Religious education classes at the parish where I serve as a catechist are 75 minutes. That’s not a bad amount of time although it really seems like 90 minutes would be more effective, especially to allow for more substantive prayer experiences. I think it would also be nice to have occasional “extended” sessions that last 2 to 3 hours, perhaps once a month or at least quarterly. Where is it written that classes must be […]
This past Monday, we gave an end-of-the-year assessment to our 8th graders that covers all of the basics of the Catholic faith: the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, parts of the Mass, and so on. First, we spent the week before reviewing, especially the Ten Commandments, which far too many of the kids seemed fuzzy on. Then, we gave the assessment, and, I’m happy to report, they did very well on. There were a handful of […]
I love the Opening Prayer for the Fourth Sunday of Lent: “God our Father, your Word Jesus Christ, spoke peace to a sinful world and brought mankind the gift of reconciliation by the suffering and death he endured. TEACH US, THE PEOPLE WHO BEAR HIS NAME, TO FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE HE GAVE US: may our faith, hope, and charity turn hatred to love, conflict to peace, death to eternal life. We ask this through Christ our […]
With the end of the program year coming up soon, Patti and I are thinking of planning a pizza party for our class following our last session. We’ve received the DRE’s blessing as long as we have permission slips, etc. (the pizza place is right across the street from the church!) Several catechists have commented on this blog that they have done similar things to bring closure to their time together. The program has a […]
From my experience as a catechist, I’ve compiled a list of the top ten things that can go wrong when teaching a class. These are not in any order. Do these resonate with your experience? What else would you add? Your audiovisual equipment either didn’t show up or doesn’t work You find yourself short on the amount of books, handouts, or materials needed You are emotionally and/or physically run down and can’t find the energy […]
Patti, my co-catechist, met the mom of one of our students who, to say the least, has been a handful. The mom expressed surprise that she hadn’t received a phone call yet this year since “I get a call from his catechists every year!” The mom went on to express her disdain for continuing classes after Confirmation saying, “I don’t see why that’s necessary.” Patti did her best to explain to her that Confirmation is […]
So 11 of my 14 students came back for class after Confirmation! I’m pretty happy with that because it is a typical weekly absentee rate. We had a good discussion about their Confirmation (once they got past saying “It was too long!”) and an especially good discussion about their service experiences. There are so many highs and lows during any given class. On the one hand, 11 students returned. On the other hand, only 4 […]
I came across a good book for catechists and for teachers of any kind. The book is My Best Teachers Were Saints: What Every Educator Can Learn from the Heroes of the Church. Susan Swetnam does a fine job of showing how the saints can serve as a source of wisdom and empowerment for any teacher. In all, she identifies 52 role models—one for each week of the year—who provide insight into coping with the […]
My 8th graders were confirmed last weekend and then had Monday off (because of a state holiday in Illinois). This coming Monday will be the first post-Confirmation class and I’m curious to see who shows up. We’ve emphasized over and over that Confirmation is not graduation but is the beginning of a new chapter in their spiritual journey. I’m told that the return factor at the parish is pretty good but this is my first […]
Some catechists give “homework” to their students and have success in getting them to complete it. This does not appear to be the culture in the parish I’m at. Things sent home with the kids tend to disappear into a black hole. I know that we’ve struggled with getting kids to bring their books to class (normally we keep their text books at the parish but we experimented with sending home their Confirmation books…only about […]
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