The post-confirmation guided reflection went very nicely! Several of the other 8th grade catechists used it as well. You may want to adapt it to your setting.

Anyway, the BEFORE AND AFTER that I’m referring to in my title for this post is not about before and after Confirmation, but about the room in which I teach! I’ve alluded before to how important it is to create an environment that is conducive to faith formation and prayer. I teach in a science room! I have 15 minutes to get in to my room and to try to transform it in some small way. Here are couple of pics that show what I’m able to accomplish in the short time I have:

BEFORE - a science room

The nice thing was that they did a pretty good job of answering the questions. All of us were pleased that they did know a number of basic things about the Catholic faith. We impressed upon them over and over that if they listen closely, they’ll hear all of the items from next week’s confirmation exam.

Probably the most impressive answer was when someone guessed that the phrase we use to describe the suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is “The Paschal Mystery!”

In the end, I’m proud that my class ended in first place, but it was only because we got the Final Jeopardy answer correct (This pope visited Chicago in 1979 – Who is Pope John Paul II?) while the team we were tied with got it wrong. There were 3 or 4 kids on my team who really knew their stuff…I was impressed.

Following the game, we distributed a study sheet/packet for them to take home, once again telling them what they need to know for the exam next week. They have certainly been prepared! The biggest challenge for them will be the section on the Ten Commandments which is a blank page that they have to fill in from memory!

All in all, we were pleased with how things turned out. It was hard work keeping them attentive but it was worth it for the engagement it created and the learning that took place.

As I was teaching about the anointing with chrism at Confirmation, I focused for a while on the fact that the chrism has a fragrance (sometimes referred to as “perfume for the soul”) which symbolizes how the Holy Spirit helps us to give off the “aroma of Christ” (2Cor 2:15) by the way we live.

To stress this point, I brought in some of those pefume/cologne ads that we find in magazines – the ones that you peel open in order to sample the fragrance. I brought in enough samples for each of the kids to try and of course it brought out their silly sides. They started rubbing the samples all over themselves, the girls rubbing them on their necks, the boys rubbing them on their necks, chests, and underarms! I let this play out for a minute or so and then collected the samples asking them why they rubbed the samples all over themselves. The quick reply? “To smell good!”

I said, “Exactly! We use colognes and perfumes to “smell good” so as to attract others and to make an impression on them.” I mentioned that last year, Americans spent over 5 billion dollars on fragrances, all in the hopes of making an impression on others. I explained that we can do all kinds of things to make an impression on others: fixing our hair, wearing certain clothes, wearing makeup, and so on. However, the most powerful way that we make an impression on others is by how we act.

I talked about how each of them was making an impression on me at that moment. Interesting how self-conscious they all became. I was able to tell them that as I’ve come to know them over these past few weeks of Confirmation intensives, that I can honestly say they’ve made a good impression on me for the most part. I then introduced the Fruits of the Holy Spirit and said that these are the qualities that people exude when they are filled with the Holy Spirit and I told them that this is the impression that we want them to leave on others so that people will know that they are followers of Christ.

It’s funny how, as a catechist, you can walk that fine line between losing control of kids’ behavior and using that very behavior to your advantage!

When was a time that you used your students’ silliness to your own advantage?

Poverty Quiz

You can find another poverty quiz at the USCCB

On a related note, perhaps this sensitizing to the needs of others will spur some of them on to complete their service experience for Confirmation. My aide, Lisa, tells me that in the session with John on service, a number of them admitted that they had yet to complete their service. This was a good context to address the subject since they will come away knowing that there are real needs that their service can address and that doing service is not just a “hoop” to jump through for Confirmation but rather flows from our commitment to doing works of mercy (corporal and spiritual) and fighting for social justice.

The Confirmation Intensives allows me the opportunity to catch a glimpse, so to speak, of each of the five 8th grade classes. For the most part, each of the classes was very cooperative and the kids well-behaved. One class, in particular, was a handful, mainly because of one young man who seemed like he could care less about Confirmation and unfortunately, influenced others in his group.

During the 10 minute session, this young man paid little attention, didn’t open his book, and engaged in side-talking throughout. At one point, I noticed that he had taken the little foil croziers they had just made in a previous class and was shredding it. A few moments later, I saw that he was stuffing the pieces of foil in his mouth. Holding a wastebasket, I confronted him and told him to spit it out and to pick up all the pieces that were strewn about him.

