Supporting students in their gaining of wisdom, (part 2).

“Widen the space of your tent, extend the curtains of your home, do not hold back! Lengthen your ropes, make your tent-pegs firm.” Isaiah 54:2

Recently I noticed a kindergarten child at a Mass. He was praying in response to the priest’s lead to pray quietly. He didn’t kneel with everyone as they did; he remained seated turning his forehead to rest on the back of the seating and bringing his knees up close to his head. You couldn’t possibly correct his posture though as he had his eyes closed and an intense squint on his face - he was in prayer – he was ‘in contact’.

The method of group lectio divina is a strategy that can help guide authentic prayer experiences in a classroom. It seems to work best in a group of four to eight. It is well placed as one activity in rooms where there are rotations of groups and it fits the movements of Groome's praxis approach, e.g. Activity #1 lectio divina (with the teacher as leader); #2 opportunity for students to write a simple response; #3 embed the insights with small group dramatisation or another form creative expression; #4 a talking and listening activity about how this ‘slice of wisdom’ can be applied in daily life; #5 shared celebration. Teachers can simplify these movements: #1 stop; #2 reflect; #3 comprehend; #4 connect.

To prepare for lectio divina is much like anything corporate, it requires leadership to model explicitly, followed by supportive and co-operative experiences until participants are in the ‘zone’ and gain a personal understanding of the moment. 

The strategy for lectio divina:

è The first reading is actually read twice for the purpose of hearing a word or passage that touches the heart. When the word or phrase is found, it is taken in, and gently recited and pondered for a moment in silence. After the silence each student shares that word or phrase which touched the heart.

è The second reading is for the purpose of “hearing” or “seeing” Christ in the text. Each ponders a word that has touched the heart, and asks where the word or phrase touches his or her life that day. In other words, how is Christ the Word touching our own experience of life? How are others in the group seeing or hearing Christ reach out to them through the text? After the silence, each member of the group shares what he or she has “heard” or “seen.”

è The third reading is for the purpose of Christ “calling us forth” into doing or being. Members ask themselves what Christ in the text is calling them to do or become today / this week. After the silence, each shares for the last time; and the exercise concludes with each person praying for the person on the right. N.B. Anyone may “pass” at any time.

It is a method easily adjusted to help students experience participation in liturgy that is both active and conscious as suggested by Vatican II in ‘Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy’.

Supporting students in their gaining of wisdom, (part 1).

Occasionally discourses can be problematic when the focus is on what students can expect to experience in a prayer assembly or liturgy of The Word if they are not Christian or if because of family decisions have not experienced liturgy as well as others.

Students tend to appreciate when teachers lend a hand to support their attempts to understand or practise a skill and acknowledge the achievements. Similarly students appreciate God when they come to know God as ‘spirit’ who is present in their lives, who knows and recognises each one. There are no limits to God’s precinct.

As teachers we understand when it comes to Religious Education it is often how we teach rather than what we teach which contributes to the nurturing of ‘faith’ in our students, however, there are some simple things we can check about class based practises. In the Catholic tradition teachers can:

o Use the sign of the cross as a prayer rather than an action to silence students talking.

o Effectively use silence in our classroom liturgy.

o Develop a small range of simple hymns and sacred songs (lyrics that are easy to recall) which are often used in class and can contribute to the students ability to recall God in their midst. Some songs can be chosen from the Mass, e.g. the Sanctus:

“Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts. The heavens and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the lord. 
Hosanna in the highest.”

o A hymn with an uplifting tempo, (the class love to sing), can often support everyone get over Monday morning-i-tis.

o Develop shared sacred songs which are called upon at times of grief which will support the student community to lift their hearts and minds to God and bring comfort to one another.

o Thoughtfully utilise Groome’s praxis model in planning our unit and managing the roll out of lessons.

o Add value to student edification by permitting their learning responses to be completed across the range of ‘the learning pathways’ (integral learning), differentiating learning and building on the variety of student strengths. This requires the teacher having a very good understanding of the subject area and the strategies of both praxis and integral learning.

In liturgy the inter-relationship between student and God, and God and the assembly of people remains the purpose of the experience. It is critical at many layers within the child, e.g. when connecting with God many children secretly want to know: ‘Am I relating with God the right way?’ and in a social setting they want the opportunity to experience God relationally yet liturgy can often fall within an ‘instructional setting’.

A challenge to school discourses about liturgy involves exploring the cycles of thinking about alternatives and becoming aware of the gains in student formation which come as a result of changes in approaches. Approaches that allow God’s own Spirit to relate and allows the assembly to be open to God’s presence in the assembly of the people, the proclaiming of The Word and the sacraments of the Church.
“Widen the space of your tent, extend the curtains of your home, do not hold back! Lengthen your ropes, make your tent-pegs firm.” Isaiah 54:2