Is your religious education program successful?

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I have been teaching 8th grade Faith Formation classes at an OF parish for 4 years now. Students study OT in 6th grade, NT in 7th grade, & Catholic Church in 8th grade.

I don’t really feel like our program is successful. That is, I don’t feel like the kids learn much. I could give many examples, but a quick scan of this forum indicates that many other catechists already know what I mean.

Furthermore, there are many indications that people know that catechesis has been dismal for at least a generation. E.g., at this parish announcements asking for volunteers always mention that helpful materials are available for prospective volunteers who don’t know much.

Are other catechists or faith formation teachers doing better?


  1. *]Is your program successful?
    *]By what criteria or measurement?
    *]Concrete or quantifiable evidence of success?
    *]If you have a successful program, what’s the secret? What do you think makes it successful?

    TIA. ASD​

    Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar
 
I taught CCD for 10 years and I encountered the same issue. Parents use CCD or other faith based education as the “sole” source of faith foundation. Very few have any home prayers or teaching or follow up. I tried to consistantly invite and encourage parents to come to the class, hear what was being taught and use that for the home teaching as well. Maybe one or two came randomly.
However, the year I left - sold home changed parishes - the parish finally got tough and informed parents that their children could not attend CCD without knowing specific prayers and teachings of the faith. The children would be tested and if they could not answer, then it was up to the parents to teach them the basics, and then return them to CCD.
Don’t know how it worked as I left, but I was all for it.
 
The problem is that many parents just don’t see religion as that important. When we tell them they have to bring their children to Mass, they get angry and tell us we are not their parents. They don’t come to parent meetings, they don 't make their kids do CCD homework, they don’t reinforce the lessons, they keep their kids out of CCD because of sports but then make demands that you have to provide them with sacraments (that they really don’t care about to begin with…it’s just a cultural thing). So you can’t really blame the parish. We do our best and it is frustrating for us. Even some of our catechists don’t come to meetings and some don’t even come to Mass each week…But we have no one else to teach CCD. So what are we to do? There has to be a better way.
 
The problems are universal. I struggle with teaching confirmation and stating that the youth have an adequate understanding of their faith. Cannot tell you about our struggles but they are many! My only advice is to know that our Lord is the giver of grace and we can only plant the seeds. It is up to God and the kids and families to tend their faith gardens. Praying for you and all Catechists…
-Crystal
 
I’m teaching the first reconciliation and first communion class this year. Of the kids in my class, one is my own, two belong to a mother who doesn’t believe that confession is necessary or that Christ is present in the Eucharist, one does not go to mass (his parents just drop him off and pick him up from class), and the other two don’t have any obvious issues to deal with. Of the six, at the beginning of the year, four knew the Lord’s prayer, two knew the Hail Mary, and only one knew the Glory Be. All of the children (except my own) said that the only time they pray at home is before eating. I have been told that one parent will pull the kids out if hell is mentioned. Two parents have said hello to me once or twice- and one of those is a childhood friend of my wife.

There’s no program we could develop to fix these problems. Saint John Vianney knows the way, and I suppose that all I can do is spend my nights praying to him to intercede for our pastor so that our parish can experience a renewal across the board.
 
Well, it’s a small thing, but my current measure of success is that one of my 8th grade boys has been bugging his mom to buy him a bible for two weeks now. And, she called me to ask about getting one for him.

👍

I take my victories where I find them.
 
In our area, I think people/parents/the congregation expect too much out of CCD. How much is student going to learn about anything, no matter what the subject, in 22 one hour classes, several of which are parties and service projects? (Not that I think those are useless, they just aren’t instructive). Did I mention that no homework is assigned?

If the parish wants the kids to get more out of CCD, it’s going to have to change the program significantly. What I don’t understand is why the parents who really want and need a good CCD program don’t get involved and make it better. Maybe they are just taking it for what it is worth and then doing the rest at home.

I’d love to hear a good story of a parish doing just that… maybe you all have one for me.
 
This year I am serving as an 8th grade Confirmation catechist. I am the Asst DRE as well. My 8th grade class is awesome! We have deep discussions, they are prayerful, they enjoy community service. Our Confirmation program has been popular and successful for many years.

However, the only true measurement can be taken by God. I know that many of our kids remain active in the parish and continue to go to Mass. This however is not the best indicator because it is up to their often apathetic parents.
 
Our son is about to enter CCD and while I will freely admit I don’t know very much about the Catholic Church I am starting RCIA soon.

I would like, however, to tell you something from deep within my heart. I know how hard it is to work with children and have their parents not participate or be involved in the process. I work weekly with children in a different environment and spend 49% of my time dealing with ADHD behavior and 49% of my time dealing with poor manners and behaviors. The other 2% are dedicated to what we should be accomplishing.

Please take heart that this isn’t just an issue in CCD. It’s an issue across education from the traditional classroom to private school to religious education in all denominations to extracurricular activities. I was shocked to recently learn that of all the church going children we are friends with, our son is the ONLY one with his own Bible (he actually has 2!).

A revival must take place in the parent’s hearts for CCD and other programs to be better. We’re fighting for the minds and souls of these children against television, music, and constant cultural influences that pull them away from Christ.

That said, please take heart in the next piece of this. In the children I work with weekly, ONE stands out to me. He’s courteous and kind. On time, minds his manners. He’s respectful and thoughtful of others. He engages deeply in thought, places himself in a position where he is setting the example for others and genuinely makes every last attempt to rise above the ruckus to a higher standard of existing on this earth.

I’m happy to tell you, he is my ONLY Catholic youth and is currently in CCD.
 
ASD said:
I have been teaching 8th grade Faith Formation classes at an OF parish for 4 years now. Students study OT in 6th grade, NT in 7th grade, & Catholic Church in 8th grade.

I don’t really feel like our program is successful. That is, I don’t feel like the kids learn much. I
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maybe it is not, but don’t blame yourself, the other catechists, the director, the pastor, or even the children

I would replace your poll with these questions:

are the parents of your students practicing Catholics? are they in stable sacramental marriages, or living in harmony with Catholic teaching if they are single parents?

are these children attending Mass? in other words, do their parents take them to Mass?

if the answer to either of these questions is “no” your chances of success are slim to none, and any success you do have is the work of the Holy Spirit because it is a miracle.

as far as “success” goes, I cling to the words of Mother Teresa. I am not called to be successful I am called to be faithful, that is to do my duty with every ounce of my strength, mind, heart and will to transmit the Faith to our children, youth and families.

I measure success one student, one candidate, one parent, one sponsor, and one catechist, at a time.

the most troublesome and trouble confirmation candidate who professes atheism at the beginning of the program, is disruptive in class, questions everything, but attends because his parents require it, is confirmed after an interview with the pastor because neither I, the catechist nor the sponsor feel is at all ready. He returns to study apologetics at the college level (while still a HS student), participates in bible study and is a throroughly reliable, orthodox, helpful aide in a class for younger children, and keeps his younger siblings involved in CCD, and according to his mother has turned around his behavior at home and school.

the child facing grave illness who is confirmed, receives communion and anointing of the sick before going into surgery, and whose grandfather, aunt, mother and sibling return to the practice of the faith as a result of the pastor’s caring for her needs at this time.

the dozens of marriages convalidated in the course of either partner or their children preparing for sacraments of initiation

parents who return after the required basic faith formation series because they are hungry for more and deeper study of doctrine and scripture

the catechists moving on to more and deeper formation and into more demanding ministries, in some cases even to religious vocations.
 
I started teaching CCD this year. I have a class of teenagers to prepare for first Holy Communion, and another class of teenagers in their second year of Confirmation. Most are Hispanic, low income, from families not in stable sacramental marriages, and often unemployed.

We have a new rector and relatively new DRE. We’ve put a few new procedures in place. Students are required to attend Mass. If they miss three Masses, they are out of the class. If they miss three classes, they are out of the class. We use the same excuses for missed Mass as the Church. I’ve let every kid and parent know that I’ll work one-on-one with kids outside of class if they have some conflict.

I assign homework every week, including the first week. They are becoming accustomed to that. I require them to discuss and present their homework answers. We are not at all shy about teaching moral issues. I’ve already spent an entire hour talking about contraception, pre-marital sex, and abortion. I’ll spend a few more hours talking about chastity. Most of these kids have never heard that extra-marital sex is a mortal sin. We have a dress code (I wrote it); no shorts, no low-cut tops, no underwear showing, no sweatclothing, no gang attire, no cleavage showing, no excessively tight or baggy clothing. The students comply, or they wear a choir robe to class. (I wanted to use potato sacks, but the rector is a softy:D)

We use a Mass attendance form. The students have to write a short paragraph about the homily and get the priest’s signature. The priests love it–they are getting to know all the CCD kids. The written paragraph is good homework, and a good chance for me to work with individual students on writing skills, which they all need.

Turns out that the same kids with Mass/class attendance issues are the ones that are disruptive, rude, and inattentive in class. I’ve talked individually with each of these students to try to encourage them to respect their classmates.

