Disappearing Teachers

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

What do you do when teachers don’t show for Primary, and don’t call to let you know they’ll be gone?

Here are some ideas

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I now also keep a couple of copies of the Friend in my church bag just incase as it’s easy for an adult that is not familiar with primary to read a story to the children and they can learn something rather than the adult trying to totally wing it. We also keep crayons and paper on hand. The Friend also works great too for kids that forget they have talks and we can pull a poem or short story for them to read and still present a message.

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Create and/or update a substitute teacher list. Ask teachers not to call the first person on the list first every time, so the first person doesn’t get a call every Sunday. Also, if a certain person on the sub list says no every time, ask them if their situation has changed and they’d like to be removed from the list.

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We actually called a Primary Substitute, that only the Presidency used in emergencies. She was given both books (one for Jr. and one for Sr.– we didn’t need her for Sunbeams) and asked to prepare the lesson from each book for each week. She would come down to Primary and wait and see if we needed her, and if not, she was free to go to R.S.

(I’ve heard of this before, but I think this might actually _encourage_ teachers not to call, because they know they’re covered. –j)

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Bring a treat to the person’s house and let them know you were really worried — thought they might be injured or having a family emergency — when you didn’t hear from them and they didn’t show for their Primary lesson. Be sure to mention how much the children missed the teacher. Ask the teacher to set up a substitute if they ever have an emergency come up, or at least call a Presidency member.

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Reinforce the positive behavior: be sure to SINCERELY THANK ALL YOUR TEACHERS. Often, those who are reliable get ignored and the fuss is made over irresponsible teachers.

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Make sure you are aware of situations, like frustration in a calling, difficulty with a family member or spouse, or difficulty with a student, that might be causing someone to stay home.

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Pray, pray, pray for help and inspiration.

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