Sunday school teachers should be carefully selected

[stringbeanduck]

With today’s society Sunday school teachers should be carefully selected. I had a horrible Sunday school teacher. What kind of Sunday school teacher challenges a student about his beliefs that relate to the churches teachings? What kids my age need is structured teachers. Churches need to interview and be sure that this teacher is qualified for the job. Mine would go, (I shouldn’t be telling you this) and then he’d go ahead and say it. He says his idea about priests being married and not explain why the church teaches it different. No I had to be the on to say why they should not be married. I’m sorry if the church has so many kids and so few teachers. No, now its, ‘we’re desperate here’s the job just fill this out and your hired.’

 

[cgirl4ever]

With today’s society Sunday school teachers should be carefully selected. I had a horrible Sunday school teacher. What kind of Sunday school teacher challenges a student about his beliefs that relate to the churches teachings? What kids my age need is structured teachers. Churches need to interview and be sure that this teacher is qualified for the job. Mine would go, (I shouldn’t be telling you this) and then he’d go ahead and say it. He says his idea about priests being married and not explain why the church teaches it different. No I had to be the on to say why they should not be married. I’m sorry if the church has so many kids and so few teachers. No, now its, ‘we’re desperate here’s the job just fill this out and your hired.’

I agree

 

[belgianwaffles9]

With today’s society Sunday school teachers should be carefully selected. I had a horrible Sunday school teacher. What kind of Sunday school teacher challenges a student about his beliefs that relate to the churches teachings? What kids my age need is structured teachers. Churches need to interview and be sure that this teacher is qualified for the job. Mine would go, (I shouldn’t be telling you this) and then he’d go ahead and say it. He says his idea about priests being married and not explain why the church teaches it different. No I had to be the on to say why they should not be married. I’m sorry if the church has so many kids and so few teachers. No, now its, ‘we’re desperate here’s the job just fill this out and your hired.’

I encourage you to get involved. I was a youth leader at my Church, and it was increadibly easy to get active and involved. Now i know most of the parish leaders and have a very good rapport with people in the Church. If you want things to change, this is really the best way.

Good luck.

 

[Joannm]

With today’s society Sunday school teachers should be carefully selected. I had a horrible Sunday school teacher. What kind of Sunday school teacher challenges a student about his beliefs that relate to the churches teachings? What kids my age need is structured teachers. Churches need to interview and be sure that this teacher is qualified for the job. Mine would go, (I shouldn’t be telling you this) and then he’d go ahead and say it. He says his idea about priests being married and not explain why the church teaches it different. No I had to be the on to say why they should not be married. I’m sorry if the church has so many kids and so few teachers. No, now its, ‘we’re desperate here’s the job just fill this out and your hired.’

The problem is that it is a volunteer position and although we tell our catechists that they are required to earn basic certification, the truth is most do not have the time to attend addidtional classes. We have over 1,000 kids in our Rel. Ed. program. Each year it is a struggle to get the 85-100 catechists that we need. We have catechist meetings once a month but many cannot come because of family obligations or work (even though we offer them morning or evening sessions). So what is a parish to do? Do we tell the family, we don’t have enough teachers so your kid will not be able to attend Rel. Ed. this year? Now the diocese wants us to begin a kindergarten and pre-K program. Even when we have some parents teaching their own kids at home, for the most part they don’t, as we can tell by the interviews or review of the assignments. We do have some great catechists who have received certification and gone on for their advanced certification, but certainly not enough to cover all the classes.

If we paid catechists then maybe we could be more selective but the truth is that parishes cannot afford to do that. Even though we charge a good amount for Rel. Ed. that just about covers materials, maintenance, administration and other costs.

