Feeding the flock at Education Week
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Brian G. Andre sat among the multitude. Only a few hours separated him from his imminent debut as a presenter at Education Week. With his experience teaching at the Costa Mesa California Institute of Religion and speaking for five years on the Especially For Youth (EFY) circuit, he had felt prepared for Education Week — right up until the time he sat down in the Marriott Center.
"I was sitting at President Packer's devotional looking around, and I started to realize this is way bigger than EFY," he said. "I felt I needed to really try to have the Spirit there [during my classes]. I didn't want somebody to come to one of my classes and feel like, 'Oh, we wasted an hour. We could've gone to somebody else that would've given us a more spiritual experience.' "
Brother Andre's teaching schedule consisted of eight 55-minute presentations under the umbrella of two classes. "You Were Born to Make a Difference: Powerful Lessons Learned While Serving the Destitute of India" was team-taught with Rebecca C. Douglas from 1:50-2:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and a class for youth called "Make Every Day a Great Day!" ran 3:10-4:05 p.m. on the same four days
"I prepared the eight presentations beforehand," he said. "But once you get [at Education Week] there's this feeling that you really need to be able to have the Spirit there."
Who chooses the teachers?
To the casual observer Education Week, held Aug. 17-21 at BYU, might have appeared to simply be 20,166 registrants wearing name badges around their necks while milling about a college campus. But in reality the masses of humanity clogging hallways between classes were a mere footnote to the true essence of the Education Week experience.
According to its Web site, Education Week "presents approximately 1,000 classes on education, religion, marriage, family relations, health, history, genealogy, science, youth interests, and many other areas." At the center of all the commotion are the instructors. This year 186 men and women presented at Education Week, including 158 returning instructors and 28 first-timers like Brother Andre.
"Good instructors will have a background and experience in the subject they're going to be teaching," said Bruce Payne, coordinator of Campus Education Week. "They have to be able to communicate well and communicate in such a way that others can be inspired by what they say."
Potential instructors come onto Education Week's radar either by referral or unsolicited application. Prior to October 1 of the preceding year, all aspiring instructors must submit a video or DVD showing their teaching style as well as detailed outlines for all proposed presentations. The applicants who make it through an initial screening are then vetted by the Church's Board of Education, and Church Correlation carefully reviews the content of each class proposal's outline.
"There's a lot of safety built into the processes that we use," Brother Payne said. "It's actually very beneficial for us as program administrators to know there are so many eyes that look at what we're doing. We appreciate that."
This year's 28 new instructors emerged from 114 applications.
Education Week presenters have the option of staying in BYU dorms during the week of classes. Also, they receive a modest financial honorarium to help defray travel expenses and the cost possibly associated with missing a week of work.
Preparation precipitates payoff
Already industrious by nature, Brother Andre shifted into fifth gear spiritually in response to the impressions he felt at President Packer's devotional. He endeavored to do everything in his power to invite the Spirit into his classes.
"I would get up about 6:30 every morning and study a little bit," he said. "I spent most of the late morning into the lunch hour going into the scriptures and going over things. … In the evenings I would go back to the dorm and probably stay up until 11 or 12, go over what I was going to go through the next morning and pray [fervently] before I went to bed."
When he wasn't prepping, Brother Andre blocked out several hours each day to spend with his son Tanner, who returned from his mission to Estonia less than a month ago and will enroll at BYU for fall semester.
By the end of his first Education Week as a presenter Brother Andre felt emotionally fatigued. However, his preparation produced a priceless payoff.
"After it's over, you kind of [exhale]," he said. "It's a heavy coat to wear. … The most memorable thing for me was to watch the light in the eyes of the youth. When you see a principle or a doctrine and you know it connected, you can see the Spirit gets through and you can see their eyes open a little wider, and then their head goes down as a note is being taken.
"It's so exciting to me. It's like watching them unwrap a Christmas present."