A few moments later, as we were reading some brief sections of the text, I went over to stand by him since he was side-talking, not reading along, and laughing. I told him that he should think twice about laughing at the Holy Spirit whom we were talking about. He said he wasn’t laughing at the Holy Spirit but at what his friend was saying, and in a very unrepentant attitude, asked: “You mean to tell me that you wouldn’t laugh if you heard something funny?” I responded, “Not if I was supposed to be paying attention to someone and something more important.” What I really wanted to say was, “Where did you learn to talk to your elders like that?!”  I stood over him (he was seated) and leaned in and said in a calm, soft, but stern voice, “You should think twice about what and who you’re paying attention to and the fact that if you’re listening to your friend during class, you’re ignoring the Holy Spirit.”

He eventually opened his book and unenthusiastically followed directions for the activity we did (making the mini-mobiles of symbols of the Holy Spirit) all the while procrastinating as much as possible.

I was saddened by the experience of encountering a young person who was passing up such a wonderful opportunity to grow as an individual and to deepen his relationship with God. Some kids are just not there. Some are carrying baggage that prohibits them from opening up to God’s grace. I know that his catechist is experiencing this challenge on a weekly basis and he (the catechist) is a fantastic role model for this young man. I hope and pray that he and all of us who come into contact with this young man and others like him can make an impact through our words and actions.

What kind of difficult moments like this have you faced?

It seems that it was the Augustinians who introduced Las Posadas as a way to evangelize the Aztecs in the 16th century. The Augustinians requested and received papal permission in 1586 to celebrate a novena of masses on the 9 days before Christmas, the same time that the Aztecs traditionally celebrated the birth of their sun god. The Augustinians incorporated elements of Las Pastorelas (shepherd plays) that the Jesuits promoted in Spain (therein lies the remote Jesuit connection to Las Posadas!) as a catechetical tool to teach about the birth of Christ!

In fact, Las Pastorelas continues to be a big deal for many Hispanics. Think I’m making this up, take a look at this YouTube video of a Las Pastorelas in which Michael the Archangel defeats Satan (and then take note of how many results appear on the playlist when doing a search for Las Pastorelas)!

Catechists who teach Hispanics can capitalize on this cultural phenomenon to invite young people to role play as a catechetical learning strategy.

November is, of course, the month of all souls

To mark this special month, as part of our opening prayer last night, instead of having the kids offer prayers of thanksgiving or petitions for needs, I asked them each to share the name(s) of loved ones who have passed away so that we could remember them in a special way this month.

We passed the candle and each of the kids mentioned someone dear to them. I begn by remembering my Dad who passed away 12 years ago next month. One of the kids remembered a soldier – a native of Evergreen Park - who recently gave his life in service of his country. Most remembered grandparents. One girl remembered a cousin who just died within the previous week. Lucy, my aide, mentioned both of her parents. It was a very solemn moment and a moment for each of them to recognize that we are all touched by the pain of death.

I also taught them the prayer that Catholics pray for those who have died: “Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.” We repeated that 3 times.

After the prayer, I briefly explained our understanding of the Communion of Saints and how these loved ones are still with us, separated by a “veil” between this life and the next and that we can still communicate with them, praying with them and for them. I mentioned how I occasionally have conversations with my Dad and Lucy added that she converses with both of her parents. I emphasized that for Catholics, this is quite normal and is not strange because we know that even death cannot truly separate us from our loved ones.

It made for a very prayerful beginning for class and helped to sensitize me and I’m sure each of the young people to the depth of feeling that each of us is capable of.

This was a big risk for me and I have to admit that I have a very hard time of letting go of things like this because I know how it should be done. However, I thought I’d give it a whirl and it turned out OK.

Good thing is, I have a small group and they like doing the guided reflections and they have been behaving very well during these experiences. So what I did was, I chose a student who is a good reader and I asked her before class if she would be willing to read the script that I had ready. I showed her the technique of counting slowly to 2 in her head after every sentence (to slow the pace down) and counting slowly to 5 in her head after every time the script said “pause” to allow for reflection.

