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The Importance of the Teacher
by Brian Hendrickson
Many commanders are excited about the prospects
for the new program. Our office staff has
been traveling around the United States promoting the new program,
and we have received a high level of acceptance from many districts.
The opportunity to have a written curriculum to use will help each
commander become more successful. This new material will also mean
a lot less time spent preparing for the weekly meeting. But we
must
stress the importance that you, the commander, play in the local
outpost. Let's start by doing a little exercise.
On a separate piece of paper, write down the name
of your favorite teacher. This teacher may have been a Sunday School
teacher, first-grade teacher, etc. Next, write down what you remember
most about that teacher. Done? Great. Now read the following quotations
a 5-year-old girl said about her teacher. "The best thing about
my teacher is the way he smiles at me." "My teacher gets
two milks with his lunch and a lot of food." "My teacher
is not beautiful. He is a man." "My teacher knows the
rules a lot better than us. He's older." "My teacher smiles
too much. He loves smiling." Read them again but with this
question in mind. Did she ever mention what her teacher taught her?
Do you see what I see? Look back at what you wrote
about your favorite teacher. You should notice the same thing. Bethany
McHenry, the little girl quoted above, was my student when she was
in kindergarten. I took these quotations from a book entitled The
Best Thing About My Teacher by Judy Gordon Morrow. It is filled
with many quotations from boys and girls between the ages of 5 and
18 expressing the same sentiment about their teachers.
You see, I taught Bethany math, the alphabet,
and how to read. Yet, she never mentions once what I taught her.
She only talked about who I was as a person, a teacher. In fact,
I would venture to guess that you cannot remember very much of what
your favorite teacher taught you, but you can remember what that
teacher meant to you.
Yes, the national office is providing some
exciting new materials to help you. But remember this: these new
materials are elements of the Royal Rangers ministry , but you are
the most important part of the Royal Rangers ministry. Your boys
may not remember all the things you taught them, but they will
always
remember who you were. One boy will remember the camping trip when
it rained all night and you gave him a dry sleeping bag-yours.
Another
boy will remember the night you called him to wish him a happy
birthday, or the time you comforted him because he just found
out his mom
and dad were getting a divorce.
Years from now, a young man will approach you
and ask you to identify him. You may or may not be able to remember
his name, but he will tell you that you made a tremendous impact
on his life when he was a boy, a Buckaroo or a Pioneer.
Commander, you have a great opportunity and a
great responsibility to reach out to boys needing a good role model,
a gentle touch, or a word of encouragement. So keep this in mind
whenever you think about the difficult night, or the great devotion
just given: you make the Royal Rangers ministry successful.
May God continue to bless you and your ministry
to boys.
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