Teaching the faith to second-graders

By SUZANNE KIENZLE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Catholic school teachers play a special role. A catechist is someone who is entrusted with the role of sharing our faith with young children, by word and example. As I think about how that is reflected in my daily activities in my second-grade classroom, I see how lucky I am to be able to not only share the faith I have with my students, but to help them find ways to incorporate what they learn and experience into every aspect of their day.

Religion is not taught in isolation in my classroom, as a separate subject, but as a way of life. We study and reflect on the teachings of our Church, talk about our faith and work to develop the character of each child.

I am able to relate this to all of the subjects I teach throughout the day, making their faith come alive and be practiced in all they do and say. This makes Catholic schools unique in comparison to other schools. We are able to bring God, religion, prayer, service, community and so much more into all we do with the children.

They are able to see the benefit of prayer - not just at organized times, but as they go about their day. We are able to help them make choices based on what Jesus would want them to do. We can help them not only evaluate how their lives reflect their faith, but to celebrate all of the great things in their lives that have come from God.

I also feel lucky to be able to help my class prepare for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion each year. We will spend much of our time this year learning about making good choices, choosing to do what is right and using our conscience as a guide to live our lives as God would want us to. Then we will talk about what we can do when the choices we make are not the best and we sin against God.

They learn what a fantastic celebration First Reconciliation can be as they celebrate God's forgiveness. We will also prepare for First Communion by studying the parts of the Mass. Together we can go to Mass, discuss Gospel readings and share ways they can become active within the Church.

It is exciting to be a teacher of second-graders, because I am able to help them expand their understanding of the teachings of the Church, enrich their faith and become active members of their parishes. As a Catholic school teacher, I am able to do all of this throughout our day, every day. This, I think, is a very special gift we can give to our students.

(Mrs. Kienzle teaches at All Saints Catholic Academy in Albany.)[[In-content Ad]]