And my heart sank.
Just religion class?
As a teacher, it can be frustrating when you see that students do not engage with the material that you pour your heart and energy into preparing...but when it has to do with the faith, that's even worse, in my humble opinion.
We're a Catholic school, yet faith is definitely not everyone's priority. We're focused on test scores, coverage of curriculum, +/- in gradebook...the list goes on. And these things are important (some more than others and some because our culture teaches/forces us to care so much), but I think it's fair to say we've lost a sense of our mission and values. I honestly don't think it's because we don't believe in these things ourselves as teachers and administrators; rather, I think it's because we let these other things slowly creep in and take priority and suck up our energy.
- What are parent emails mostly about? - teachers grading unfairly, problems with different policies, etc.
- What are teacher PDs mostly about? data, ELA/Math curriculum, student behavior
- What gets scrapped first in terms of needing to find more time in the school day schedule? religion class
Again, I don't think this is done purposefully, but with the pressure to get these kids into their top high schools (so stressful!) and the push to make sure no student falls behind, we are inadvertently dropping the ball on what should matter the most: helping students develop an understand of, and relationship with, Jesus and the faith.
Is everyone Catholic at our school? No - not even close. But most are Christian, which is in the same family and just as important in terms of evangelizing. Are most students practicing? That's a hard no. And I can't judge because I'm not a parent, but when sports games and other activities pull at the time families should be setting aside for dinners, Mass, and prayer, that is a problem. And if they're not getting the sense at home that faith is important, that Jesus is real and someone we should spend time with, etc., then to what end is what I teach going to sink in and be something they think is valuable and worthwhile?
And I'm at a loss for how to help fix it. And I know it's not a unique problem to my school community. But if I can't get the students to take religion class (or even certain parts of class) seriously, they are just going through the motions of turning things in for a grade, thinking time for intercessory prayer is a joke, and not really taking the opportunity to try to connect with God, Jesus, or Mary.
I wanted to do a reset with my students when we came back from Thanksgiving, so I took them over to the chapel in the church. It's a beautiful, sacred space...and even when I explained/reviewed the expectations and why it is such a special place, the way they acted in the space made me feel deflated and appalled. I had to email at least 6 parents about behavior, and I even asked our pastor to speak with them after Mass on Wednesday. We were supposed to do a simple reflection designed for middle school students on the first Sunday of Advent, but it was all a joke to them. Some of it probably reflects on my own behavior management of the class, but part of it reflects that students seem to have lost their sense of wonder and reverence of the sacred.
So, what now? Before we go on Christmas break, I plan to have the students watch "The Song of Bernadette," as we wrap up our unit on Mary, but I wonder how much it will speak to their hearts. I want to use the new year (coming back after Christmas break) as a reset, but as I look at the curriculum for the rest of the year, I struggle with what units/topics will most speak to their hearts. (And I struggle with how to balance that with student grades - which I wish I didn't have to give, but that's a whole other issue.)
I unloaded a lot - if you've stuck with me through this entire post, I first want to thank you for following my crazy line of thinking and brain-dump. And I want to also ask for your prayers for me and my students (and not just my students but all of the students in our school and those across our country who seem to be in the same boat).
May God continue to bless you this Advent season.