After five weeks of class, we’ve already trimmed four kids from the class. I had our rector talk to the kids about the importance of attending Mass during week 2. The DRE called the parents after missed Mass (or missed class) #2. The DRE and the rector met with the parents after miss #3, and encouraged the parents to help the kids mature and try again next year. Their disruptive behavior was dragging down the other students, especially the “on the edge” students. If any of these kids indicated that they cared about the class and confirmation and were ready to start attending Mass, I would take them back in. One did, four did not.

It is absolutely wonderful to have an orthodox, firm rector in synch with a firm DRE. Hold the kids to high standards, require that they respect one another and behave as Christians, teach them the real meat of the faith, don’t be shy about honestly covering tough subjects, and love them. It’s working.
 
GwenL said:
I started teaching CCD this year. I have a class of teenagers to prepare for first Holy Communion, and another class of teenagers in their second year of Confirmation. Most are Hispanic, low income, from families not in stable sacramental marriages, and often unemployed.

We have a new rector and relatively new DRE. We’ve put a few new procedures in place. Students are required to attend Mass. If they miss three Masses, they are out of the class. If they miss three classes, they are out of the class. We use the same excuses for missed Mass as the Church. I’ve let every kid and parent know that I’ll work one-on-one with kids outside of class if they have some conflict.

I assign homework every week, including the first week. They are becoming accustomed to that. I require them to discuss and present their homework answers. We are not at all shy about teaching moral issues. I’ve already spent an entire hour talking about contraception, pre-marital sex, and abortion. I’ll spend a few more hours talking about chastity. Most of these kids have never heard that extra-marital sex is a mortal sin. We have a dress code (I wrote it); no shorts, no low-cut tops, no underwear showing, no sweatclothing, no gang attire, no cleavage showing, no excessively tight or baggy clothing. The students comply, or they wear a choir robe to class. (I wanted to use potato sacks, but the rector is a softy:D)

We use a Mass attendance form. The students have to write a short paragraph about the homily and get the priest’s signature. The priests love it–they are getting to know all the CCD kids. The written paragraph is good homework, and a good chance for me to work with individual students on writing skills, which they all need.

Turns out that the same kids with Mass/class attendance issues are the ones that are disruptive, rude, and inattentive in class. I’ve talked individually with each of these students to try to encourage them to respect their classmates.

After five weeks of class, we’ve already trimmed four kids from the class. I had our rector talk to the kids about the importance of attending Mass during week 2. The DRE called the parents after missed Mass (or missed class) #2. The DRE and the rector met with the parents after miss #3, and encouraged the parents to help the kids mature and try again next year. Their disruptive behavior was dragging down the other students, especially the “on the edge” students. If any of these kids indicated that they cared about the class and confirmation and were ready to start attending Mass, I would take them back in. One did, four did not.

It is absolutely wonderful to have an orthodox, firm rector in synch with a firm DRE. Hold the kids to high standards, require that they respect one another and behave as Christians, teach them the real meat of the faith, don’t be shy about honestly covering tough subjects, and love them. It’s working.
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Good for you! And good for your students!
 
We’ve recently (July) started a Young Adult Group at my parish.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much support for this.
Could it be that we don’t really encourage children to stay active in church while they are busy with Catechism and after they have been confirmed?
How can we rectify this? Garnering support for Young Adult Programs?
 
puzzleannie said:
…are the parents of your students practicing Catholics? are they in stable sacramental marriages, or living in harmony with Catholic teaching if they are single parents?

are these children attending Mass? in other words, do their parents take them to Mass?

if the answer to either of these questions is “no” your chances of success are slim to none, …
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Right.

I have been thinking about this question for a long time. Two things have occurred to me lately.


  1. *]Are things really worse now? Thinking about people I have known in my parents’ generation (born c. 1940) and their parents’ generation (born c. 1915). The truth is that those individuals probably couldn’t give the definition of a sacrament either.
    *]It can’t be done in Faith Formation: Looking back on my experience in the past few years, there are always one or two kids who seem to be paying attention, seem to get it, can follow what I’m saying, etc. Guess what? They are the kids whose parents take them to Mass, talk about things like sacraments with them, etc.
    GwenL said:
    …It is absolutely wonderful to have an orthodox, firm rector in synch with a firm DRE. Hold the kids to high standards, require that they respect one another and behave as Christians, teach them the real meat of the faith, don’t be shy about honestly covering tough subjects, and love them. It’s working.
    Click to expand...
    In other words, good old-fashioned Catholic School style? That’s an interesting innovation.
 
