I was shocked

[Zooey]

I was going to stay out of this, but…The teacher’s daughter in me keeps asking, “What is in the syllabus”?
If the syllabus teaches orthodox Catholic doctrine, then any good teacher worth his/her salt will teach orthodox Catholic doctrine. This would include all kinds of people. That is what teachers do: They teach what the syllabi tell them to teach. (This is, by the bye, that homeschoolers can teach all kinds of subjects, including those they know little about
If the syllabus is spouting falsities about Catholicism, then it would take a Catholic theologian to sort it all out.
So, without seeing the syllabus, nobody here, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Hindu, or atheist, has any idea what Lutheranteach is being asked/required to teach.

Is the situation ideal? No, I don’t think that it is.
However, those of you here who have followed my posts over the years, should be aware that it** is** possible for a non-Catholic to understand enough about Catholic share what Catholics truly believe (as opposed to what some people think they believe). I mean, I have been known to argue points of belief & practice that I don’t even agree myslef, if that is what the inquirer needed an answer to, and if the most of you all were asleep…unlike myslef, the :blush:Woman Who Has Always Been A Nightowl.

So, I repeat: The situation isn’t ideal. But it is a long ways from being a case of Lutheranteach attempting to subvert a whole generation of Catholics.

And there are several Catholics here, that I would be delighted to have teaching religion to Methodist children. (Including mine. But Miss Lily Daisy rarely stops chasing mice long enough to listen to a discussion of theology).

But again–and I can’t say this strongly enough: Everything depends on the syllabus.
As usual, my 2 cents is worth approxiamtely…Well…–2 cents.

 

[PaulinVA]

In a senior level religious history, comparative religion, or theology class in high school or college, certainly these topics would be appropriate.

In a junior high religion classroom, they are not appropriate.

We aren’t talking about adults here.

ike, we normally agree, but not this time. Junior high (and high school) is when the discussions come up. It’s when the kids need the information.

If you’re afraid that the information will lead them away from the faith, that is a valid concern. But, it’s always a concern, no matter what the age.

 

[PatriceA]

And just to reiterate, it would be appropriate if only a devout, practicing Catholic taught Catholics regarding these topics–because we want to ensure authenticly Catholic material is being taught to the children

Its a slippery slope. Define “devout, practicing Catholic”. I bet Lutheranteach knows more about the Catholic religion than most of the Catholic teachers at my daughter’s parish school.

 

[Eris_Discordia]

In high school, I honestly didn’t need to know the religion of the teacher. All of my Theology teachers were Catholic, including a man who was in seminary school and almost became a priest. However, I know not all of my teachers were Catholic.

The only thing that really mattered to me, as a student, anyway, was that they taught us, and we learned things. I didn’t care what faith they were, I only cared about I could learning from them. (OK, aside from math, I hated math… )

If you can teach your class well, then you are fine.

 

[JonNC]

=Nicea325;6954041]No offense,but I first cannot understand why a Catholic school would hire a Lutheran?

No offense taken, as I understand your position and question - they’re reasonable! And, of course, that would be a question for the principle and parish priest running the school. One of the Lutheran colleges my daughter considered insisted that all faculty be Lutheran. It is not an unreasonable position for a school connected to a particular communion to make.

Indeed,we share many things in common,but I would believe our differences may or could affect your positions or views about Catholic teachings?

Certainly they may affect our views, but my point was, as a professional teacher, I could without prejudice teach young Catholic Children the teachings of Catholicism, given the right curriculum and guidance, my views notwithstanding. Poster Gurneyhalleck1 is a teacher, and even though he is not Lutheran, I am confident he could teach Lutheran children in much the same way.

Jon

 

[Corki]

Lutheranteach,

Since you asked for our opinion…

I don’t think you should give up teaching language arts. I believe you have stated previously that you teach in a Catholic elementary school. In our diocese, you would not be allowed to teach a Religion class without either over 100 hours of Catholic theology classes or a degree in Theology from a Catholic University. I believe that is a prudent guideline and if you have those credentials and can keep your differences with Catholic teaching out of the classroom, then by all means stay.

My caveat is that there seem to be two people who use your screen name. One is respectful to Catholicism and one is quite agressively hostile to the Church. Leave the latter one at home.

 

[Corki]

In a senior level religious history, comparative religion, or theology class in high school or college, certainly these topics would be appropriate.

