By RYAN MORGENEG
At a starting salary close to $23,000, becoming a teacher for the Church Educational System (CES) is more competitive than making it into BYU law school. The difference is, a graduate from the BYU law school starts at an average of $48,130 a year.
It’s obvious that students pursuing a career in CES are not primarily concerned with money. From the handbook of religious education, it states that the objectives of a CES teacher are to assist the individual, the family, and priesthood leaders in accomplishing the mission of the church. This is done by teaching students the gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching students by precept and example, providing a spiritual and social climate, and preparing young people for effective church service.
In order to become a seminary teacher, a person must take a series of three classes. Religion 370, 471, and 473. The series begins with about 350 students and ends with only eight to ten students actually being hired from BYU.
Phillip Boren, director of pre-service training said CES recommends that students start the three-class series somewhere during their junior year at BYU. Students should continue to pursue their chosen major because of the small number of applicants who actually get hired.
The first class in the series, Religion 370, focuses on the basics of becoming a CES teacher. Students are required to teach one ten minute lesson and one twenty minute lesson in front of a video camera. If selected to continue, Religion 471 students actually teach one week of seminary. The final class, Religion 473, is a full year of seminary student teaching.
Dr. Bruce Stewart, a CES professor at BYU, said one of the great things about working for the Church Educational System is being able to “promote” yourself. Teachers are paid not only for the length of time they’ve been a teacher, but also for the number of degrees they have. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages its teachers to pursue higher learning. This brings a great advantage to students as well. Compared to a state-run school, an LDS seminary will have better educated and trained teachers who are constantly encouraged to improve themselves.
Men and women are eligible to become seminary teachers, but single men who are not married after one year of teaching might be asked to leave. Stewart said CES teachers are expected to be good examples of the gospel of Jesus Christ and be able to relate with teen-agers. Marriage supports both of these points. Women who become seminary teachers might be asked to leave when they get married or have children.
