The search is still on! - Looking for youth workers (young and old) who teach well

The search is still on! – Looking for youth workers (young and old) who teach well

Categories: CONNECT EFFECTIVELY, YOUTH MINISTRY

So, yesterday I asked folks to identify those in youth work and youth ministry who are the great teachers. Who are the leaders, whether currently in youth work or used to work with youth, who could lead discussions, give talks, facilitate small groups or trips, and just ‘know’ how to do it all in a way that connects with youth. When they taught (via a variety of methods), students learned.

I got one response.

Now, I am not sure how to interpret this one response. Was it a lack of interest? Of exposure? Sure, this blog isn’t the most widely-read, but I did have some strategic folks retweet, repost, and re-something the request. So, I was hopeful that people wanted to respond.

One response.

I am not sure how to sift the data. Is the one an outlier (but, I am thrilled to have the one. It was helpful!)? Do we not know who teaches well? Have we not seen that many youth workers in action? Or do we not value the skill of teaching?

So, I’m pressing on for another day with my request for a work-in-progress:

I am looking for local youth workers, youth pastors, and leaders (volunteer or vocational) who truly helped people learn. Who were those great leaders who just knew how to get students’ attention, how to generate deep conversations, or how to connect content that mattered to everyday realities? Maybe they led small groups, role plays, short-term missions, or lectured…. but people learned through their intentional teaching.

Maybe these great teachers were part of your life decades ago. Maybe you watched them in action last week. Whatever is the case, they would serve as your model to say to others, “THAT’s how you do it.” In an era where experience rules, these master teachers remind us of the core element – learning matters.

If you could help me out by answering these questions in a comment and then by passing this URL along to others, I would appreciate it.

http://youthworkinit.com/blog/ Youth Workin’ It – Stephen

I was going to post a comment yesterday, but then thought twice as I figured my suggestion would seem biased.

But who cares?! My suggestion is my wife – Shae Pepper. We’ve moved a lot over the years and I’ve therefore seen many other youth workers in action but none compare to her.

She has so much wisdom, intuition, patience and common sense – I often see her in action with young people and am often jealous at how easy and natural it is for her.

We worked together as full time foster parents in a group home for 6 months and despite working with really challenging young people, she was in her element. A large part of that job was teaching appropriate behavior and social skills to the girls from the moment they woke up to when they went to bed. No matter how tired she was or how hard a day it had been, Shae was still consistent and loving – something the girls hadn’t experienced before.

I’ve also seen her provide youth worker training in Rwanda, teaching young people in Thailand, working with youth on the verge of being kicked out of high school in England and with low-income youth and young people in foster care in the US. No matter what setting she finds herself in, she’s always been able to reach them and gain their respect through being loving but also being firm and not letting them behave inappropriately. Where a lot of youth workers will shy away from correcting behavior, Shae doesn’t – and young people respect her even more for that.

She also has an innate ability to make youth feel comfortable and connect with them straight away. When we were foster parents, we had a girl who was living away from her Mom for the first time. In the meeting where we met her she refused to make eye contact. Within an hour though, Shae had been able to engage with her so much that she was happy to drive back to the house with us rather than with her social worker who she knew far better.

Again, I know this is biased but I honestly haven’t met a better youth worker in my life.
Jon Swanson

um, because i didn’t read your post until this morning.

Jerry Jenkins for a year or so. Cliff Schimmels while I was in college.

Both of them shared their lives, their struggles, their history. Both of them took time with us.
http://www.terrylinhart.com Terry Linhart

Jon,
You and I haven’t talked about Cliff before, have we? He wrote what I still think is one of the best books on early adolescence for parents and youth workers. Thanks for the names. Very helpful.

Terry
http://www.terrylinhart.com Terry Linhart

Stephen,

Well stated. Despite the bias, you see Shae teach more than anyone else and to be able to consistently see her effectiveness actually gives credibility to your descriptions. Thank you for stating so clearly why Shae is so effective at engaging people. The ‘intuition’ part has me intrigued. My hunch is that we’ll see this come up repeatedly with exemplar teachers.

TL

Terry Linhart

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