Having trouble with my Confirmation class!

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MrsE1022

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Anyone have advice for a Parish Religious Education Teacher?

I teach a class preparing for Confirmation and I have found that my students are so completely worldly! They have been taught by the world that religion is silly, abortion is ok, that all forms of Christianity are equal. I’m working hard to teach them the Truth but some days I am so discouraged.

They really struggle with understanding the true spiritual gift they are about to receive and understanding that their Church is THE church founded by Christ (they did not even understand what The Church was in a general sense, they thought that Jesus had built an actual building somewhere to be the first church and it took a half hour to explain that the church is a universal group of believers not an actual building somewhere!)

Looking for some advice and encouragement:)
 
MrsE1022 said:
Anyone have advice for a Parish Religious Education Teacher?
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go into computer programming or selling Amway?:confused:

but srsly folks

read the parable of the Sower
read it every day
pray with it every day

you are to sow the seed, someone else is in charge of watering, cultivating, weeding, harvesting and putting the crop to use.

“they have been taught” you say
taught by whom? if you mean the parents, take every chance to meet the parents, talk to them, listen to them (it is btw like pulling teeth to get HS and middle school parents involved in anything and parent meetings are a joke)

don’t try to be a pal or immerse yourself in their culture it can be soul-destroying, but you do have to know what is going on in their world, what they face, challenges that we as youth never had to face, and knowledge we never had to deal with that young.

Our mandatory Touching Safety presentation tonight for 9th grade is on Teen Relationships and setting boundaries, and I just got word a couple of kids will be missing because they got beat up at school by gang members because somebody dated the wrong girl.

take every chance you can for any training or workshops offered in your diocese for youth ministry because those presentations can keep you in touch and connected with your students.

teach what you have been told to teach, with the curriculum that has been given to you. It is very hard to get them in Confirmation II and find out for the last 3 years they have learned nothing but the rosary since 3 successive teachers felt that was most important and disregarded the prescribed curriculum. It is certainly important, but not the only thing Confirmation candidates need for background in the faith.

Most important, you are to teach faith, not doubt. If you have doubts and faith issues keep them to yourself. Don’t bring up the controversies and scandals, just teach the straight truth.
 
MrsE1022 said:
Anyone have advice for a Parish Religious Education Teacher?

I teach a class preparing for Confirmation and I have found that my students are so completely worldly! They have been taught by the world that religion is silly, abortion is ok, that all forms of Christianity are equal. I’m working hard to teach them the Truth but some days I am so discouraged.

They really struggle with understanding the true spiritual gift they are about to receive and understanding that their Church is THE church founded by Christ (they did not even understand what The Church was in a general sense, they thought that Jesus had built an actual building somewhere to be the first church and it took a half hour to explain that the church is a universal group of believers not an actual building somewhere!)

Looking for some advice and encouragement:)
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Watch the end of the movie “The Emperor’s Club”. It will put your vocation in perspective, it really helped me out a lot. I teach a pre-confirmation class for 9th grades.
 
puzzleannie said:
“they have been taught” you say
taught by whom? if you mean the parents, take every chance to meet the parents, talk to them, listen to them (it is btw like pulling teeth to get HS and middle school parents involved in anything and parent meetings are a joke) .
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Ain’t that the truth! Their parents are the worst, they never answer my emails and for some reason have no inclination to actually participate in this process with their children, with a few exceptions of course, thank God.

They have been programmed by their school and their friends. Its sad but they believe everything their teachers say about political and social issues and let their friends teach them morality.

Its an uphill battle but one that God has called me to. I’ll never give up 🙂 Thanks for the advice!
 
Sigh, more and more Catholics are pro choice and its alarming.
 
How has your confirmation made a difference in your life? Share that with them. Have there been times when the grace and gifts you received really made a difference in your life? Share that with them.
You are desperately trying to share Truth with them. What is truth? Share that with them! Kids this age are starving for truth. Talk with them about where they find truth, and is it really truth they are finding? Are their “truths” really setting them free?

Pray to St. Dominic who ran after VERITAS-truth.
And remember it’s more than cliche’ that if we reach one it’s worth it.
 
Consider drawing a timeline and start with the Church at the very beginning, then show each spot where the “breaks” happened, i.e. Luther, Wesley, etc. That graphic may stick with them a little better than just telling them.
 
MrsE, I also teach a Confirmation class, and I can sympathize with you. But Puzzleannie is right, keep the parable of the sower on the front burner of your mind ALL THE TIME to inspire you.

Keep sowing the seed as best you can . You are not producing the final product, but are one stop on the religious education conveyor belt of their lives. Let that one stop be as effective as you can possibly make it. You will be surprised at what might stick and be remembered years down the road, and make a difference in their faith lives at that time.

There’s a poem I once read that talks about this, that in teaching the faith, we work on the project but never get to see the outcome. We can only trust the Lord.
 
Make an effort to engage kids on an emotional level - talk with them, not to them from “the book” - ask questions, answer their questions using the Catechism and Scripture, you will surprised how much they want to know.

And read the parable of the sower 😃
 
I will pray for you, and I encourage you n out to despair. I start teaching RCIA tomorrow! It was s challenge teaching them because of the preconceptions that they had about the Church, especially with the whole sex abuse scandal.
 
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