 

[LaLucia]

Hi Everybody, my adult son is a Catechism teacher for high school kids. He says that people volunteer their time like he does so the church tries their best to find volunteer teachers. My son says he tries to be a non-judging person and doesn’t judge Catholics in the mistakes they make in church. He says he tries to do his best to be a good example to the people in church who know he teaches their kids. He loves the Catholic church and tries to help out as much as he can in helping out at the church.
Whenever I have a question about the Catholic church… I call my son and he gives me his answers. I like it that we that in common because my son’s main interests are different than mind.

My advise to everybody here is to ask questions of your teachers and also state how you feel about the subject you are discussing. The best way to have a good discussion is to say, “This is what I feel or this is what I think or see”. You put it upon yourself… that is who you are. But if it is written in the Bible… then I keep my mouth shut.lol. Anything not written in the Bible is open for discussion on how each person feels about the subject.
Too many people stay quiet and are afraid to speak up. I have an extroverted personality and I don’t really care what people think of me so I say and do what I want respectfully. I love people so I try to be kind as much as possible and also helpful and caring. I love a great discussion without being ofensive.

 

[Saint_Gemma]

Hi Everybody, my adult son is a Catechism teacher for high school kids. He says that people volunteer their time like he does so the church tries their best to find volunteer teachers. My son says he tries to be a non-judging person and doesn’t judge Catholics in the mistakes they make in church. He says he tries to do his best to be a good example to the people in church who know he teaches their kids. He loves the Catholic church and tries to help out as much as he can in helping out at the church.
Whenever I have a question about the Catholic church… I call my son and he gives me his answers. I like it that we that in common because my son’s main interests are different than mind.

My advise to everybody here is to ask questions of your teachers and also state how you feel about the subject you are discussing. The best way to have a good discussion is to say, “This is what I feel or this is what I think or see”. You put it upon yourself… that is who you are. But if it is written in the Bible… then I keep my mouth shut.lol. Anything not written in the Bible is open for discussion on how each person feels about the subject.
Too many people stay quiet and are afraid to speak up. I have an extroverted personality and I don’t really care what people think of me so I say and do what I want respectfully. I love people so I try to be kind as much as possible and also helpful and caring. I love a great discussion without being ofensive.

But what if the Magisterium has spoken infallibly on the matter, but it is not taught explicitly in the Bible? Does this mean that the Immaculate Conception of Mary is up for discussion?

 

[rwoehmke]

But what if the Magisterium has spoken infallibly on the matter, but it is not taught explicitly in the Bible? Does this mean that the Immaculate Conception of Mary is up for discussion?

For high schoolers a discussion is a good thing if it explains the doctrinal points and why we believe them. Simply defining the Immaculate Conception and leaving it as something they have to believe is not very productive. Discussion properly done is always a good thing.

 

[puzzleannie]

every diocese in this country has certification standards for catechists (and DREs for that matter). If your parish is not applying those standards, find out why, and do what you can to change it.

 

[Phemie]

every diocese in this country has certification standards for catechists (and DREs for that matter). If your parish is not applying those standards, find out why, and do what you can to change it.

I wish we had that in Canada.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

every diocese in this country has certification standards for catechists (and DREs for that matter). If your parish is not applying those standards, find out why, and do what you can to change it.

However when you need thirty teachers, have ten certified applicants, and fifteen uncertified; you can’t be very choosy - you are too busy hunting for five more warm bodies…

 

[puzzleannie]

However when you need thirty teachers, have ten certified applicants, and fifteen uncertified; you can’t be very choosy - you are too busy hunting for five more warm bodies…

that’s what I used to think, but I have learned to be selective. if we have to we will teach the whole group in one large room, with volunteer parents or older youth as small group facilitators, a master catechist making the presentation to the whole group, with discussion and process in the small groups led by facilitators. We have done this in the past, and the good thing is we generated new and improved catechists through this process.

there is simply no excuse for me to allow children in the classroom with a catechist who is teaching error, or who is not able for whatever reason to manage the classroom properly.

we can and do admit every child who asks, throughout the year, because there is nothing in canon law that gives me authority to turn them away. we have great reliance on the Holy Spirit and he has never let us down. I have the best catechists in the diocese, without exception, not because of anything I have done, but only because I paved the way for them to become part of our program.

not all our catechists are certified by diocesan standards (our parish standards are actually higher) but all are on the way, all are supervised and evaluated, and all exceed expectations.

