Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Seekers and Guides: How to Reach Any Student

Seekers and Guides: How to Reach Any Student

Last updated on: June 3, 2013 at 12:32 pm by Sable Aradia

Seekers and Guides: How to Reach Any Student 2013-06-03T12:32:03+00:00 Sable Aradia

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Imparting the Wisdom of the Ages If you teach, you’ve seen it; the students who are doodling aimlessly on their worksheets, drooling on the table while they snore, or clowning disruptively and asking entirely off-topic questions. In short, they’re bored. You wonder why they would come to your class if they don’t really want to learn. But studying the Craft is by definition an activity you undertake in your spare time, and they actually showed up, so why aren’t they paying attention?

In my last column, I offered a primer on how to identify your learning style, based on Dr. Stephanie Burns’ book, “Great Lies We Live By.” If you have a bored student, it’s likely just that you’re not speaking to their style. Let me offer some suggestions on how to reach them.

“What” Students

You can identify the “what” students when they ask you to lay out everything in excruciating detail before they are willing to try it. If you have a bored “what” student, you aren’t being clear enough or you aren’t explaining thoroughly. These Seekers respond best to the time-honored techniques of schools and meetings; they want charts, handouts, and quizzes. I realize that it may seem counter-intuitive, but why not oblige? Draw a moon phase chart. Send them to books that you found particularly helpful in your own studies. Make lists. Draw a diagram of the altar layout. Make a pop quiz on the Sabbats. Above all, instruct your group to keep a Book of Shadows and get these ones to take notes while you babble. Try not to get frustrated by their questions or their hesitation; you will just create a block which will cause them to dig in their heels and learn nothing. Be patient!

“Why” Students

The students who are constantly asking “why?” are looking for personal relevance and meaning. If they are going to learn, they have to care about the subject matter. A little research goes a long way with this crowd; if you don’t know why the Priestess traditionally holds the athame and the Priest the chalice in a Symbolic Great Rite, and that seems backwards, find out! Answer their questions as directly and as honestly as you can, and if the answer is “I don’t know,” don’t be afraid to say that!

Because these Seekers like to do things first and then think them over afterwards, above all, the best thing you can do for them is to let them do it. Demonstrate something and then say, “Who wants to try it?” The “why” students will leap in with both feet. In the meantime, the “what” students will carefully observe and make notes. You get two for the price of one. If you break off into pairs, let the “why” student lead the “what” student and you’ll have a happy class.

“How” Students

“How” students want to know how things work. These folks are the most likely to be quietly and passively bored. They won’t complain, but they often look lost, especially if you’re a talker and explainer, like me. Break things down into their component elements and let these Seekers experiment. The “what” people want you to tell them exactly what to say and do in a ritual; the “why” people want to know why you do it that way; the “how” people respond better to an outline of a basic ritual structure, which they can then compose and invent within for themselves. Tell them to “cast the circle” and let them figure out how to best do that. Instead of giving them a diagram of the altar layout, let them set it up; they’ll never need to be shown twice (and it won’t hurt you to explain the associations with the directions to the “why” students along the way.) Give them opportunities to experiment and put theories to the test.

“What If” Students

The “what if” students want to test and play with what they have learned to determine the limits of possibility. They can be identified by their “outside the box” questions. In any instructional setting they can be disruptive, but they’re really not trying to be. You’ll have to learn how to handle them sooner or later because Wicca attracts a lot of them. I think the key is to assertively set limits, but try not to be draconian. These ones will experiment with or without you, so getting them to try is never the problem; but they might completely derail a good discussion by quoting bad movies and TV shows if you allow it. Establish a specific time for socializing and for questions (say, after the ritual;) be firm about whatever limits are set “yes, I’m sure you can summon demons through Otherworld gates, but today we’re talking to the Fey;” and gently bring the discussion back on topic when it wanders. Give them room to play and experiment, and if you think they have a good point, why not test it yourself?

There is one special challenge in dealing with “what if” Seekers. Sometimes they are disrespectful. When this occurs, it means one of two things; either they are testing the limits of your group’s social structure and your leadership, or they are testing the limits of your knowledge and no longer believe you have anything to teach them. If it continues beyond one or two isolated incidents, you have now reached an impasse, and you are no longer of any use to them as a Guide. The time has come for them to leave the group. Break the news as gently as you can, and point them in a different direction; perhaps they would fit better with another teacher you know in the community, or perhaps they need to lead their own group and you can provide resources to assist in doing that. Knowing when you are not a good fit is often more valuable to their learning process than trying to force an untenable situation.

Next in “Seekers and Guides”: Covening for Beginners.

Seekers and Guides is published on alternate Mondays. Follow it via RSS or e-mail!

Previous Post

March 1, 2013

Loop of Brighid: The Mysticism of Devotion, Part 4

Next Post

March 5, 2013 The Busy Witch: Reviewing MAKE MAGIC OF YOUR LIFE by T. Thorn Coyle

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Lakeside Hearth Adventures in Wortcunning Alone In Her Presence Arts, Crafts & Cooking Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft Book of Blackbirds Book Reviews Born-Again Witch Cauldron, Sword, Spear, & Stone Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Dear Jasmine Druid Thoughts Editor's Picks Everyday Pagan Family & Household Practice Family Traditions Full Frontal Magic Gateway Goddess Guest Articles Happily Heathen Health and Wellness Hearth of Hellenism Heathen Woman Hills of the Horizon History Holidays Horse Goddesses Interfaith Interviews Irish-American Witchcraft Jewish Witch Lamp & Labyrinth Letters from Midgard Literature, Media, Film, Music Loop of Brighid Love, Sex & Relationships Magic or Magick Making Light Naturalistic Traditions Nature News Outside The Circle Pantheisticon Politics Prayers, Poems, Blessings & Stories Queer Femme Mystic Queer of Swords Recipes Ritual and Practice Science and Research Seekers and Guides Seeking the Grail Socially Responsible Magic Spear of Athena Star Made Witch Syncretic Electric Technology The Blooming Staff The Busy Witch The Cartomancer The Crow's Nest The Dance of Pagan Recovery The Hearth of Hellenism The Lady's Quill The Other Side of the Hedge The Path of She The Rantin' Raven The Witches Next Door The Zen Pagan Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Tree City Witch Urban Earthwitch Wayfaring Woman Witch on Fire Wyrd Words

Select a Month January 2026 March 2025 December 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Jesus cast into a herd of pigs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Demons Coins Water Leprosy