In a junior high religion classroom, they are not appropriate.

We aren’t talking about adults here.

I agree with you. However, I live in the Bible belt and have had CCE kids as young as 4th grade who were agressively challenged to defend their faith in social settings. If the class in comparative religions is Catholic-focused and intended to help the kids defend their faith, it’s a good thing. If it is presenting the teachings of the Protestant reformers as some kind of neutral information, it should wait until college (or late high school).

 

[JonNC]

I agree with you. However, I live in the Bible belt and have had CCE kids as young as 4th grade who were agressively challenged to defend their faith in social settings. If the class in comparative religions is Catholic-focused and intended to help the kids defend their faith, it’s a good thing. If it is presenting the teachings of the Protestant reformers as some kind of neutral information, it should wait until college (or late high school).

I would agree with this. When I sent my daughter to Lutheran Catechetical Class, I expected her to receive Lutheran training as the default. When I sent her to a Lutheran college, I expected her to receive an understanding of other communions - to be challenged by them, in fact.

Jon

 

[joandarc2008]

I apologize - I did not realize there were two people that use your screen name.

 

[Nicea325]

No offense taken, as I understand your position and question - they’re reasonable! And, of course, that would be a question for the principle and parish priest running the school. One of the Lutheran colleges my daughter considered insisted that all faculty be Lutheran. It is not an unreasonable position for a school connected to a particular communion to make.

Certainly they may affect our views, but my point was, as a professional teacher, I could without prejudice teach young Catholic Children the teachings of Catholicism, given the right curriculum and guidance, my views notwithstanding. Poster Gurneyhalleck1 is a teacher, and even though he is not Lutheran, I am confident he could teach Lutheran children in much the same way.

Jon

Well understood. By all means,I am not stating you are not the ‘right’ person/teacher. As a parent that would be my biggest concern,but then again I am no one to question any parish or teacher.

 

[Lutheranteach]

I would agree with this. When I sent my daughter to Lutheran Catechetical Class, I expected her to receive Lutheran training as the default. When I sent her to a Lutheran college, I expected her to receive an understanding of other communions - to be challenged by them, in fact.

Jon

When I was in Catechetical class we had to go to temple, attend a mass, and visit at least two other protestant churches for a service and write papers on each experience. We also had to had a sit down interview with a priest, rabbi, or pastor from another protestant church and write a paper about their faith. We did this as 8th graders. I’m not asking any one to go that far (though I wouldn’t mind seeing it) Then again not everyone has to endure catechism classes with The Rev. Karl Fredriech.

 

[Zooey]

When I was in Catechetical class we had to go to temple, attend a mass, and visit at least two other protestant churches for a service and write papers on each experience. We also had to had a sit down interview with a priest, rabbi, or pastor from another protestant church and write a paper about their faith. We did this as 8th graders. I’m not asking any one to go that far (though I wouldn’t mind seeing it) Then again not everyone has to endure catechism classes with The Rev. Karl Fredriech.

This was, IMO, excellent cathechesis. We should** all** be so blessed.

 

[qui_est_ce]

I’m pretty much the opposite of you

In my religion class (in a Catholic School) we had to learn about Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Toaism, and Hinduism. We also learned about Kant and Aristotle. It was interesting, but I really wish that we had learned about Catholicism. Children are so poorly catechized these days, I feel like every opportunity to teach them about Catholicism should be taken. Maybe a unit on different Protestant heresies could be taught, but I feel like the overall emphasis should be on the Catholic Church.

That’s been my experience as well.

Aside from it being a demonstration of extremely poor manners to post the contents of a private message… isn’t it against the CAF rules?

This post, if the contents (a - d) are true, bears repeating:

Anyone who’s been here for any length of time knows who

“Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis”

is.

 

[JonNC]

When I was in Catechetical class we had to go to temple, attend a mass, and visit at least two other protestant churches for a service and write papers on each experience. We also had to had a sit down interview with a priest, rabbi, or pastor from another protestant church and write a paper about their faith. We did this as 8th graders. I’m not asking any one to go that far (though I wouldn’t mind seeing it) Then again not everyone has to endure catechism classes with The Rev. Karl Fredriech.

That’s a remarkable practice. I was not required in such a fashion, but was strongly encouraged to do so once confirmed.

Jon