Seek to understand those you teach. As you do, you will be
better able to teach lessons that meet individual needs. Reach out to
each individual in your class, remembering that “the worth of souls is great in
the sight of God” (D&C 18:10)
I remember as a young Sunbeam teacher, I had a challenging boy
in my class. I had read the teaching hints in the lesson book and even
asked my mom for advice. I was told to just “love the children”. So, I
set out to find something that I could love about him. I didn't love the
way he ran around the room and screamed. I didn't love the way he hopped
from chair to chair. I didn't love the way he scribbled on other’s
papers. I didn't love how he hid under my skirt. I didn't love how
he threw all of my pictures and notes around the room. I didn't love how he
would volunteer to say prayer and then when all the children had their arms
folded he start to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” at the top of his
lungs. I did eventually focus on his eyes. He had beautiful blue
eyes with a lively spark in them. Every time I wanted to scream, I
just looked into his blue eyes and thought “you have beautiful eyes”.
Soon, I found that he had an impish grin that made me smile too and little by
little I was able to see into his heart. By the end of the year, he was
sitting in his chair, coloring only his papers and saying prayer. The
best part was he always gave me a hug and told me he loved me before he left to
go back to his parents. At the time, I didn't realize that this boy was
really the one serving me and taught me how to love even when it was really
hard to do so.
Elise Simbeck
Arlington Stake Primary
Second Counselor
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