Class notes from October 27, 2014

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” — Dwight David Eisenhower

One break week and a work-related trip to Atlanta had me "on holiday" for two weeks. As I've found, I did AND didn't miss teaching — and that is one problem with finding catechists. Teaching class may not seem that important, that someone else will fill your shoes. Yet, afterwards, it is as rewarding as completing any spiritual discipline or charitable act. Most hopefully, done well, you can pass the spark of God's love off to your students.

Yet, ironic though it be, while catechism might seem "someone else's worry" teaching the class can be nerve-wracking. Of course there's the fringes of controversy on multiple fronts, but I'm warmed to that challenge. I'm more concerned that I engage the kids. I want to hold a solid, fun, and informative class. I don't want to be patronizing and I love challenging questions. However, timing is everything. I've gone too long (today) and find I've not adequately covered the book material. Other weeks I can find my self with 15 minutes before the bell rings. So, of course preparation and planning are both key and something you must be ready to entirely dispense with if the class calls for it.

Today I went over schedule as we had a lot of material to cover — oops, as I type this, I just realized I missed the page on the Solemnity of the Saints" — though we had a good discussion based on a stairwell covered in roughly 12 posters of saints and blesseds. We had the class spend 5 minutes in halves reviewing the saints and picking the one that they most identified with. In retrospect, I did a poor job of scheduling. The chapter we had to cover felt "thin" and I wanted to provide more context. Maybe too much?

So, without further ado, here are my notes for this weeks class: