Catechesis in Catholic Schools

[BeeSweet]

My kids attend a public school, and I wondered if religion is a part of the daily curriculum in a catholic school. Is there a set period of each day devoted to catechisis in a catholic school?

 

[Richard_White]

I went to Catholic schools my entire life: elementary, middle, and high school. I am even attending a Catholic college as we speak. So, yes, there is a religion class everyday that we would attend to learn about the Holy Catholic Faith!

May God bless you and your children forever!

 

[bitterhope]

Truthfully it all depends on the individual school. One I attended had Mass everyday and daily religion class. The high school had daily religion but only two Masses a year. The school at my current parish is preK-8 and they have religion twice a week and one monthly Mass. Check the school you are interested in to see what they do.

 

[mommy_k]

Yes, religion class everyday.

In addition-they have daily morning prayer, pray before lunch, say a decade of the rosary after recess and later afternoon prayer

 

[Corki]

My kids attend a public school, and I wondered if religion is a part of the daily curriculum in a catholic school. Is there a set period of each day devoted to catechisis in a catholic school?

Our experience.

Elementary school = religion class 4 days a week and Mass on the 5th

High School - due to block schedule, Theology class every other day, Mass once a week and daily prayer (morning, before lunch, before dismissal and to start many classes).

 

[1990Domer]

They may teach catechism, but do they live and affirm it? Do they show Christ’s compassion to all children. Do they encourage the same compassion? Or do the rote prayers and teachings go in one ear and out the other?

I don’t know too many schools that live the faith as well as teach the faith. Sadly, in our area, there are more Catholic school kids in counseling for bullying or isolation related issues. Jesus ate with the sinners. These kids act more like the rich kings whose spare scraps of food were their only compassion.

Sorry…full disclosure. I hope the Catholic school my son attended closes. The poor kid is still suffering from severe depression and thoughts of ending his life. We may need to change parishes.

 

[Regina7]

The school my kids attended (2different Catholic ones) had religion every day. BUT, only religion class used religious books. Reading, science, history, etc were secular in content. There are so many amazing Catholic science, history, reading, etc books out there, but my diocese (and the one I grew up in, which is one of largest in US) uses all secular textbooks. So, religion was half an hour a day, and that was it. The kids didn’t read saint stories for reading or have the saints or Church history as part of history.

 

[commenter]

My kids attend a public school, and I wondered if religion is a part of the daily curriculum in a catholic school. Is there a set period of each day devoted to catechisis in a catholic school?

It mostly depends on the teachers and administrators as to whether the Catholic religion is imparted daily, and not just in religion class. There is a huge variation.

Ideally, Catholic education is not just a way of looking at certain things, but a changed, a converted, way of looking at everything. This is built in many ways. Daily prayer, regular liturgy, and a loving faculty are the heart of it. There is a wide variety of textbooks. The good ones draw heavily from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The bad ones emphasize feelings, or attitudes, and put the doctrinal content in an appendix, which usually doesn’t get taught. Check out the schools in your area, ask them what religion text they use. Just because it has an “imprimatur” is no guarantee, though it should have that.

In the great majority of cases, the Catholic school will do a much better job of teaching religion than sending to public school, with CCD. But remember the school is only a supplement to the direct, doctrinal instruction they should be getting at home. Yes, parents do “teach” by good example, but there is a lot more. Pray for guidance!

Catholic home schooling is also an excellent option, probably the best of all. Look into it. There are far more resources and supports now than just a few years ago.

 

[BrightLights]

As the other answers have said, it depends on the school whether or not it is everyday. Where I live, religion will definitely be taught at Catholic schools and is a compulsory subject, just as English is also.

Also, I assume you’re asking this because you’re sending your child to Catholic school? Just a note that please do not take ‘average’ marks in religion to mean less of a dedication to the faith. I’d say of the top 10 best religion students in my grade (that which I’m definitely not a part of), that most of them are atheists or agnostics. I live in a highly secular country, so this is quite normal, but still

 

[1990Domer]

They may teach catechism, but do they live and affirm it? Do they show Christ’s compassion to all children. Do they encourage the same compassion? Or do the rote prayers and teachings go in one ear and out the other?

I don’t know too many schools that live the faith as well as teach the faith. Sadly, in our area, there are more Catholic school kids in counseling for bullying or isolation related issues. Jesus ate with the sinners. These kids act more like the rich kings whose spare scraps of food were their only compassion.

Sorry…full disclosure. I hope the Catholic school my son attended closes. The poor kid is still suffering from severe depression and thoughts of ending his life. We may need to change parishes.

I should add he had religion every day, morning, noon and afternoon prayers, but DS was mocked for being the first kid to memorize the WMOF prayer. Teachers have to show compassion to the injured child and then deal with attitudes that led to the mocking. Otherwise, chaos ensues.

My compassion talk is in 7 days! Compassion with an emphasis of minimizing taunting, isolation, rumors, etc.

 

[BeeSweet]

Thanks for all your replies! I’m asking because my kids attend public school. I can’t afford catholic school right now.

I have them in two CCE programs, one at our parish on Sundays, and another at their school as an after school program once a week. I’m signing them up for a third program at a parish close to home which has a weekday class we can fit in our schedule. I wondered if this qualifies me as crazy catholic mom! I’m divorced, and the kids are exposed to some undesirable circumstances at their dad’s place (live in girlfriend, little supervision…), so I’m putting forth as much effort as I can to train them up in the way they should go. The three churches all use different curriculums.

I’m just curious if I am a bit crazy.

 

[bitterhope]

Thanks for all your replies! I’m asking because my kids attend public school. I can’t afford catholic school right now.

I have them in two CCE programs, one at our parish on Sundays, and another at their school as an after school program once a week. I’m signing them up for a third program at a parish close to home which has a weekday class we can fit in our schedule. I wondered if this qualifies me as crazy catholic mom! I’m divorced, and the kids are exposed to some undesirable circumstances at their dad’s place (live in girlfriend, little supervision…), so I’m putting forth as much effort as I can to train them up in the way they should go. The three churches all use different curriculums.

I’m just curious if I am a bit crazy.

I think you are a thoughtful mom doing the best you can in the circumstances you have to deal with. That’s not crazy and it’s all anybody can do. If your kids are benefitting from the religious programs and they are not resentful about things then I think it’s a good thing. If they are pushing back from them it might be time to easy off so they don’t use their faith as a reason to rebel. My kids love youth group and Sunday school and can’t wait to go, but many parents have told me their kids don’t like it and find ways to get out of it. I know as a teenager one of my brothers hated anything to do with church and my parents ended up letting him quit religious ed and youth group instead if fighting him about it. He’s the only one of us siblings to go through this, and believe it or not, he’s now in a monastery. He’s the only one with a religious calling. It’s not unheard of for parents to force feed religion and cause resentment, but more often parents tend to be too lax and not provide enough opportunities for their kids to learn. Watch your kids and you will be able to tell if you are needing to ease up or not. And if they do walk away for a little don’t panic or blame yourself. My brother is proof they may come back stronger than you ever thought possible. Pray for your kids, and pray to their guardian angels.