It occurs to me that it might be helpful to invite young people to identify and articulate goals at the beginning of the catechetical year. My inclination would be to provide a list of “habits” for living as a disciple of Christ – habits that would be age-appropriate and measurable – and invite young people to select or prioritize them with the option of adding some of their own. Then, young people can be invited to keep a journal in which they track their progress through the year and write thoughts about their experiences.

Here are a few “habits” that I might include for intermediate age kids. What other habits would you suggest?

With God’s grace, I hope to achieve the following goal(s) this year in religious education:

• begin and end my day with prayer
• recall from memory the Ten Commandments
• practice an act of kindness each day
• regularly attend Sunday Mass
• become involved in an ongoing service activity at my school or parish
• go out of my way at least once per week to reach out to someone who’s hurting
• participate in a liturgical ministry such as altar server or reader
• regularly read the Bible
• recall from memory the Act of Contrition (or another prayer _______ )
• learn to pray the Rosary
• begin recycling at home

Add your suggestions in the Leave a Reply feature below!

 [photo courtesy of Andrea R via Compfight]

I am convinced, more than ever, that we need to shift our focus to equipping Catholics with the techniques needed to spread the faith. Our content is solid! But that content does us little good if it remains a well-kept secret to the rest of the world! The New Evangelization calls us to, not only deepen our faith, but to SHARE it with others. Many Catholics do not know how to do that.

Which brings me to the latest book I’m reading, recommended by one of my readers: Dedication and Leadership by Douglas Hyde (University of Notre Dame Press, 1966), who, in 1948, renounced Communism (after serving in the Party for 20 years) and embraced Catholicism. In his book, “he advances the theory that although the goals and aims of Communism are antithetical to human dignity and the rights of the individual, there is much to be learned from communist methods.” (book’s back cover)

In particular, I was struck by what Mr. Hyde said about why and how most people joined the Communist Party:

The majority of people who join the Communist Party do so knowing very little about Communism. The potential recruit sees the Party in action…and he admires what it is doing. He goes on to be more conscious of its…campaigns and increasingly to feel that these correspond to real needs. They are relevant where so much that is being done by other bodies seems to be quite irrelevant to the titanic needs and ills of our time.

He goes on to say…

In other words, it is the Party in action, an active, campaigning body, and the people who make up the Party, who normally provide the spur to the recruit’s first approach to Communism. To spell it out: recruits to Communism are usually attracted by the dedicated people who are Communists and by the Party in action, and this action is appealing because it appears to be concerned with real problems. The Party operates at a level which is meaningful to the potential recruit. It comes to him, as it were; he does not have to seek out the Party.

The “actions” that Catholics need to be “caught” doing (and that we need to invite young Catholics to participate in) are well-organized campaigns involving the Works of Mercy that reveal God’s goodness, compassion, and justice to the world.  Orthodoxy of content is important but unless our young Catholics see (and are invited to join) dedicated Catholics in action, addressing “the titanic needs and ills of our time,” that orthodoxy will remain in a book.

The shooting at Virginia Tech will be the “Columbine” for the children we are teaching. Witnessing television reports about such violent events can result in fear and confusion. The sudden and unexpected nature of a tragedy such as this can cause high anxiety and even panic. The truth is, children are most fearful when they do not understand what is happening around them. Feelings of confusion, fear, and anxiety should be considered normal.

Helping those we teach to deal with their reactions to this tragedy can be challenging for us as catechists since we may not have had enough time to deal with our own feeling and reaction. Here are some strategies for giving children the support they need in the wake of this violent tragedy.

