CCD condensed into one week?

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Our parish has two CCD programs for school-age kids: a one-week summer class and a traditional once-a-week class throughout the school year. The one-week option is so popular that they have a single two-hour registration period for it, and it’s first-come-first-serve. This creates the spectacle of parents lining up well before the two-hour window, jockeying for position to make sure their kid gets into the condensed class. Woe to those parents who make the mistake of showing up just before registration closing time, or who can’t make it at all. Their kids will end up in the year-long class. This strikes me as problematic on a few fronts. First, it seems to create a two-tiered system: the “lucky” kids who “get to” cram their CCD classes into one week in the summer, and the “unlucky” ones who have to slog through the traditional weekly program. How motivated are those kids who didn’t make the cut for the summer option? Won’t they automatically feel ripped off and resentful, if they have peers who got their CCD “over with” in the summer? And doesn’t the whole concept then really demean what CCD is supposed to be about? If those summer slots are in such great demand, shouldn’t the parish put more resources into expanding that option so that EVERYONE has a chance to do it? Or, to take a different view, how can CCD be crammed into five three-hour days without losing huge chunks of relevancy and impact? And finally, if you must have two sessions, shouldn’t you draw names to select the coveted summer slots? Much more fair than first-come, first-served.
 
Trying to teach something substantial when the kids are only there for an hour a week seems next to impossible. What could you possibly cover in one week?

Having a summer session that’s something like Vacation Bible School seems like a good thing – but that would be an extra, not a substitute.
 
without knowing what the summer program consists of I cannot possibly speculate. How long are the sessions, what is covered, who teaches it, how is it taught. Why was this option offered in the first place. I can think of one possibility. Here the state testing mandates in public school mean that at least half our kids go into Saturday morning or after school tutoring for at least half the year, which decimates our CCD programs. That is not even taking into account competition from sports and other activities.

If the choice is an intensive short term period of instruction vs no instruction, it might make sense. Not optimal but at least something. Any sacramental prep would be another story of course, but if we are talking about RE for kids who have already made first communion it might be a possibility. Similar to “family programs” where it is once a month for a longer period, rather than an hour or so a week. Need more details on OPs situation.
 
The summer session is one week from 9 am to 1 pm, I believe. And that includes Mass. It’s taught by volunteer catechists. When I asked why they didn’t offer more slots in light of the huge demand, the DRE basically said they wouldn’t have enough people volunteer to teach it. I can certainly understand that.

Yes, weekly CCD does compete with sports, scouting, music/dance lessons and all those other weeknight activities. I suppose there are many families in the parish who simply don’t have their child participate at all in religious ed at all if they don’t get into the one-week summer class.

There’s just something odd about offering it as an option, I think. Esp. when the parish knows it can’t accommodate everyone.
 
As long as the Diocise approves this type of program and it works… 👍
 
I have never heard of anything like this before. It would be interesting to test the knowledge of kids who attend weekly during to school year against the knowledge of the kids who attend the one week intensive program. This would give an indication of how effective the one week program is.

My parish is also changing the it’s religious education program. K-3 and 7-8 will have class after the 10am Sunday mass (class from 11:45am - 1pm). 4-6 will be doing a home study program and will meet about once a month for testing to make sure they are are following the home study program.

Previously, K-3 was after school on Tuesdays, 4-6 was after school on Thursdays and 7-8 was in the evening on Thursdays.

The positive side of this change is that the parents will have no excuse for not taking their children to Sunday mass as they have to keep the day free due to religious education being in the middle of Sunday.

The only difficulty I see with this change will require revamping of the EMHC and alter server schedules. Non-parochial school children in 7-8 who are alter servers at the 11:30am mass while have to be moved to the 10am mass. Parent’s of K-3 and 7-8 non-parochial school children who are EMHCs will have to be moved to 10am mass. As it has always been hard to get enough EMHCs for the 11:30am mass this change will be a challenge.
 
Personally, I think it would be better to educate the parents and have them educate their kids. Then, they could receive religious ed all year round in all the teachable moments!!
 
leonie said:
Personally, I think it would be better to educate the parents and have them educate their kids. Then, they could receive religious ed all year round in all the teachable moments!!
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That would be ideal…if you could get the parents to come. A lot of them think they’re doing more than enough by dropping their kids off once a week.
 
leonie said:
Personally, I think it would be better to educate the parents and have them educate their kids. Then, they could receive religious ed all year round in all the teachable moments!!
Click to expand...
Our former DRE tired to get a family catechesis program going. Not enough parents interested. —KCT
 
Our parish uses the Generations of Faith program and it seems to work well. It consist of both adult education and childrens education. My only problem with it is my education level is far above most of the other adults in the program so the adults programs for me are kind of boring. And I’m not the teaching type, so that isn’t an option. But I do attend for the small group sessions so I can help out in that way.
 
if these foreshortened programs are happening in your parish because of a shortage of catechists, I guess we know what our next move should be. Volunteer yourself and help your DRE recruit more catechists.
 
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