3. Objective: Give you tools to increase your effectiveness and make sure your kids get the most from their catechism time.  Sandpaper  Scrapers  Furniture Polish

4. Rough edges are to be expected, but they must be smoothed out or they could cause some pain. The role of discipline is to remove any obstacles from an effective learning experience. “Make smooth the pathways of the Lord.” Isaiah 40:4, Luke 3:5

5. Common Root: “to learn” “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him takes care to chastise him.” Proverbs 13:24 “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14 As a catechist, you are responsible for maintaining discipline so that the disciples can learn how to follow Jesus.

7. Select a strategy based on the cause of the improper behavior:  Boredom  Immaturity and ego needs (seeking attention, etc.)  Hostility  Personality clash  Emotional problem (family situation, other causes)

8.  Don’t PANIC!  Avoid interrupting the lesson  Keep the kids involved  Involve the whole catechist team  Ride your eye, use names, move around  Check the seating arrangements  Reinforce good behavior  Use a few simple rules  Know the age group your are working with

9. DON’T  Don’t send a child out of the room unattended  Don’t use God as “enforcer”  Avoid being overly tough  Be careful with “touch”  Don’t force a situation where someone has to “lose face” DO  Focus your statements on the behavior you WANT  Use “I” statements  Use positive reinforcement (way to go, “bumps”)  Maintain everyone’s dignity  Give them a “way out” or a “way back”  Involve the parents early  Use Mrs. M if needed Remember, catechists and students are ALL disciples!

10. © The New Yorker Collection 1989 Lee Lorenz from cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved.

11.  “But who do you say that I am?”  “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”  “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘Rise and walk’?”  “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”  “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”

13.  Probing: challenged his followers  Stimulated their thinking  Not simple “yes/no” questions…they forced someone to take a position  Allowed disciples to evolve their thinking  Made the lesson more memorable  Got below the surface to the “deeper meaning”  Caused His thinking to become part of them  Trained His disciples to ask similar questions

14.  Keep it simple  Keep it open-ended  Be comfortable with the silence…let them answer  Pause…then repeat  Move and make eye contact  Ask the whole group first  Plan your questions  Give positive feedback to those who answer

15. Questions are a great way to lead a discussion:  Go beyond retrieving information…invite thoughts, opinions, feelings  Invite more than one response to a question  Ask for reactions to previous responses  Occasionally, summarize and invite more discussion  Encourage respectful listening

16. Informational Implicational Individual Ideological Non-threatening What is another name for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? Beneath the surface What is Jesus trying to tell us in the Beatitudes? Thoughts, opinions, feelings How can you try to live the Beatitudes? Speculate – no right / wrong What would the world look like if everyone lived the Beatitudes?

17. All catechists can improve techniques over time

18.  Move around  Make Eye Contact / Ride your Eye  Vary your voice / pace  Facial expressions / body language  Keep a sense of humor  Listen and observe  Balance creativity with sameness  Seek feedback / good ideas  Be yourself – accentuate your strengths

19.  Charity  Joy  Peace  Patience  Kindness  Goodness  Generosity  Gentleness  Faithfulness  Modesty  Self-control  Chastity Your lessons should have good EFFECT on the children, but… YOU will also AFFECT the children you teach – by displaying the Fruits of the Holy Spirit