TO BE HONEST: An unheard voice in education
A TEACHER WRITES:
According to the 2011 census, 84 per cent of the population have declared themselves Catholic. I wonder what that means. Does it mean that 84 per cent were baptised as Catholics or that 84 per cent are practising Catholics? Did a lot of Irish middle-aged mammies fill in the census form for their offspring and declare them to be Catholics?
It’s all a mystery to me, but then I suppose faith is a bit of a mystery. It’s a mystery to me why so many 11-year-olds in my large urban school sit in front of me every day with so little knowledge, apart from what I manage to impart in a 20- to 25-minute lesson, and so little interest in their faith. Its an even bigger mystery why their parents present these children for religion lessons.
Parents have the right to withdraw their children from religion lessons in a Catholic school, yet very few take this option. Why? Why do so many people rear their children as Catholics yet not practise their faith? They present them for the sacraments, and the big days out, but rarely take the time to say a prayer or bring the children to Mass.
On a recent visit to the church with the children for a holy day Mass, I was asked why a bird was up on the ceiling of the church (the Holy Spirit). On another occasion I was asked what the pictures on the wall were (Stations of the Cross).
It’s very difficult for teachers (or should I say for teachers who like and want to teach religion?) to be motivated to teach it. We are teaching in a vacuum a lot of the time. Religion is becoming a foreign language to more and more children. The old saying that religion is caught and not taught is so true. If it’s not in the home, the child will not pick it up at school.
I would really love to see children being prepared for the sacraments outside of school hours. A lot of curricular time is given to communion and confirmation in second and sixth classes, and its so disheartening when you see how little it all means – at least in religious terms – to the child. If preparation were done outside of school time, then at least the more committed children might attend and the others who follow the crowd may stay at home.
I look forward to the time when Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn completes his reform of schools, so that parents can have a wider choice of schools for their children. Then, at least, I may be able to demand a commitment towards our faith from those who choose to send their children to my Catholic school. If I don’t get that commitment, I will take great pleasure in saying that an alternative school is available for your child down the road.
