Confirmation 2 Small Group

[RyanK]

So I’m running a confirmation 2 small group and today was my first day doing it. First I must say that it is a blessing from God that I have such a great opportunity to do such and that God has given me the graces to be able to do so. But today didn’t go so well. The topic was: Why Confirmation? And basically I introduced myself and then went around and had each student introduce themselves but what ended up happening was that each question I asked I only got one word answers to, and I don’t mind that a lot of kids don’t want to be there, but it was kinda hard to keep things flowing because the group was about the size of 10-15 kids, due to a lack of volunteers, and the questions that I had with me were too bland to become conversation starters. Now in our program the small groups are rotating each week to a different leader, so I won’t have the same group in 2 weeks that I had last week (confirmation is every other week). So what I really want is for my group to be the group that everyone gets something out of and has fun with as well. So what I’m asking for is if anyone has any ideas or advice for me to help make things more fun and meaningful for the students I would appreciate it immensely! Even if you’ve only gone through confirmation, based on your experiences what would you have liked to happen?

 

[Corki]

What is Confirmation 2?

 

[RyanK]

What is Confirmation 2?

Confirmation 2 is for 10th graders whereas confirmation 1 is for 9th graders.

 

[1ke]

I think to give constructive feedback, we would need to know more about your program. Such as:

What is the purpose of the rotation?
How does this rotation work? For example, is each group doing the same lesson that week, split into small groups, or do you teach one lesson week after week with the groups rotating to you for that lesson?
How long is each session? How many sessions?
What have they already covered? You reference Confirmation 2, so what is done in Confirmation 1?
What grades/ages are the students?
What are the topics you are teaching? Is there a book you are to use, a syllabus to follow, or some parish or diocesan guidelines?

 

[jmcrae]

So I’m running a confirmation 2 small group and today was my first day doing it. First I must say that it is a blessing from God that I have such a great opportunity to do such and that God has given me the graces to be able to do so. But today didn’t go so well. The topic was: Why Confirmation? And basically I introduced myself and then went around and had each student introduce themselves but what ended up happening was that each question I asked I only got one word answers to, and I don’t mind that a lot of kids don’t want to be there, but it was kinda hard to keep things flowing because the group was about the size of 10-15 kids, due to a lack of volunteers, and the questions that I had with me were too bland to become conversation starters. Now in our program the small groups are rotating each week to a different leader, so I won’t have the same group in 2 weeks that I had last week (confirmation is every other week). So what I really want is for my group to be the group that everyone gets something out of and has fun with as well. So what I’m asking for is if anyone has any ideas or advice for me to help make things more fun and meaningful for the students I would appreciate it immensely! Even if you’ve only gone through confirmation, based on your experiences what would you have liked to happen?

Since it was only the first day, the kids didn’t know you, and they didn’t know each other (I expect) so they would not have wanted to open up and share anything personal.

If you want the kids to trust you and trust each other, they need to get to know each other a bit, first. One thing you can do is provide them with safe opportunities to do that, by letting them play games and do ice-breakers - not for the whole meeting, but maybe for either the first or the last ten minutes of each meeting.

Once they’ve had some fun together and learned some harmless things about each other, they’ll be more ready to share their deeper thoughts and feelings together.

 

[RyanK]

I think to give constructive feedback, we would need to know more about your program. Such as:

What is the purpose of the rotation?
How does this rotation work? For example, is each group doing the same lesson that week, split into small groups, or do you teach one lesson week after week with the groups rotating to you for that lesson?
How long is each session? How many sessions?
What have they already covered? You reference Confirmation 2, so what is done in Confirmation 1?
What grades/ages are the students?
What are the topics you are teaching? Is there a book you are to use, a syllabus to follow, or some parish or diocesan guidelines?

Well, the group starts off in one big group, all of the 10th graders and is run by the religious ed director. Then after the “proclaim” they break off into 18 separate small groups. The proclaim is about 30-45 minutes and the small groups are for about 15-20 minutes. Confirmation 1 is separate from Confirmation 2, I work with confirmation 2 and all I do is lead one of the small groups. Confirmation 2 is for all the 10th graders, so ages are from 14-16. The way we rotate is the 18 small groups stay together with the same kids each week, but they alternate leaders each week (i.e. they’re with me this week, they’ll be with a different adult leader next week). The reason this is done is so that if a student and teacher don’t get along they don’t have to suffer through it for the entire year. The topic we just covered was “Why confirmation?” and basically it just covered the basics of confirmation, next week’s topic is “Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” In regards to guidelines, the only thing we, as small group leaders get is a half sheet of paper with the schedule and about 3 questions on it for small group discussion. So it’s tough to kinda just wing questions on the spot and I felt that a lot of the questions were a bit general so it didn’t leave for much conversation. I hope that’s a good background to work off of!

Since it was only the first day, the kids didn’t know you, and they didn’t know each other (I expect) so they would not have wanted to open up and share anything personal.

If you want the kids to trust you and trust each other, they need to get to know each other a bit, first. One thing you can do is provide them with safe opportunities to do that, by letting them play games and do ice-breakers - not for the whole meeting, but maybe for either the first or the last ten minutes of each meeting.

Once they’ve had some fun together and learned some harmless things about each other, they’ll be more ready to share their deeper thoughts and feelings together.

