Theocratic School Schedule for 1976 — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

Theocratic School Schedule for 1976

INSTRUCTIONS

During 1976 the School schedule should be conducted in all congregations as follows:

TEXTBOOKS: The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, The Watchtower [w] and Awake! [g], and the books Aid to Bible Understanding [ad] and Listening to the Great Teacher [to] will be the basis for assignments.

INSTRUCTION TALK: No. 1: 15 minutes. This should not be just a summary of the assigned material. It should be a well-developed talk on a chosen theme, assigned to an elder if possible, or, when necessary, to a qualified ministerial servant. The coverage should not be superficial but should provide a presentation that is truly informative and helpful to the congregation.

ORAL REVIEW: 5 minutes. This will immediately follow the No. 1 talk, and will be conducted by the same brother who gave the talk. The review will be conducted, not the following week, but on the same night that the talk is given. The questions asked should help the audience to see clearly the main points covered.

TALK NO. 2: 6 minutes. This is a Bible reading of the assigned material. The reading assignments are short enough to permit the student to present explanatory information in his opening and concluding remarks, and even at fitting intermediate points. Historical background, prophetic or doctrinal significance, application of principles and expressions of appreciation for the wisdom reflected in the text may be included. The talk should be planned in a way that allows for all the assigned verses actually to be read. The allotted time should be fully utilized. The material may be presented as a talk to the congregation, or a boy may read it to his father or to another qualified older brother seated on the platform. The father or other older brother may then use questions to draw from the boy comments on the value of the material or he may offer suggestions with a view to helping him to improve his reading.

TALKS NOS. 3 AND 4: 6 minutes each. These talks are assigned to sisters whenever possible. When delivering one of these talks, the student may either be seated or standing. Although using mainly notes and the Bible, the students, when appropriate, may read excerpts or quotations from the assigned material. One assistant will be scheduled by the school overseer, but additional assistants may be used. Settings could include situations arising at home, in the field service, the congregation or elsewhere; at times the presentation may simply be informative conversation between family members or others. The sister giving the talk may either initiate the conversation to establish the setting or have her assistant(s) do so. Not the setting, but the material should be given prime consideration.

TALK NO. 5: 6 minutes. Assigned preferably to a brother with some experience, it should be a talk to the entire audience. While giving his talk from notes, the speaker, when fitting, may read quotations or pointed excerpts from the assigned material. It will usually be best for the speaker to prepare his talk with the Kingdom Hall audience in mind, so that it will be truly informative and beneficial to those who actually hear it. However, if the material especially lends itself to another practical and suitable setting, the speaker may choose to develop his talk accordingly.

PREPARING TALKS: Where the material makes it possible, talks should follow a well-developed theme. Choose a theme that will allow for the best coverage of the material in the allotted time. Prepare all talks with the points in mind to be considered next on the Speech Counsel slip. When a setting is selected, endeavor to choose one that will show practical use of the material assigned, where that is appropriate.

COUNSEL: Specific counsel on each student talk will be given, following the program of progressive counsel outlined at the bottom of the Speech Counsel slip. Appreciative comments on important points covered by speakers, whether stated by the counselor or elicited from the audience by means of review questions, can help to keep the attention of all focused primarily on the Scriptural information presented. Be careful to use no more than two minutes for counseling each student talk.

TIMING: No talk should go overtime; neither should the counsel. Talks Nos. 2 through 5 will be stopped if necessary when the time is up.

WRITTEN REVIEWS: Periodically a written review will be given. In preparation, review principally the material in ad and te and complete the assignment of personal Bible reading. Only the Bible may be used during this thirty-minute review. The balance of the hour will be devoted to a discussion of the questions and answers. Each student will check his own paper and, in reading off the answers, the school overseer will concentrate on the more difficult questions, stressing the matter of accurate knowledge and letting the audience turn to the textbooks where the answers may be checked. If, for some reason, local circumstances make it necessary, the written review may be used a week later than what is shown on the schedule.

LARGE AND SMALL CONGREGATIONS: Congregations with a school enrollment of fifty or more students should arrange for additional groups of students to deliver the scheduled talks before other elders, if possible. Rotate the students to the various halls. Where it seems advisable, sisters may take any talk, presenting it to someone else, as outlined for Talks Nos. 3 and 4.

ABSENTEEISM: If a student is not present when scheduled, a volunteer may take the assignment, making whatever application he feels qualified to make on such short notice. Or the school overseer may cover the material with appropriate audience participation.

SCHEDULE

Jan. 4 Bible reading: Luke 13 to 16

No. 1: ad p. 1264 ¶5 to p. 1266 ¶7. “Palestine.”

No. 2: Luke 14:12-33

No. 3: te chapter 1

No. 4: w74 pp. 522, 523

No. 5: ad p. 1268 ¶4-12. “Papyrus.”

Jan. 11 Bible reading: Luke 17 to 19

No. 1: ad p. 1268 ¶13 to p. 1269 ¶6. “Paradise.”

No. 2: Luke 18:18-43

No. 3: te chapter 2

No. 4: g74 6/8 pp. 3, 4