Tonight was pretty much the same scenario of dismal catechesis. While I was making sure that I was teaching a 7th grade class in line with official Church teaching, my child was reciting the Our Father (a prayer 1st graders are required to have memorized) instead of learning the prayers the diocese says she is to learn this year. Then they rushed through the text on the sacraments so they could play hangman. A student in the class had a question about the Eucharist. He was concerned that since it was the body of Christ that it might eventually run out. Not to worry, the catechist (and I use that term VERY loosely in this instance) informed the class that it's really just a bread wafer that's blessed by the priest. I'm seething right now. I told Bryan that I think the deacon, who is our DRE, should be informed of this, but he thinks I shouldn't make waves since the teacher is our neighbor. I am so angry that my child was given such horrifically false information tonight.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Dismal Catechesis
Madeline had CCD tonight. My neighbor teaches the class and it seems like week after the week the class becomes more of a train wreck. We've had very protestant coloring pages sent home, and there have been many weeks where the text book wasn't covered at all. Other times the class has read one paragraph from the book and then played hangman for the rest of the class. The questions and activities in the book are never completed and my child leaves the class not having learned anything.
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Im a little confused... is your neighbor a Protestant? I'm sure if you discuss what your daughter learned, that the DRE can keep your identity private.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow Catechist and as a mother that has a child preparing to receive Reconciliation and the Eucharist this year this is the kind of thing that DRE NEEDS to know! I would NOT care if it was my own relative... They need to know the TRUTH about the Eucharist and Reconciliation.
ReplyDeleteYour DRE needs to know!
Cookie-She's Catholic, but clearly she's not well versed in her faith. I've given her links to soundly Catholic sites for coloring pages and things of that nature and I've even sent her the Diocese guidelines that explicitly state what the third graders are expected to know. She seems to disregard it all. I've been trying to make sure Madeline knows everything she's supposed to know on my own. I often find myself wondering why I bother sending her to CCD if she's not learning anything there.
ReplyDeleteNikki-I'm going to talk to the DRE on Sunday when I go there to teach my Kindergarten class. I was going to email him, but I think talking to him in person will be more effective. I woke up this morning and before I got out of bed I was thinking about a number of kids in Madeline class who I know are from devout families (in fact the child who asked the question that elicited the bad information comes from one of these families). I'm sure none of their parents would be pleased to know what their sons and daughters were taught last night. I'm sick to my stomach over the whole thing. She confused Madeline who is now having a hard time understanding how the teacher could be wrong. Ugh! I'm hoping the deacon or one of our priests will be willing to go into her class and set the record straight.