 

[Phemie]

We have an unfortunate situation in our parish. Until 9 years ago religious education was taught in the schools then the province went to non-denominational education and the responsibility fell on the parents and the parish.

So now we have parents, who’d never had to even think about the religious education of their kids beyond deciding whether to send them to Catholic schools or to French Immersion, responsible for teaching their kids.

The diocese tried to implement a home-parish program which went nowhere in our parish because the parents don’t want to do it. In the first few years we had a few women who volunteered to do sacramental preparation (we’d returned to the original order of the sacraments so kids from age 6 were prepared for confirmation, first confession and first Communion) but interestingly enough, except for the one who took on the (volunteer) post of catechetical coordinator (she’d always been involved as she’d been doing sacramental preparation for those children who didn’t attend the Catholic school), not one of the teachers from the former Catholic schools volunteered to help.

The catechetical situation in our parish is a mess but as long as he can say that there have been kids making their First Communion the pastor doesn’t seem too concerned.

There are also no standards for who can teach religious education and it’s happened that we’ve had heretical statements made to the children at Sunday Mass by those charged with children’s liturgy (i.e. Communion is a symbol of Christ) and nothing was done about that either.

I sat in on one of my son’s Confirmation classes (he was being confirmed as a teenager) and the teacher said that we could determine if something was a sin by whether we felt bad after we’d done it. ???

 

[Joannm]

However when you need thirty teachers, have ten certified applicants, and fifteen uncertified; you can’t be very choosy - you are too busy hunting for five more warm bodies…

How about when you need 100 teachers and only about 25 are certified?

 

[Stratiotes]

It seems to me that the best teachers are often people who do not have the personality to volunteer. And I think Priests are just happy to get a volunteer that they do not want to see problems. If you are faithful to the church’s teaching, you should be volunteering. And I am a strong believer in the Marine Corps ideal - the best way to learn a topic is to teach it. So do not disqualify yourself based on how little you know necessarily. Be ready to admit what you do not know and then seek out the answers to those questions from your Priest or through study. You will become more knowledgeable when you are challenged by questions.

 

[puzzleannie]

How about when you need 100 teachers and only about 25 are certified?

you recruit the best people and start them on the road to the certification process
you pair or group rookies with experienced catechists in larger classes if necessary
you come up with other creative solutions if the one teacher one classroom models is not working at this time, such as what I described, where the rookies are small group leaders under an experienced catechist

here we begin with a new catechist orientation, Protecting God’s Children, lesson planning and resource workship required of all new volunteers, before they start teaching.

during their first 3 years they take 7 Secrets of a Successful Catechists, What Every Catechist Should Know, Teaching the Bible to Children and Youth, Grade-level methods class, and Sacramental Catechesis. All catechists also take, with the parents, a 6 week module on the Mass and Eucharist, because I found that was the most critical area of misunderstanding when I came. Over a 5 year period, the time considered necessary for certification, they also take classes on Scripture, Sacramental Economy, Morality, Prayer and Spirituality. the CCC, Bible and catechetical documents are the foundation for all these classes, so they get CCC throughout this process.

they have the option of taking the diocesan program–Echoes of Faith-- at neighboring parishes, which our pastor does not allow here, my classes are in the process of being approved by the diocese, but we have a new director so don’t know where that is now, but it is my pastor’s requirement, and our program fulfills the hours required, but we cover same topics as EOF but in more depth, using more orthodox sources.

most of our catechists were already certified, but even the experienced ones have taken all the new classes and are great students, recognizing that you can always learn more.

If your catechiests are not prepared, prepare them.
If they lack faith formation, form them.

that is the role of the DRE (not acting as a filter between children and sacraments, not para-priest, not she-who-must-be-obeyed).

