I thought I'd go ahead with our idea to quiz the kids on their thoughts on prayer. I went with 4 questions and asked a range of students ("randomly" selected of course!) from grades 4,5 and 6.
The Q's were:
What is prayer?
What does prayer look like at HFS?
What would you like prayer to be at HFS?
Why is prayer good?
It was interesting to see some of the comments. And I was surprised by some of the particular "characters" and what their responses were....
Most students identified prayer as Communicating with God. It can be shared time with others, quiet time, or silent time.
Prayer @ HFS - Wow, we sure like to pray in the morning. This was always the first mention of prayer. Few students identified Mass as prayer, few students mentioned classroom liturgy.
Suggestions for prayer @ HFS - Student ideas included lunch prayer, and prayers of thanks - not just asking for something. A couple of Stage 3 students suggested more student involvement for mass. One child eloquently stated that he thought HFS student were quite reverent at the right times.
Take dome time to have a quick read through the responses - perhaps some ideas for direction for our team.
~mel~
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2 comments:
Mel I think it is great that the students were looking for more prayer and more involvement in prayer. It now becomes incumbent on us to provide those opportunities. The question is how and when?
Phil
Mel keeping the students as our focus is great! The challenge with prayer I believe is that we have a God who is constantly communicating with us... constantly loving us. The challenge of prayer is to learn strategies to allow this communication and love to touch and shape us. AS teachers how can we support our students to be touched by God? An even more fundamental question is who is God for us? It would seem that God is doing all the work and we need to provide opportunities to let God in. So what skills do we need to give our students? The ability to be still & silent, to open up their spirit with music & art.. just a few ideas. Would love to be a part of your classes journey.
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