Evaluating the Year (June)
As your last class approaches, you still have some important tasks to complete. You and the students have come a long way together, but you are not yet finished! Don’t let the year end without looking back at all you’ve accomplished, celebrating together, and giving some serious thought to next year.
Planning Your Final Session
Build an end-of-the year review into your lesson plan. Consider if students will be more productive in completing this final test individually, in small groups, or as an “open book” assessment. Remember that tests not only measure what the students have retained from your class sessions; they can help you gauge how effective you have been in teaching the content of the program. Discuss the Table of Contents with the class to help them review for the end-of-the-year assessment. Invite students to name the important concepts and words they have learned this year.
Prepare an evaluation form for the students to complete during your last session. List the major activities, prayer experiences, and service projects that have been part of your students’ experience this year. Have students rank their response to these activities. For example, a happy or sad face for primary children or a numerical assessment (1 for least effective; 5 for most effective) for older students. You might also provide space on the form for students to write what they enjoyed most about their experience in your class this year and one thing they might change.
Pray and Celebrate Together
Plan a special prayer service incorporating one of the significant Scripture stories from the year. Include a blessing ritual in the prayer service in which you call your students forward one at a time to trace the Sign of the Cross on their foreheads as you say something personal to each of them and remind them of God’s love for them.
Schedule the prayer service near the end of your session and invite parents to attend. Take time during the celebration to thank the students and their parents for their participation during the year. You may also want to give each student a small gift—a prayer card on which you have written a personal note, a medal, or a religious pin—as a memory of your year together.
Continuing the Commitment
Take some time in the coming weeks to evaluate your experience as a catechist this year. What did you enjoy most? What challenges did you encounter? What will you change for next year?
As a rule of thumb, most first-year catechists benefit from teaching at least two years. In the first year, everything is new—you are learning how to use a Catechist Guide, how to work with students, class procedures, and parish policies. The second year is often more rewarding because you can focus more on the needs of the students than on your practical, routine responsibilities. Veteran catechists return year after year because they enjoy the fellowship and appreciate the opportunity to server the Church in her mission of evangelization. Whether or not you are a new or veteran catechist, give serious thought to continuing the commitment for another year. God relies on your time and talents to continue Christ’s work in the world!
