RE Challenge: "here because parents make me come"

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SimplyStated

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I am teaching an 8th grade Confirmation class and I need help! I have 16 boys who when asked why they are there the majority said because my mom made me. I have an 8th grader myself so I know some of it is a phase but I am struggling to get their attention! Suggestions?
 
SimplyStated said:
I am teaching an 8th grade Confirmation class and I need help! I have 16 boys who when asked why they are there the majority said because my mom made me. I have an 8th grader myself so I know some of it is a phase but I am struggling to get their attention! Suggestions?
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Praise God! 🙂

Because the parents are interested and taking it seriously - praise God! So, you have a captive audience. What are you going to do with this great gift? 🙂

Believe me, I wish I had parents who would “make” their kids come. The “come if you want to” model is leaving me with one or two kids who come regularly, and a whole passel of “drop ins” who come when they don’t have something else going on, and I never know who I’m going to get, each week, or how many to plan for.
 
Simplystated, I’m in your shoes as well. I’m impress you have so many students though! That’s a good thing. I only have 6-12 each year.

The kids are great, though. Well mannered, good spirits, good senses of humor. It’s just such a social hour and a half for them, though. That’s the challenge I really face. They don’t mind being there because it lets them visit with friends they don’t usually get to see during the school week. I do try to incorporate their catch up discussions into the week’s lesson and that helps a bit.

They don’t want to know about church history. They don’t want to get into the bible. They sure perk up when we get into moral and social issues though. They just want to be middle school kids and please their parents. But that’s being a kid anyway.

Our job, as parents and teachers, is to help them grow and discover their talents. It helps to find out what interests your students have ‘in the real world’ so that you can find a way to engage them through that.

I use games, movies, jigsaw puzzles, crafts and food. This helps with the last 40 minutes but the first part is always the challenge because it involves the textbook, workbook, the nuts and bolts reviewing for and taking exams. They will memorize what they need to, but there is no interest expressed in what they’re learning. It’s during the fun time though, that I’m able to observe how much of the information is sinking in.

I basically try to get the information into their brain banks because I know later on in life they’ll have their ‘aha!’ moment that ties it all together. I see my role as helping to build that foundation the spirit works with later on in life, so that keeps me going.
 
That is most likely the only reason they go to school, the dentist, or grandma’s house. If mom did not make the, they would consider fritos and a stale zinger supper. They are 8th graders, engage them and let them see someone who is ON FIRE with God.
 
catholiccompany.com/catholic-books/1004048/Did-Adam-Eve-Have-Belly-Buttons/

Pick up this great discussion starter. Get them thinking.
Get them involved in a hands on service project as a group. Don’t just delegate jobs, make one of them the chairperson to rally the rest of the group. Be their cheerleader for a job well done too. Take them to a diocesan youth ministry event where they can connect with other teens so they can see that being Catholic is bigger than just a small classroom. Once they connect with others, it gets contagious. Good luck
nfcym.org/resources/ymrm/index.htm
Here’s another link worth exploring
 
stbruno said:
catholiccompany.com/catholic-books/1004048/Did-Adam-Eve-Have-Belly-Buttons/

Pick up this great discussion starter. Get them thinking.
Get them involved in a hands on service project as a group. Don’t just delegate jobs, make one of them the chairperson to rally the rest of the group. Be their cheerleader for a job well done too. Take them to a diocesan youth ministry event where they can connect with other teens so they can see that being Catholic is bigger than just a small classroom. Once they connect with others, it gets contagious. Good luck
nfcym.org/resources/ymrm/index.htm
Here’s another link worth exploring
Click to expand...
I would agree with all of this. I have used the “Did Adam & Eve Have Belly Buttons?” book with my high school group. Kids have questions about the faith, but they often don’t know how to express those questions. The way I used the book was to pick out around 25-30 questions. Some were very general and some were harder. I typed up the questions on a paper with the question number beside it. In class, I have someone draw a question out of the box. They read it to the class. I ask the class if they have any ideas what the answer might be. (It works really well if the first questions drawn can be answered out of the kids’ knowledge base.) If they don’t know the answer, I try to answer without referring to the book. Sometimes I’ll give them the answer I ‘think’ is correct, but follow up by looking up the actual answer. Sometimes I don’t know the answer at all. I think it is important for kids to realize that even adults are called to learn their faith…and that you are learning with them.

I have also had great success with the Friendly Defenders apologetics cards. They may seem too juvenile on the surface, but after we worked with them a bit, the teens loved them. High school kids are beginning to get challenged about their faith at school (maybe that isn’t as much of an issue in Jr. High). If teens can grasp WHY they need to learn about their faith (even if it is just fending off challenges), then you can begin to work on other aspects of faith, like knowing and loving Christ and serving others.

Having so many ‘hostages’ in your class is tough. But as another poster said, be grateful the parents care enough to make them come. Being in the trenches with teens is never easy, but keep reminding yourself that you are in a position to really make a difference. I’m not sure how old you are, but I have found that the kids like to hear stories about struggles I have had and how faith helped me overcome those challenges. They do seem to connect with me although that age gap keeps getting bigger! (I’m soon to be 45.)

Good luck and God Bless!

Kathy
 
I really appreciate all the great comments. Last week’s session was about prayer so it was easy to tie it in to every day life. (My 7th grader said all I need is candy.) I made up booklets with crosswords puzzles, word searches and space to write 5 reasons to pray. We discussed why, when and how we pray. It was very interactive and more successful than I anticipated.

I would also like to thank YinYangmom for her quote “I see my role as helping to build that foundation the spirit works with later on in life, so that keeps me going.”

I have to remember how hard it was when I was their age to keep my faith. My parents divorced when I was a teenager and I did not come back to the Catholic Church until I was pregnant with my 3rd child. The foundation is so important.

God Bless all of you for your advice!
 
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