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2towers
Guest
My kids favorite thing on earth was catholic Q&A. You would be surprised what is on their minds, and it will give you a measure of strengths and weaknesses.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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Horton
Guest
There is quite a bit of information of how we can reach kids differently. Check out Christopher Wesley at https://marathonyouthministry.com or Bob McCarty at http://newarkoym.com/bob-mccarty. They both talk about how to really engage kids in Youth Ministry or CCD. There is also a Facebook group for Youth Ministers Catholic Youth Ministry Discussion. It is a closed group so you will need to ask to join.
This is not your fault, it takes practice to lead a group of middle school kids. With this class I would move away from the extreme structure of the group. This shouldn’t be a “classroom” type environment. It should be an environment where the kids get the opportunity to discuss their faith.
With unruly kids, silence is a great tool. Let them know up front they will spend their time in your company regardless of how they behave. Tell them your expectation is they have to be there for the amount of time no matter what. An example may be they come in a bit wild, sit in silence. They continue to be unruly, sit in silence. At the end of the class thank them for their time and let them go. It shouldn’t take but a couple of sessions for them to begin to realize they are not getting the attention from you they want. You can use the time to pray, pray a rosary, read the bible, read the catechism. One other thing I would do is clear the room of as many distractions as possible, make them leave personal belongings at the door. Give them time to get bored with with their behavior.
This is not your fault, it takes practice to lead a group of middle school kids. With this class I would move away from the extreme structure of the group. This shouldn’t be a “classroom” type environment. It should be an environment where the kids get the opportunity to discuss their faith.
With unruly kids, silence is a great tool. Let them know up front they will spend their time in your company regardless of how they behave. Tell them your expectation is they have to be there for the amount of time no matter what. An example may be they come in a bit wild, sit in silence. They continue to be unruly, sit in silence. At the end of the class thank them for their time and let them go. It shouldn’t take but a couple of sessions for them to begin to realize they are not getting the attention from you they want. You can use the time to pray, pray a rosary, read the bible, read the catechism. One other thing I would do is clear the room of as many distractions as possible, make them leave personal belongings at the door. Give them time to get bored with with their behavior.
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brishen
Guest
Thank you for your thoughts, we also follow a curriculum, and most of these students are just coming back to CCD for first time since their first communions (in preparation for confirmation next year), and I get them an hour a week so I’m trying to teach them something while also fit in activities, it can be a difficult balance.
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brishen
Guest
Thanks! You make a great suggestion!
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TheLittleLady
Guest
Think about this, almost every kid has something that they love (kids can jump from one thing to another, this year it is dinosaurs, then Pokemon and next year it is football, but, you know what I mean).
When a kid loves something, they fast become experts, giving you the most minuscule details, statistics, trivia.
Parents will say “how can you know everything about the Red Sox but you cannot bring up your grade in math??!!??”
The reason is they love baseball.
It is our job as parents and catechists to get them to the point where they will love Jesus and His Church. When they love Him as much as they love “insert name of current obsession” they will gobble up the catechesis.
When a kid loves something, they fast become experts, giving you the most minuscule details, statistics, trivia.
Parents will say “how can you know everything about the Red Sox but you cannot bring up your grade in math??!!??”
The reason is they love baseball.
It is our job as parents and catechists to get them to the point where they will love Jesus and His Church. When they love Him as much as they love “insert name of current obsession” they will gobble up the catechesis.
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Blessedwithfive
Guest
Been there. Done that. STICK WITH THEM!
A few years ago I had a class from Hell. All boys and one girl. Hugely disrespectful, and they tested me at every minute. They called me the “church lady”. I stuck with them for four years until Confirmation. After Confirmation I continued to see them (at school with my kids) and I sent them letters every once in a while. Fast forward to their senior year in high school and on their second day of school a classmate committed suicide. They called me and asked if I would take them to the funeral. I was shocked…and we all went together…these kids no longer attended Mass but knew they needed God to help them get through it. Later that same year one of the kids had his mom die with out any warning. Again we got together to attend Mass. I pray for that class almost daily and I shutter to think what might have happened if I would have “given up” and given the class to another teacher. One of them even told me that they were “allowed” to leave if I left.
Long story but what I want you to understand is that you are called to be there for them. They need you. Even when they are “bad” they need you and if you stick it out with them you will make a difference, even if you never see it. The lessons you teach (which they don’t seem to listen to) are really making an impression on them.
A few years ago I had a class from Hell. All boys and one girl. Hugely disrespectful, and they tested me at every minute. They called me the “church lady”. I stuck with them for four years until Confirmation. After Confirmation I continued to see them (at school with my kids) and I sent them letters every once in a while. Fast forward to their senior year in high school and on their second day of school a classmate committed suicide. They called me and asked if I would take them to the funeral. I was shocked…and we all went together…these kids no longer attended Mass but knew they needed God to help them get through it. Later that same year one of the kids had his mom die with out any warning. Again we got together to attend Mass. I pray for that class almost daily and I shutter to think what might have happened if I would have “given up” and given the class to another teacher. One of them even told me that they were “allowed” to leave if I left.
Long story but what I want you to understand is that you are called to be there for them. They need you. Even when they are “bad” they need you and if you stick it out with them you will make a difference, even if you never see it. The lessons you teach (which they don’t seem to listen to) are really making an impression on them.
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1ke
Guest
You have them once a week for an hour. Don’t mess around, drop the big bomb. They know how to behave, they do it every day in school.
Expect and demand appropriate behavior and if you don’t get it, send them to the DRE and require a parent come sit with them during class to return.
At that age no one wants mommy or daddy to sit with them. Peer pressure usually works, but I’ve had Mom or Dad come sit in class as necessary. And I’ve sent kids out. Usually that’s all it takes. Mom and Dad don’t want to teach CCD at home.
And if the DRE doesn’t support discipline in the classroom, expectations, and boundaries— and parents being required to ensure proper behavior— you have an entirely different problem.
Worst I’ve had is an ADD kid who didn’t take meds on weekends and was literally a basket case in CCD. Even with a co-teacher we could not control the situation (and I am a teacher by profession). We finally had to have him removed and taught at home. It was better for him, too.
Expect and demand appropriate behavior and if you don’t get it, send them to the DRE and require a parent come sit with them during class to return.
At that age no one wants mommy or daddy to sit with them. Peer pressure usually works, but I’ve had Mom or Dad come sit in class as necessary. And I’ve sent kids out. Usually that’s all it takes. Mom and Dad don’t want to teach CCD at home.
And if the DRE doesn’t support discipline in the classroom, expectations, and boundaries— and parents being required to ensure proper behavior— you have an entirely different problem.
Worst I’ve had is an ADD kid who didn’t take meds on weekends and was literally a basket case in CCD. Even with a co-teacher we could not control the situation (and I am a teacher by profession). We finally had to have him removed and taught at home. It was better for him, too.
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brishen
Guest
Thanks for the reply, I’ve had some conflicting information…some say, and articles I’ve read say make it nothing like school or they will resent it (homework, more orderly, etc)…and I would love to do that if they were a little more into the subject and by that better behaved (as a wise poster mentioned above (sorry, don’t recall your name!), and I can do that with my smaller, latter, co-ed class…Trial & error so far with the all boys class. The irony is the 2 with LD (Autism diagnosed, and ADHD medicated), I’ve yet to see any indication (and I am familiar with the Spectrum,) for the one boy, and the other seems hyper and minus the incessant giggling…a delight.
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