Elder Bednar Leads the Way to Restoring Education!!!

I’ve heard a lot of talk lately about strategies our youth are using to deal with the temptations and evils of their public schools, things like finding a hidden moment to listen to scriptures on their phones or hanging out in the Seminary building at lunch to feel safe. Our youth are gasping for air!  When will we get them to safety? For a people in the process of building Zion, a Godless education can not be tolerated.

In Christ’s day, education among His people was religious (see Education in the Bible Dictionary). So it was in early America.  So it was for the Saints under the leadership of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.  In John Taylor’s day the Utah Saints chose “free” government schools, and they did so over the objections and the pleadings of Church leaders.  If we want to build Zion, we must restore religious education,

Joseph Smith’s Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ reconnected the Church to what Christ had established on His earthly mission.  The Restoration also restored forward, taking us to unfamiliar places that were not seen in Christ’s day, such as temple work for our ancestors. If we continue moving forward we may learn things that have been hidden in plain sight and some that only the City of Enoch knew. That path is becoming more clearly marked.

We often hear messages from church leaders that if we teach our children the gospel at home they will survive public schools. Those messages used to bother me because so many don’t survive and those who do survive have been cheated out of a Godly education in American History, Literature, Government, and even Math and Science.  I’m comfortable with that message now because I can see the wisdom in it.  The first and the foundational step toward homeschooling must be a the building of a gospel culture in the home. That culture must go far beyond check-box scripture reading, family prayer, and family night.  The home itself would look and feel like a place where people love to learn.  Family members would become self-directed gospel learners, and the Holy Ghost would become their teacher.

Family-directed religious education might do two things:  First, it will prepare the family for, and lead them into learning together every day, all subjects, at home and/or in places that feel like home.  Youth being taught under the influence of the Holy Ghost will see the difference between being a child of God with the gift of agency and being an object who is acted upon. They will not want to waste their time in anti-God schools and will demand a religious education.  Second, the strength of the families and the power of the Priesthood will be a protection from challenges to religious freedom, religious education, and homeschooling.

Families who are new to homeschooling or who are not feeling successful should consider that the first thing is to strengthen relationships, then faith, and then skills and knowledge.What Elder Bednar teaches about Teaching and Learning points the way for all we do at home, not necessarily by his intention but simply because the same principles he is teaching the church apply to home and family.  A friend pointed me to some outstanding videos, and my grandson taught me how to put them on a YouTube Playlist,  Go to YouTube, then search for Every Home a School, then “Prophets Teach Us How to Learn/Teach/Parent.”  The first video is “The Importance of Teaching in the Gospel, Part 1.”  Following it are 11 short clips, the first five lifted from Part 1 and the other six apparently from a Part 2 which I cannot find. I’ve also added another short clip from Elder Bednar, a story he told in England about a remarkable experience at BYUI.  And then there are three full talks, one from Elder Perry on how his mother made their home a school (my words, not his), and two from members of the Seventy: Elder Lynn Robbins, “What Manner of Men Ought We To Be,” about “becoming” and parenting, and Elder David Stone, “Zion in the Midst of Babylon,” which calls us to examine the influence of culture.If you have read the many pages of text I linked to the Escape Common Core video on the home page of our website, you may remember that I said, with great delight, that the Church is teaching us how to homeschool our children. Elder Bednar is magnificent.  Enjoy!

Videos that Make Me Smile

February 9, 2013

VIDEOS THAT MAKE ME SMILE

If you have read our previous article you know that BYUI is the Church university in which innovative learning methods have been developed and implemented. This began when Elder Bednar was the President there and continues today.  It would seem that the new church-wide program of active learning that has been given to 12-18 year old youth this year is part of the same movement in the Church.  Don’t we want to incorporate these principles into the teaching in our homes?

BYUI’s teaching method is called the “Learning Model.”  The off-campus, Institute-managed college program is called “Pathway.” There are also interactive on-line courses. Following is one of many short videos on the Learning Model. It doesn’t give any details, but it shows the spirit of the program and how it affects the students. There are many more like it on the BYUI website.

VIdeo #1: BYU-Idaho: The Learning Model 1:55

I recently came across some video snippets from a roundtable discussion entitled “A Look Into the Future.” I was ecstatic! The moderator of the panel is University President Kim Clark. The lady sitting next to him is Betty and I love her! The man to his left looks a lot like President Eyring, for a good reason. His name is Henry, and he co-authored the book The Innovative University: Changing the DNA of Higher Education from the Inside Out with Clayton Christensen, about whom I have written before.

Here are two video clipss from the roundtable:

Video #2: BYU-Idaho: Online Learning 11:45

When I heard Brother Eyring’s comment “they come up through the high schools,” I thought, “Not all of them!  We can send them students who haven’t sat in rows of desks.”  It seemed we were one step closer to connecting with the Lord’s program.  I couldn’t stop smiling!  Maybe we can even encourage our teens to upgrade their use of social media toward, as President Clark put it, “talking about important things in inspired ways.” Certainly we can incorporate “teach each other” methods into our homeschool programs. 

In the next video from the roundtable you’ll see why I love Betty.

Video #3: BYU-Idaho: Pathway Program 5:46

Retention?  Can you see a stronger church emerging?  Do you feel, as I do, that if our youth really catch the vision of active learning through the Holy Ghost, they not be willing to tolerate acted-upon classrooms. Will BYUI be ready with alternatives?  Please hurry, Betty!  She left me ginning from ear to ear, and I’m still smiling.

And finally, lest anyone fear there is too much Harvard in this work, here is a clip from a press conference a few years ago.

Video #4: Henry B. Eyring: “Forget Harvard and Stanford. We’re in another kind of thing here.” 5:25

How inspired are our leaders! How exciting is the Lord’s work in our day! I may never stop smiling!

more videos on BYUI YouTube page