• Encourage younger children to seek physical comfort from their parents and relatives. Hugs and hand-holding from parents can provide children with the comfort and security that they need.
• Provide reassuring and appropriate smiles without being glib.
• Reassure your children that you are there to take care of them and that they are safe in your company.
• Express your own feelings of confusion, sadness, and fear but do so in a way that shows you are relying on prayer and faith to cope during moments that you don’t understand.
• Provide structure for your students. Children find security in consistency, especially when faced with such an unpredictable disaster. Reliance and traditional prayers and forms of prayer such as the Rosary can provide great comfort for children.
• Emphasize familiar routines and ritual.
• Play some soothing music as they work and speak in a slow, calm, quiet voice.
• Invite (but do not pressure) children to talk about the disaster. This gives them a sense of control and can help them to sort out their feelings.
• Provide a little more time than usual for children to relax and do some activity that is therapeutic such as coloring or playing with modeling clay. Older children can be engaged in physical activities (a game) that provide some emotional release.
• Children feel powerless in the wake of an unpredictable and violent tragedy such as the Virginia Tech shootings. Be sure to talk about and model peaceful resolutions to conflict as a way of giving children a sense of control in difficult situations.
• Some children react to such tragedies by behaving aggressively. Emphasize the need to find and use alternatives to violence as a way to solve conflicts.
• Keep your perspective and avoid expressing anger and vindictive emotions about the perpetrator of this violence. Help the children to avoid making inappropriate assumptions about the perpetrator by using labels based on ethnicity, religious background, etc.
• Children may show signs of stress following a tragedy such as this. Keep an eye open for changes in behavior. Very young children may resort to thumbsucking, clinging, and isolation from other children. Older children may show signs of irritability, aggression, lack of focus, and other changes in behavior. All of this is natural as they process their anxiety and fear so show patience with them.
• Pray together for the victims, their families, for those who were injured, for the college community, and for all those who were involved in responding to the crisis.

Inspired by and Adapted from “When Disaster Strikes: Helping Young Children Cope” by Jane M. Farish –an NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) brochure.

Joe,

Last year I had several problems with some middle school kids who were unable to change behavior on their own.  In several instances I had a parent come in and sit in on the class but once they weren’t there the behavior continued.  I also used behavior contracts with a minimal amount of success.  I am not sure where to go from here.  I know that homeschooling will never be followed through with by the parent and am hesitant to suspend or kick those students out.

 

I am writing to see if you have any suggestions/thoughts/resources for dealing with these kids.  Deep down they are good and I want to accentuate that but I am going to lose catechists over it and it ends up compromising the learning for the rest of the class.

 

Any thoughts/insight/ suggestions you might have would be most welcome. 

 

Summer blessings,

 

Steve

What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saN4m3OZ3wE

Any tips out there from 6th grade catechists?

Holy Week is for Children

Recently, a reader on my blog asked about which storybooks in the series correspond to various themes. I consulted my colleague Nikki Caso Doherty and, with the help of Sr. Jean Hopman who wrote many of the booklets, they put together the following list which should serve as an excellent resource for those who use Pray Me a Story. Thanks Nikki and Sr. Jean!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

My own comment to him is actually a question:

I’m not doubting that you know Jesus but my question is, how did you come to know Jesus? To know the story of Jesus is to know Scripture, and Scripture, in particular the New Testament, is a product of the Church (religion) which you say you despise.  Jesus becomes known to us through the proclamation of the Gospel by others. Paul encountered the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus but then sought out the Apostles to learn more about Jesus. Any attempt to proclaim the Gospel – including your YouTube poem – is in and of itself a form of religion. You are simply substituting your doctrine for the Church’s doctrine. I applaud your efforts to focus on a personal relationship with Christ, however, you are fooling yourself if you think that can be done in isolation.

By the way, it is precisely the “spiritual but not religious” population that I had in mind when I wrote my new book, 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness, which will be available in just a few short weeks.

A girl raised her hand and without hesitation completed the sentence by blurting out…”DIVORCED!”

Yikes! Indeed, times have changed. The catechist regained her composure and said, “OK, before they got divorced, they got….?”  Finally, someone answered, “MARRIED!”

I guess we can never assume kids will give the answer we would expect!