Helping Students Develop Good Seminary Habits

Helping Students Develop Good Seminary Habits

This week's focus: Study • Attendance • Being on Time

Sometimes the little things we do as teachers can make a pretty big difference.

Getting students to study, come consistently, and be on time isn't always easy. We can remind them over and over (and sometimes we need to), but I think there are some simple things we can do in our classrooms that can help students develop these habits on their own.

Here are four things we can do consistently:

1. Make Them Want to Be There

This may be one of the best things we can do for attendance—make seminary a place they want to be.

Learn their names. Talk to them when they come in. Ask them about their life. Notice when they're gone and let them know you missed them when they come back.

We want our students to feel something like:

“My teacher knows me. They notice when I'm here. What we do here matters.”

We can't control whether a student comes to seminary every day. There are a lot of things in their lives we have no control over. But we can do our best to make sure that when they do come, they feel loved, wanted, and glad they came.

2. Start on Time

This one is pretty simple. If we want our students to be on time, we need to start on time.

Have something ready to go—a question on the board, a scripture to read, a picture, an object, or something that gets them thinking.

If the first five minutes of class don't really matter, students will figure that out pretty quickly. But if something worthwhile is happening when class starts, being there on time starts to matter.

Over time we're teaching them:

“Our time together matters.”

3. Give Them a Reason to Study

Rather than just saying:

“Read these verses before tomorrow.”

Maybe try something like:

“Read these verses tonight and find one phrase you think someone your age needs to hear. We'll talk about what you found tomorrow.”

And then here's the important part—actually ask them about it the next day.

If we invite students to prepare and then never use what they prepared, it probably won't take them long to stop doing it.

But when they know we're going to ask what they found, what they thought, or what stood out to them, their study suddenly has a purpose. They become part of what happens in class.

4. Notice the Small Victories

Don't just record attendance—notice people.

A student who has struggled with attendance comes three days in a row?

“It's been great having you here this week.”

Someone who is usually late walks in on time?

“Good to see you this morning!”

A student actually did the preparation you invited?

“Thanks for doing that. What did you find?”

Nothing huge. Nothing that embarrasses them. Just let them know you noticed.

I think sometimes we spend so much time trying to correct what students aren't doing that we forget to recognize what they are doing.

We're not trying to police their behavior. We're trying to help them develop habits of discipleship.

TRY THIS THIS WEEK

Choose one student who could use a little encouragement with study, attendance, or being on time.

Find one opportunity this week to notice something they're doing right—and tell them, rather than focusing on something they are not doing.

It doesn't need to be a big conversation. It might just be a 10-second comment before or after class.

Sometimes a little encouragment is exactly what a student needs to take the next step.

Remember

Create belonging.Start with purpose.Invite preparation.Notice progress.

Small things, done consistently, can help students develop habits that will bless them long after they leave our classrooms.