What were your reasons for not liking the ministry school?

by LongHairGal 54 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Truth2Me

  When I was wholeheartedly "in the Truth" I loved the school, I loved the talks and I love doing my own. I always got creative, maybe it was because I did become a Witness until I was 18, so thinking outside the box was easier for me. The friends always enjoyed my talks. It did bother me though that the elders would assign talks based on what they thought that sister should be working on personally. For example, a sister was being divorced by her husband, and the elder would assign a talk about the sanctity of marriage and forgivness, etc.

  But, the few meetings I attended years after being Df'd gave me a different perspective....the presentations seemed so fake, the responses from the other sister playing the householder seemed so robotic, something I just could not see when I was a part of it all.

  Looking back I am thankfull for the public speaking practice and stuff, that has proven useful.

  That's the Truth to Me
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  Preston

  1.) I was the TMS Assistant (read: butt-boy) for the School overseer in my tenure as a Jay-Dub. I hated, HATED, HATED, HATED...not only reminding people of their talks but ... (see items 2, 3, 4 below)

  2.) ... finding substitute speakers. I felt like I was working for a collections agency going down the list of people the night before to do subs for talks. We had lots of cancelations every week, and the more people I called the more people knew that people really didnt give a sh*t about doing their assigned parts, sometimes at the last minute.

  3.) ... doing the talks myself. It wasnt just doing the talks the first time...but also a second time if there was a cancelation for the same talk in the next school (we had 2 schools).

  4.) The public acknowledgment when some erstwhile good brother or sister went...OVERTIME...once it hit 30 seconds over I had to ring this...this bell every time they went over. It was considered proper for the speaker to keep track of their time with a stopwatch every time they had a talk but I considered this a bit of a stretch if you were a new speaker and had to do both at the same time. Why embarass a newbie when they're giving their first talk. Heck...even I went 2 minutes over my first time.

  - Preston (of the "likes to take his time class")
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  tijkmo

  sometimes you would get a new speaker at circuit level that was at least lively and entertaining but within a few assemblies he would be just like all the rest...not here to entertain are we

  Also, gimmicks, humor, and visual aids were never encouraged, and at times, it almost felt like they were silently discouraged

  i know... what was that about..my dad had a couple of talks with slides...not allowed that..not here to enjoy it are we

  When on the school I used to try and incorporate lyrics from music that I liked

  yeah that was fun

  I also remember that while my big brother took the school I'd always use an illustration that took the piss out of him

  but that was just mean

  Why embarass a newbie when they're giving their first talk. Heck...even I went 2 minutes over my first time.

  young boy giving his first talk bout 3/4 months ago...father not a jw...mother chronic back prob struggles to get to meeting and cant sit for duration...is really worried cos most boys give 1st talk with their dads but he cant..and no one else offered..cept me but im newly reinstated..and is long passage with big words..you know bible names..quite difficult for a 7 year old...anyway he has done brilliantly..even managed to put some modulation in..not overdone..and has 2 words of the passage left....TWO WORDS..when the idiot school overseer bells him...disbelieving silence from everyone except me who says loudly..."you have got to be kidding"
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  Swan

  I also got frustrated at the blatant sexism.

  It sure was obvious when any 8-year old Tom, Dick, or Harry could join the school and give talks from the podium, but an elderly pioneer sister of the anointed had to give her talks looking away from the audience and direct her remarks to a householder.

  Tammy
• 

  Mastodon

  I loved it, I used to pull great talks out of my ass on command. A friend and i would fight over substitutions that gave us like 15 minutes to prepare right there on the KH. Now I see how stupid I was back then.
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  Preston

  ...anyway he has done brilliantly..even managed to put some modulation in..not overdone..and has 2 words of the passage left....TWO WORDS..when the idiot school overseer bells him...disbelieving silence from everyone except me who says loudly..."you have got to be kidding"

  BRAVO tijkmo!

  - Preston
• 

  Banshee

  A couple of things I did not like about the Theocratic Ministry School:

  First (it's already been mentioned), I did not like the sexist way it was set up. I knew I could do a lots better job than many of the men who got to speak from the podium.

  Second, I did so well in the TMS that the elders were always asking me to do impromptu talks because of no-shows. So, for quite a while, this meant I was giving a talk just about every week. Then, this bled into the Service Meeting, as well. Ill-prepared elders would ask me at the last minute to do the demonstrations. After a while, I felt like people were taking advantage of me....and I knew that if I refused a request re: a meeting part, my parents would give me a lot of grief over it.

  However, I did like public peaking then and I still do and I must admit that the TMS helped me with public speaking
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  Sparkplug

  Because I never could get past volume and pausing. 20 some years stuck on volume and pausing ....total suckage!!
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  SixofNine

  *imagines if sisters could have given talks from the podium*
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  swiftbreeze

  I thought the school was totally unreal

  I remember one time i was a householder and instead of saying "great come back next week" or "yes i would love a bible study" i said "no thanks, I think i'll just stick to what i've been doing" i thought it would be interesting to see a realistic outcome. The elders was like "don't ever do that and how the householder should always accept the information" but i thought that was unrealistic because we get turned down everyday. I didnt get put on the school for a long time after that.