Mentor Meeting agenda held March 8th with Overview for April

We read and discussed the following excerpts from an article (the whole thing is amazing if you have the time or inclination): 

MENTOR TRAINING:

Neil A. Anderson:

“We live in an important time in the history of our planet.

Let us remember that those who sit in your classrooms are some of the most spiritually sensitive sons and daughters of God that have ever entered mortality. I like these words from President George Q. Cannon, who served in the First Presidency: “God has reserved spirits for this dispensation who have the courage and determination to face the world and all the powers of the evil one, visible and invisible, to proclaim the gospel and maintain the truth and establish and build up the Zion of our God fearless of all consequences. He has sent these spirits in this generation to lay the foundation of Zion never more to be overthrown, and to raise up a seed that will be righteous, and that will honor God, and honor Him supremely, and be obedient to Him under all

circumstances.”¹

The young men and women in your classes are these spirits. They are the hope of the future.

One of those singing said about her seminary teacher: “Brother Solomoni is a great man of God. He has taught me that how much we learn is not as important as applying what we know. The amount of knowledge is less important than what we do with the knowledge we have.”

FAITH:  “Spiritual understanding rarely comes from a lecture. It comes in classrooms where questions are welcome, where doubts and fears can be expressed, and where honest opinions are never dismissed. It comes from obedience, private study, and prayer. Spiritually, the classroom of faith becomes less like a lecture hall and more like a fitness center. Students do not get stronger by watching someone else do the exercises. They learn and then participate. As their spiritual strength increases, they gain confidence and apply themselves all the more.

The Savior taught by listening and observing. After teaching and healing the multitude, He fed them.⁷ To the woman caught in adultery, He wrote in the sand.⁸ Before He healed the daughter of the leader of the synagogue, He asked those who did not believe to leave the house.⁹ And to Caiaphas, the high priest, He said nothing.¹⁰
Elder Maxwell summarized effective teaching in these words: “Do not be afraid of repetitious teaching. Ask inspired questions. Typically, but not always, two-way dialogue is better than one-way monologue.”¹¹
Use the scriptures; share simple stories, parables, and real-life examples; ask questions; invite students to teach and to share their feelings; encourage them to act in faith and to report on what they are learning.

HOPE:  “Symbolically, you are like a force helping young trees to grow in a very windy place. In nature, trees that grow up in a windy environment have compensating strengths. As wind whips a young sapling, forces inside the tree do two things. First, they stimulate the roots to grow faster and spread farther. Second, the forces in the tree start creating cell structures that make the trunk and branches thicker and more flexible to the pressure of the wind. You, like the forces in a tree, help stimulate deeper spiritual roots and a stronger resolve to resist temptation. VIDEO

As the world grows darker, the light of the truth shines brighter. As the hearts of men become colder, the warmth of the Savior’s peace burns stronger. As the noise of tempting voices shout louder, the still, small voice of the Spirit comes with even greater clarity. As evil increases in the world, the Lord sends the power of revelation and spiritual gifts for the righteous.
Teach our sons and daughters that there is an important work for them to do. You will remember the Lord speaking to Moses while he was yet a young man. He said, “I have a work for thee, Moses.”¹⁹ The Lord has a work for each of those in your classroom. To prepare Moses for his important role, the Lord showed him “the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created.”²⁰ He saw worlds without number.”
CHARITY: Christ is our example, and we follow Him. We seek to love God and others as He did. In the new youth curriculum, the emphasis is to teach in the Savior’s way. I quote from the guide:
“He loved them, prayed for them, and continually served them. He found opportunities to be with them and to express His love. He knew their interests, hopes, and desires and what was happening in their lives.
“He knew who they were and who they could become. He found unique ways to help them learn and grow—ways meant just for them. When they struggled, He did not give up on them but continued to love them and minister to them.”²⁸
I know this is how you approach your students, and I commend you for it.

APRIL OVERVIEW:

Quote: Teddy Roosevelt

 “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Scripture: 1 Ne 3:7

Book: Charlie’s Monument

Outdoor activity: Ropes course

Week 1 Leadership Academy: What is initiative?  How does it help me be a responsible citizen?
 Core

-Word study on “initiative”: the ability to assess and initiate things independently.

Synonyms: self-motivation, resourcefulness, inventiveness, imagination, ingenuity, originality, creativity, enterprise;

-Max Lucado: Conclusion: Fixing your Eyes on Jesus.
-Synergy of the Mind activity: "Chopped"--Vanguard style

Journeyman: 
-read e-book Jack Rabbit Factor 
-study final 7 Habits chapters 
-simulation/activity
 Master
-Finish up fallacies (don't be afraid to do this for the first time!  We use the book "Art of Argument" to study this and you can borrow mine, if you need to)
-Civility project
-Finish up discussion on "Whatever Happened to Justice" excerpt
Quote: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”--Jack Rabbit Factor

http://www.thesocialleader.com/2014/01/are-you-an-american/: American or Farmer
-Final activity: TBA

Week 2 Geo-conquest:  A look at Initiative in responsible citizens in the world around us

Asia, Gladys Aylward

Core class: Asian festival: Kite-flying and Asian food!--led by Abby

Journeyman: 
-study Asia
-study Gladys Aylward

-Master: 
-Guest speaker
-read “Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman” by Gladys Aylward

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?isbn=9780802429865&n=100121503&cm_sp=mbc-_-9780802429865-_-used

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0802429866/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&sr=&qid=

(Vanguard will be providing each family with a copy, due to the lateness of this change. )

-Geo-conquest Game
*Watch “Inn of the Sixth Happiness” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051776/  in conjunction with this right after class

Week 3 Eureka!- Initiative to look for resources around us and in ourselves

Core:  "Looking at the seeds of greatness and potential!"
-study actual seeds and germination
-look at organizations and individuals and examine what "seeds" and "growing conditions" their success and accomplishments started with.
-Davinci Excerpt #8: Connessione: A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena.

Journeyman & Master: Botany study and service project for church where we meet: planting things

Week 4 Imaginative Arts- Initiative to do something!

Core:  
"The Happy Dromedary" reading during class (short allegory)

-“Way To Be” Ch 6: Be Positive 

-Finish discussing "Charlie's Monument"

-Go on hike with rock-stacking activity

 Journeyman: 
-Study rock-stacking artist
-final composer

Master 
-reading: Robinson Crusoe 
-bring final nature art project! (or a picture of it)--it can symbolize something you learned or just be from things in nature that you have used initiative with to create :)!