Religious Education
Musings from a Catholic Bookstore has a great post on religious education books. The post does a comparison between education series’ that are on the USCCB’s approved religious education list and shows why we each need to look further to make sure our children are learning their faith.
This is a topic that has came up from time to time in my house. My children attend a small Catholic school and we were disappointed in the texts that were selected. It was the Silver Burdett series that is also mentioned in the article. To my wife and I, it seemed to be very generic; referenced a more general Christianity perspective instead of teaching from a Catholic point of view.
My wife also is the confirmation teacher in our parish religious education program and does not use a book. She did not like any of the books that she was shown by the DRE. Instead, she works to find sources of her own. Instead of confirmation books, she had a Catechism ordered for each student and uses that as a resource. Additionaly, she has found a couple of good websites where the priest post his homily on Saturday. This helps her to prepare for the next day. She has also incorparated the Rosary and Adoration into the program. Her plan is to get the students to learn about their faith and to incorporate it into their everyday lives.
I would encourage each of you to read the post to learn more about the religious education text used in your school or CCD program. Too often we assume that if it is used in the parish religious education programs, it must be OK. Remember, don’t fault your DRE, he/she is just selecting from what they know about. If you have something better, make the suggestion.
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