Our last watchtower conductor refused to call on my 5 year old. He didn't often pay attention, but when he did he was very eager to be called on. We would stand him on my lap with hands raised high so he couldn't be missed. No matter how many tries - he always ended up crying because he wouldn't get called on like his friends. The conductors own kids would get called on about 5 times per meeting. I'm pretty sure my boy didn't get called on because I was inactive, thus of a lower caste. My boy ended up hating the meetings. I'm glad we're not putting him thru that any more.
Limiting comments by kids during WT Study
by navytownroger 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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flipper
The WTS is probably limiting kids from commenting too much because one just may come out and make a comment about some local elder molesting them . The truth is always stranger than fiction you know
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
There was a letter several months ago with a refresher, and another one recently, for the WT conductor on using the new Kool-Aid edition 'most effectively'. They didn't necessarily limit the children commenting that much. It sounds like something locally or from the CO.
As we know, the lessons are so dumbed down that a chimp could underline the correct answer. (Sorry, didn't mean to offend MissingLink there.) Consequently, the conductor wouldn't want the children to take all the easy answers because, well, they're all easy. And since additional research is discouraged, the adults that actually might have functional brains may as well be sitting in on a first grade discussion of "Fun with Dick and Jane".
"Fun with B the X"
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fern
This would not surprise me in the least. The powers that be have never been exactly kid friendly. How torturous it was to sit through meetings listening to stuff you didn't understand or care about. This new rule or whatever it is would have actually been a blessing when I was young because my mother used commenting at the meetings as a weapon of sorts. She would say if you don't comment at the meeting you won't be allowed to (fill in the blank). So, I would look ahead in the Watchtower and pick a question I wanted to answer and rehearse until that question came up. Yeah, real affective learning there! I answered my question to the exclusion of everything else. I recently asked my mom in one of our very rare discussions about "the religion" why the witnesses don't have a sunday school type thing for the young kids. She qouted some scripture (big surprise) that said you should gather with your children in worship. I told her that back when that was written they gathered on hillsides to worship. things are a little different nowdays. I told her kids learn in very different ways and wouldn't it be more affective to teach them in ways they can understand. Would that be such a bad thing? She had no answer for me but I could see the wheels turning. I then told her how torturous it was sitting through the boring meetings as a kid and how it fosters dread and bad attitudes. Of course she is a woman and therefore in no positon to even make a suggestion for change in the congregation, but I got her thinking. I think.
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VM44
Isn't there an age restriction for Bethel tours?
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james_woods
Beep - Beep. Let's back up the truck here for a moment:
Wasn't it the Pharisees who came around and criticized Jesus Christ for sitting under a tree and having an exclusive meeting with just the kids?
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White Dove
I never heard of what the pharisees did, but I know Jesus' own disciples tried to stop the little kids from coming to him.
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sacolton
" People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
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carla
In re: what missinglink said, wouldn't that basically set up the hierarchy at an early age in the cong? If most families stayed until say the teen years and some kid was 'left out' on a regular basis, wouldn't the other kids due to jw thinking assume there was something 'wrong' with that kid and treat him/her accordingly?
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BluesBrother
I cannot see an official change here.
The BOE letter of April 07 said "Please remember that everyone in the congregation is encouraged to prepare a comment and generally those who do should encouraged to express themselves"
The attitude toward children can vary according to the conductor. If he has his own kids he may be overbalanced to the "little ones" and reduce the study to a farce, with toddlers struggling to say words they do not understand. Some, like the experience given above, will favour their own kids and leave out others....
When I did the study, of course I achieved the perfect balance every week of mature explanatory answers and brief ones and children's participation (No doubt the audience would have disagreed at times)