 

[vocatio]

The biggest heresies I’ve ever heard come from the alledged “Certified” or “experienced”. My wife crossed the Tiber officially April 7, 2007 after only discovering the truth in Catholicism in October 2006. She teaches CCD and frankly is by far one of the best. She taught Protestant bible class and uses similar techniques that work only with Catholic Church teachings. The children love her and I can vouch that she is teaching more orthodox Catholicism than many of my youth teachers. But we will get certified too as opportunity opens up. Some of the most effective people in society do not have formal educaiton in the subject area they work or teach in. I know lots of really bad engineers, doctors and attorneys. I also know lots of bad teachers and unfortunately …clergy do not escape this last one either.

 

[Stratiotes]

vocatio - I could not agree more. It is really a question of whether one respects the authority of the church or not - one can be certified and not respect the church authority - I’d choose an uncertified obedient servant over a well-educated rebel to teach my kids. They get enough lessons in rebellion from the “authorities” in the world, they do not (and I do not) need it from the “authorities” in the church. Certification is a good thing but it is no guarantee of orthodoxy. I’m sure Martin Luther could have passed the certification process but I wouldn’t want him teaching CCD.

I too am a convert and I too will seek certification. But it is frustrating going through the process when you feel like you’re more “catholic” than the “cradle catholics” sometimes.

 

[twk001]

I have taught catechism since I was just 15. no kidding. when I was younger, I LOVED it and I related well to the kids. as a young adult I became the Youth Minister and still taught H.S. CCD and still LOVED it. Now that I’m a little older in my 30’s, I truthfully don’t have it in me anymore. It seems as if this generation is VERY different and even the parents are completely clueless. Please forgive me for my words. I taught 2nd grade last year and not one knew the Our Father. Not one knew the Hail Mary. Not one knew a commandment-none. Not one knew any rules of the mass. I was so disappointed. I sent letter after letter home with worksheets and study guides and of course of 18 kids, I’d be lucky to have 2 kids return them. It is very frustrating to be a CCD teacher these days, especially when all the kids are going to these war zones we call public school. There is so much more to compete with. Until the Catholic parents of America-ALL OF US- start to take this a little more seriously, I’m afraid for what is to come. twk

 

[katy]

One of my non-Catholic (at the time) relatives was asked to teach Religious Ed in the parish she attended with her husband. She told them she wasn’t Catholic and they responded that it didn’t matter to them. That flippant attitude toward their own faith delayed her entry into the Church for a while.

 

[vocatio]

There is an intentional undermining of Catholic Teaching taking place from behind the scenes…from within the fold so to speak. I run into older ladies that say the darndest things. And they have been around long enough to perpetuate the problem. One constantly rebukes learning scripture as important and another has said “there are many paths that lead to heaven”. Both teach in the Catholic school or hold an important administrative role under the Faith Formation Director, who may not know that she does it. The last Director was excellent and moved up. The new one is also from the same school of thought, FU, and with time will get much better. It’s a difficult job.

What burns me is that the school constantly complains at these part time teachers that volunteer their time and manipulate things behind the scene. That is just evil in my book and should not be allowed under any circumstances. Make me Pope for a day… …and we’ll all be out on the streets. My DW got got in the crossfire within the first month of someone complaining about a torn book…and blamed it on our son. After careful investigation we discovered they just assumed it was our son because he had dropped something with his name on it under the desk. Turns out that he wasn’t even sitting there. But it was over done and they should have either blown it off or appraoch DW to see if she was aware of it. Instead they treaded her like a second class citizen. Ironically, she knows Catholic Teaching than most of the teachers that officially teach it in the school and just crossed the Tiber this past spring, making this move even more dumb. It caused a spiritual struggle for her at first and looked a lot like some old problems that she’d hoped to overcome from hateful people. I told her we have our share of hateful self-seekers too. Enough whining.