This year I was given the task of teaching Sunday school to the teen-aged children of the parish. As a parent I am comfortable teaching and interacting with children up to the age I have experience with, but beyond that age (9) I'm perplexed.
Sunday was my first class in what I can tell this will be an eventful journey. Some children were quiet and obliging while others were boisterous and inattentive. I need to get my ducks in a militantly straight row for next Sunday.
I ask for your prayers as in a few short years these teens will be living in the world without a parental eye and, while some of them were catechized from infancy, many are experiencing this material for the first time.
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As a parent of many teens, thank you. It is a hard job. Prayers for you.
ReplyDeleteI also add my thanks and prayers as the mom to two teens.
ReplyDeleteI'm teaching catechism for the Confirmation Year students. In Malaysia, the age of Confirmation is 17, so I can tell you that its a tough job. You've got to be a clown, friend, entertainer, comedian all rolled in one and somewhere along the line, you've got to actually teach them something and share with them, by your words and especially by your example, the Lord Jesus and what it means to be a Christian and how to live out a Christian life in Communion with Christ and His Church. Tough. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI **love** teaching this age group. They have to be my most favorite.
ReplyDeleteI worked very hard to be 'real' and not phony which they can pick out in a heart beat. Not long ago one of my former students told me, "Mrs. E, the one thing I remember about class was your telling us 'You need to decide, am I for Christ or against Christ. There is no fence sitting. If you sit on the fence, you get a post up your butt. So pick one side or the other but don't sit in the middle. God hates lukewarmness.'"
This young man is now an Army Captain, and a faithful Christian.
You'll do just fine.