Arrogance in RCIA

[catholicbudgie]

I was 18 when I did RCIA. So I WAS an obnoxious kid in the room! It didn’t help that I was also the youngest by about 20 years…

I was the one asking the questions. Lots of them. It was interesting, though. In our RCIA class we had a preist who had just come out of a silent monastery, where he’d been for the past 15 years. Obviously he was vell versed on the “god stuff” but was a little hesitant with the social graces required for parish work - which was the reason he was there.

He and I had great fun bouncing points of view around the room.

Don’t worry about asking questions - just don’t be a pain in the neck when you’re doing it.

 

[PKK]

take it from some one who is not a very out spoken person. I will sometimes say what I want, and especially if I think it will help to clarify something. However, most especially when I am trying to learn something, I prefer to sit back and listen, I really like people like you who have the knowledge and are eager to share it and sometimes debate it. Or maybe not even the knowledge, but the desire to know, and keep asking questions, that most of the rest of us want to know, and maybe just don’t know how or what to ask. The only time I don’t care for being around the people who do a lot of the talking is when they are doing it arrogantly. (I am saying this because I am smarter than you, and know more than you, and you are just insignificant). However, from your post I do not believe that you are that type.

 

[jmm08]

seeker63: My class hasn’t started yet, but I share your same worries. For sure I’m not going to talk about any private miracles (like how on June 19 this year Archbishop Sheen got me a copy of his “Life is Worth Living” book – with an upside down cover).

However, as a former classroom teacher I will share some observations.

As a graduate student I sometimes substitute taught certain classes at College. In one Insurance 101 class, it really seemed very difficult to get any response from almost any questions. Either because the material was introductory or because I was too boring the class was almost all asleep.

If your RCIA class is an example of such an extreme case, go ahead and at least provide one person for the teacher to talk to. Otherwise, the poor teacher may feel like they are only talking with a brick wall.

I also taught technology classes for about a year. In those classes, there weren’t problems with one student dominating. But there were sometimes problems with students who didn’t want to be there or students who didn’t want to do any work at all.

Make an appointment (or after some class) talk with your teacher about your concern. I’m sure that they will tell you what they think. And they will be glad that you are trying to be cooperative.

If there are a few others who aren’t sleeping, then yes give them a very good chance and don’t dominate.

I will try very hard to remember (probably along with you) that this is not my RCIA class. And I am not the class leader.