The only problem with getting to know the students more is that I won’t ever see the same group of students 2 weeks in a row, since we alternate each week, and I would love to do all of that other stuff but I’m not in charge of that stuff. Thanks though, I appreciate the advice! =]

 

[1ke]

Well, the group starts off in one big group, all of the 10th graders and is run by the religious ed director. Then after the “proclaim” they break off into 18 separate small groups. The proclaim is about 30-45 minutes and the small groups are for about 15-20 minutes. Confirmation 1 is separate from Confirmation 2, I work with confirmation 2 and all I do is lead one of the small groups. Confirmation 2 is for all the 10th graders, so ages are from 14-16. The way we rotate is the 18 small groups stay together with the same kids each week, but they alternate leaders each week (i.e. they’re with me this week, they’ll be with a different adult leader next week). The reason this is done is so that if a student and teacher don’t get along they don’t have to suffer through it for the entire year. The topic we just covered was “Why confirmation?” and basically it just covered the basics of confirmation, next week’s topic is “Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” In regards to guidelines, the only thing we, as small group leaders get is a half sheet of paper with the schedule and about 3 questions on it for small group discussion. So it’s tough to kinda just wing questions on the spot and I felt that a lot of the questions were a bit general so it didn’t leave for much conversation. I hope that’s a good background to work off of!

Yes, and a very disheartening one, too. Seriously, this is your confirmation program? This is about the **worst **way to teach this age group imaginable. It doesn’t sound like your religious ed director knows a thing about kids.

“Proclaiming” to a group of over 200 teens for 45 minutes? That’s crazy.

And, since you are going to have a new group each week and only have 15-20 minutes, I don’t see how you are going to gain trust and rapport in that timeframe or what you can accomplish in 15 minutes. It makes more sense to have 18 classes of kids and a teacher. The director doesn’t want a kid to get “stuck” with a teacher they don’t like so they come up with this instead? Give me a break-- this person sounds totally unqualified to do this job.

Frankly, you need to discuss this with your director and/or the pastor. This is a waste of everyone’s time.

The only problem with getting to know the students more is that I won’t ever see the same group of students 2 weeks in a row, since we alternate each week, and I would love to do all of that other stuff but I’m not in charge of that stuff. Thanks though, I appreciate the advice! =]

I would work to change the program. This is a terrible program.

 

[RyanK]

Yes, and a very disheartening one, too. Seriously, this is your confirmation program? This is about the **worst **way to teach this age group imaginable. It doesn’t sound like your religious ed director knows a thing about kids.

“Proclaiming” to a group of over 200 teens for 45 minutes? That’s crazy.

And, since you are going to have a new group each week and only have 15-20 minutes, I don’t see how you are going to gain trust and rapport in that timeframe or what you can accomplish in 15 minutes. It makes more sense to have 18 classes of kids and a teacher. The director doesn’t want a kid to get “stuck” with a teacher they don’t like so they come up with this instead? Give me a break-- this person sounds totally unqualified to do this job.

Frankly, you need to discuss this with your director and/or the pastor. This is a waste of everyone’s time.

I would work to change the program. This is a terrible program.

Well, I respect your opinion but I’m only 19 years old. lol. So I don’t think I’ll be the one to try and take over or direct them how to run it, I’m only there to help out. Also, the director is a great guy and although the way things are run is a bit different, the way he proclaims is great. He knows how to make things fun, interactive, as well as informative all at the same time. Honestly, I think he’s doing a great job running the entire religious ed department, that includes 1st-10th grade as well as two youth groups. He’s got a lot on his plate and he is at work everyday of the week from 11am to 12am. Our pastor, who also does amazing work for the entire parish (our parish is one of if not the most successful in the area in regards to number of families, amount of activity, and amount of attendance), is the one who chose him and he is very picky in regards to choosing people to work for him so I trust that he picked someone who is fully qualified. So please don’t disrespect our religious ed director or the way he runs things. I don’t want to be the one to tell him how to direct things, especially since things just started. I’m there to help regardless of how he runs things so I’m just looking for some suggestions as to how I can do my part better.

 

[1ke]

Well, Ryan, dedication and effectiveness are two different things. This approach does not appear effective based on the information you provided.

I am sorry, I do not have any ideas on how to make a 15 minute question session more effective with teenagers that you have never met before and who you will not have again in your group. They aren’t likely to open up in such circumstances. So, just do the best you can and be prepared with examples and conversation starters.

If your examples and conversation starters don’t start any actual conversations, then I suggest you talk it over with the director and give him feedback on how this process is working or not working so that changes can be incorporated.

 

[waterbrook]

the key is to structure the questions carefully: simple recall through to personal response and try pairing students to talk together then pair the pairs and finally come together as a group to discuss responses both techniques will help build confidence.

 

[RyanK]

Well, Ryan, dedication and effectiveness are two different things. This approach does not appear effective based on the information you provided.

I am sorry, I do not have any ideas on how to make a 15 minute question session more effective with teenagers that you have never met before and who you will not have again in your group. They aren’t likely to open up in such circumstances. So, just do the best you can and be prepared with examples and conversation starters.

If your examples and conversation starters don’t start any actual conversations, then I suggest you talk it over with the director and give him feedback on how this process is working or not working so that changes can be incorporated.

Alright, that’s actually a good idea. If time progresses and things aren’t going well, I’ll talk with him. Thanks for the advice! =]

the key is to structure the questions carefully: simple recall through to personal response and try pairing students to talk together then pair the pairs and finally come together as a group to discuss responses both techniques will help build confidence.

Alright, I’ll try those! Thanks!