{"id":2045,"date":"2013-08-31T11:29:59","date_gmt":"2013-08-31T16:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/?p=2045"},"modified":"2013-08-31T14:45:22","modified_gmt":"2013-08-31T19:45:22","slug":"sam-rochas-primer-for-philosophy-education-a-gentle-wake-up-call-for-catechists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2013\/08\/sam-rochas-primer-for-philosophy-education-a-gentle-wake-up-call-for-catechists\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Rocha’s Primer for Philosophy & Education – A Gentle Wake Up Call for Catechists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I accepted a review copy of Sam Rocha<\/a>\u2019s A Primer for Philosophy and Education<\/a><\/em> with trepidation: Academics tend to write horribly, and philosophers are the worst of the lot.\u00a0 Well, I found a jewel. Not only can the man write clearly and well, he can think straight, too.\u00a0 Sam Rocha\u2019s Primer<\/em> is a treasure trove of measured, thoughtful reflection on what makes education, and how to become educated.<\/p>\n

I recommend his book wholeheartedly to anyone who is serious about education \u2013 teachers, catechists, parents, principals and directors of religious education, pastors, students.\u00a0 The reading level isn\u2019t babyish \u2014 you have to put on your thinking cap and reflect on what you\u2019re reading \u2014 but it\u2019s geared toward the intelligent layman who truly cares about the topic.\u00a0 Pour a cup of tea, put up your feet, and get your pencil ready to highlight your favorite lines.<\/p>\n

Today I\u2019d like to share a few quotes from the book that I think speak to the state of catechesis today, and share my own reflections on what we educators need to consider.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents like these are motivated by a sense of entrapment, a feeling that they must go to school and get good grades in order to get a respectable job, good reviews and promotions, a pay raise for having an advanced degree, so on and so forth \u2013 to avoid disappointing family and friends.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This doesn\u2019t just happen in academia, it happens in the parish.\u00a0 How many teens are cycled through confirmation because it will please Mom & Dad?\u00a0 How many parents baptize their children in order to silence Grandma\u2019s nagging?<\/p>\n

When someone walks through the door seeking sacraments the way they seek a diploma or their 1st Aid certification, we should welcome them wholeheartedly.\u00a0 And then show them a better way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem with grades, credentials, and formal schooling is that it generates a culture and mentality of fear, distrust, and paranoia.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Our diocese, like most, sets out a few minimum educational requirements for persons requesting the sacraments.\u00a0 These standards are, at their heart, ordered toward a very serious matter: We must ensure that the individual is indeed prepared to receive Our Lord in a worthy manner<\/a>.\u00a0 But it is important that we communicate \u2013 in our words and in our policies \u2013 that what matters is not the sitting in a room, or the checking off of to-do items, but that the soul be prepared.\u00a0 Classes are a tool that can help prepare students for the sacraments, and I am grateful for the excellent volunteers who\u2019ve helped my own children grow in their faith.\u00a0 But education is different than attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course students who attend a school that assigns grades should want to get good grades.\u00a0 They should obviously not want to get bad ones.\u00a0 However, you should not confuse this institutionalized process of grade-getting, school-going, degree-worshipping, and job-seeking with what philosophy and education have to offer you. . . . Formal schooling does not have the monopoly on philosophy or education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Our courses should be such that students and parents want<\/em> to attend them.\u00a0 And in guiding parents and students, we need to direct them not towards the checklist as the measure of spiritual growth, but to the serious questions of heart, soul, and mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoogle is full of information<\/em>, but it has no wisdom<\/em> of its own. A person who is full of information is not necessarily full of wisdom. . . . To win at games like Jeopardy<\/em> and Trivial Pursuit<\/em> does not require wisdom, it only requires information.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In catechesis, information nutures wisdom, and wisdom thirsts for information.\u00a0 If I love God, I\u2019ll want to know more about Him.\u00a0 The more I know about God, the more reasons I\u2019ll have to love Him.<\/p>\n

We tend to slip into a false dichotomy, setting up hard facts against feelings, or precision against grace.\u00a0 Not so.\u00a0 The human mind and soul languish when the scales are loaded on one side only.\u00a0 Demanding love without knowledge is an arranged marriage; demanding knowledge without love is a business relationship.\u00a0 In our catechesis, we need to help our students love God in all four ways that He Himself has directed \u2013 heart, mind, soul, and strength<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cRead for the truth.\u00a0 Write and speak to show what seems true.\u00a0 Ask questions to get at what might be true.\u00a0 Attend classes to seek the truth.\u00a0 Do not settle for shallow, impoverished grades, and cheap, degrading awards. . . . Philosophy and education require courage.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Recently a catechist (not from my parish) approached me privately with a difficult situation: Several fellow catechists in her program had shared with her various ways in which they are freely, and with full knowledge, choosing to act, in serious matters, in ways contrary to the Catholic faith.\u00a0 They are committing no crimes, and they are not actively teaching dissent in the classroom.\u00a0 But they clearly do not believe that the Church in her wisdom possesses the fullness of the truth.\u00a0 The catechist asked what she should do.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want to be a tattle-tale, and she did want to address the problem in a way that would help her colleagues grow in their own faith and embrace the fullness of the Church\u2019s teachings.<\/p>\n

She also knew instinctively about the essential relationship between education and truth: You can\u2019t teach something you don\u2019t believe is true.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Read the whole book<\/a>. Beautifully written, and the whimsical line drawings create delightful moments to pause and reflect.\u00a0 Well worth your time.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I accepted a review copy of Sam Rocha\u2019s A Primer for Philosophy and Education with trepidation: Academics tend to write horribly, and philosophers are the worst of the lot.\u00a0 Well, I found a jewel. Not only can the man write clearly and well, he can think straight, too.\u00a0 Sam Rocha\u2019s Primer is a treasure trove […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[178,174,198,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic-church","category-faith-y-stuff","category-resources","category-review"],"yoast_head":"\nSam Rocha's Primer for Philosophy & Education - A Gentle Wake Up Call for Catechists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I accepted a review copy of Sam Rocha\u2019s A Primer for Philosophy and Education with trepidation: Academics tend to write horribly, and philosophers are the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2013\/08\/sam-rochas-primer-for-philosophy-education-a-gentle-wake-up-call-for-catechists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sam Rocha's Primer for Philosophy & Education - 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