Shanee_Adams said:
We’ve recently (July) started a Young Adult Group at my parish.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much support for this.
Could it be that we don’t really encourage children to stay active in church while they are busy with Catechism and after they have been confirmed?
How can we rectify this? Garnering support for Young Adult Programs?
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This all on the parents. If they are not behind the kids - bringing them to church following Confirmation or expecting them to go to Mass when they leave for school - there is little reason to believe they will continue to be involved. If the parent’s are involved, their kids will be involved. Having a young priest involved would help as well.
 
Our religious ed program was catering to the whims of parents who are “post Vatican II ,” the lost generation. They have no faith formation of their own. They would come and go whenever their schedules permitted.

We now require any student who has had no formal home schooling or who has not attended class for two or more years to attend a “faith formation” class in addition to their regular class.

Now, we have a three absence limit, we do not excuse for sports, not tolerate tardiness. Parents must sign a contract agreeing to a number of things including attend Mass weekly. We require attendance at parent meetings for sacramental classes. Homework is assigned and expected to be returned. Sacrament classes have home workbooks. Parents are completely involved.

We are not “there” by any means. Faith cannot be taught. Individuals must experience their own conversion. We do our best to provide our families with the basics and pray they will be open to all the graces God longs to shower on them.
 
Hello Everyone, I am a first-time poster. I was born in 1941, attended Catholic grade schools, but public high school and junior college with no supplemental Catholicism instruction. Now that I am widowed, retired and have time to volunteer at church, I am very frustrated in my lack of education about my religion. Is there anything you educators could suggest insofar as a TOTAL study - the Old Testament, the New Testament, what else and in what sequence. I really really will appreciate any guidance you can give me. My ignorance is VERY frustrating. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
 
Shanee_Adams said:
We’ve recently (July) started a Young Adult Group at my parish.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much support for this.
Could it be that we don’t really encourage children to stay active in church while they are busy with Catechism and after they have been confirmed?
How can we rectify this? Garnering support for Young Adult Programs?
Click to expand...
  1. Make the program relevant. Talk about todays issues in non-threatening and non-judgemental ways, while still providing Biblical insight.
  2. Make the prgram relevant. Have members bring instruments they may play and do praise music. Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, etc.
  3. Make the program relevant. Split them into small groups with a 20-something leader to lead discussions.
  4. Make the program relevant. Take trips. Do things together. Retreats that are fun, yet spirtually renewing. Camps, etc.
  5. Make the program relevant. Go out to dinner once a month with the group.
  6. Make the program relevant. Do community outreach in your neighborhood.
As you can see, the biggest problem I see is that today’s Catholic programs for the youth are not relevant. Hope this helps!! 🙂
 
sharmin said:
  1. Make the program relevant. Talk about todays issues in non-threatening and non-judgemental ways, while still providing Biblical insight.
  2. Make the prgram relevant. Have members bring instruments they may play and do praise music. Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, etc.
  3. Make the program relevant. Split them into small groups with a 20-something leader to lead discussions.
  4. Make the program relevant. Take trips. Do things together. Retreats that are fun, yet spirtually renewing. Camps, etc.
  5. Make the program relevant. Go out to dinner once a month with the group.
  6. Make the program relevant. Do community outreach in your neighborhood.
As you can see, the biggest problem I see is that today’s Catholic programs for the youth are not relevant. Hope this helps!! 🙂
Click to expand...
Hey, if you’ve got something like that going, and kids are having fun, then great. I mean, it seems reasonable to think that good experiences like that would open their hearts and minds to Catholic life, etc.

But, I wonder if kids doing all that fun stuff would know more about fundamentals of Roman Catholic religion?

I would be interested to read concrete evidence that they really do learn about Catholicism that way.

ASD​

Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar
 
Sheila41 said:
Hello Everyone, I am a first-time poster. I was born in 1941, attended Catholic grade schools, but public high school and junior college with no supplemental Catholicism instruction. Now that I am widowed, retired and have time to volunteer at church, I am very frustrated in my lack of education about my religion. Is there anything you educators could suggest insofar as a TOTAL study - the Old Testament, the New Testament, what else and in what sequence. I really really will appreciate any guidance you can give me. My ignorance is VERY frustrating. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
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Hmm. It’s surprisingly hard to give a useful response in a reasonable space. A few thoughts.


  1. *]I have found that the Mass is the key. That is, reading about the Mass helped me understand lots of other things, too. Sola Dei Verbum is not a bad place to start.
    *]Of course, the CCC is available at vatican.va.
    *]Many people who are interested in RC topics follow online blogs like Fr. Z’s
    *]Other sites like CatholicCulture.org or EWTN.
    *]I have lots of teaching and class notes here and here. Two of my favorites are this summary and this essay on Mass.

    ASD​

    Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar
 
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