I still did my part of getting everyone into their “sacred space” and quieting them down before turning it over to my volunteer. My aide and I were able to “patrol” the room as the reflection went on (I also had quiet music in the background and the lights dimmed).

In all, my volunteer did pretty well. She was a bit nervous and so her pace was a bit too quick but not terribly so. I slowed her down once but I basically let go and allowed her to do it on her own.

The script she used was from a book called Guided Reflections for Children – Volume 1: Praying with Scripture.  I would say that her reading part took about 8-10 minutes, including all of the built-in pauses. The rest of the group was as quiet as usual and perhaps more so since it was one of their peers leading them and since 2 adults were patrolling the room!

Afterwards, I thanked the volunteer and asked if anyone else would like to do this in the future and one young lady raised her hand, so I’m going to give it another try.

Has anyone else tried something like this?

I’m going to prod one of the young men to volunteer as well. I’ve been noticing how the guys often sit back and let the young ladies take the lead when it comes to speaking and leadership roles in RE. Years ago, young girls felt pressure to not assert themselves in learning situations…even feeling the need to “act dumb” in certain situations when they were around guys. Thankfully, that has changed. Unfortunately, now sometimes, it is the guys who feel they need to “act dumb” when around the girls (no big surprise when you see how men, especially fathers, are portrayed on TV and in the movies these days).

Anyone else noticing this?

Of the 3 groups, one did exceptionally well, due in no small part to the fact that one of the young ladies volunteered to type for her group mates and she was a whiz at keyboarding! Here is the work of that one successful group so you can see what they came up with (this is untouched by me so it still includes mispellings, etc.).

Group 3 Slides: The Words and Actions of Jesus

This is closest to what I envisioned however, even for this group, there was no time for them to add any clip art. The other 2 groups didn’t come close to completing their slides. I’m not upset about that because they did complete a hard copy first before they began typing, so I know that they did interact with the content of the session which is the most important thing.

I am finishing the Powerpoint and will use it next week to have them present about Jesus to the group, each one commenting on (or at least reading aloud)  the slides he or she was responsible for. I will have a Who Is Jesus? booklet put together for next week for everyone to take notes in throughout the presentation so that when they go home, they can show their parents how much they learned about Jesus. I’ll make that booklet available to you when I have it ready!

With that in mind, for the first time in my life as a catechist, this evening I will be having my students create Powerpoint presentations rather than posters!

For the last few years, during the Jesus unit, I have had my classes work at Jesus Learning Stations, fromwhich they prepared posters to teach about Jesus to the rest of the class. This year, I’ve decided to do something very different.

It turns out that I have access to 3 laptop computers: my own, a work laptop, and my daughter’s laptop. With 10 students, I can easily form groups of 3 or 4 and have each group work with a laptop to create Powerpoint presentations that teach about Jesus. I will have 3 groups (I rearranged the material from the previous 5 learning stations into 3 groups):

• The World of Jesus and the People of Jesus
• The Words and Actions of Jesus
• The Death and Resurrection of Jesus

As you’ll see from clicking on each of the above, I am providing a resource packet to each group with all of the information they need to create their presentation on their assigned topic. I will be telling them to imagine that they are going to be explaining who Jesus is to someone who’s never heard of him before.

Before they do any work on the computers, however, they will have to show me a hard copy of their plan. I have created the “templates” for each of their PowerPoints and will provide hard copies of the slides they need to complete…each slide includes a header that asks a question they need to answer using the information from their resource packets. Each group will divvy up the slides they are to complete and then will get to work. Here are the slides:

• The World of Jesus and the People of Jesus SLIDES
• The Words of Jesus and Actions of Jesus SLIDES
• The Death and Resurrection of Jesus SLIDES

This week, they are to complete their slides which I will take home and combine into one presentation. Next week, we will show the PowerPoint presentation and each of them will “narrate” their slide.

The one “fly in the ointment” is that the clip art gallery on each computer does not have much in the way of Christian clip art so I’m going to need to spend some time this afternoon downloading some clip art that will be readily available to them (the classroom does not have wi-fi access) so that they can “dress up” their slides.

I’m excited and nervous about this new venture. I’m so accustomed to working with paper, scissors, and glue, but I’ve been curious about how to use technology in the classroom so I think this is a perfect opportunity. Pray that we meet with success.

Any pointers and suggestions are most welcome!