of meaning becomes. The larger that pool, the better.
President Thomas S. Monson has said that “The goal of gospel teaching … is not to ‘pour information’ into the minds of class members. … The aim is to inspire the individual to think about, feel about, and then do something about living gospel principles” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 107)
If we truly believe that, we have to be okay with whatever the Spirit helps our students think, feel, and do to understand and live the gospel. The last thing we want is for our students to get metaphorically dragged around from principle to principle without the freedom to enjoy it, express themselves, and savor the spiritual experiences they are having. The classrooms in which we learn the gospel of Jesus Christ can be the happiest place on earth.
