What Religious Education Teaches Me

During my freshmen and sophomore year at Padua, I struggled with finding service opportunities for myself. I volunteered when some occasional service opportunities arouse, but I could never fully find a job that would satisfy my need to give back to the community. However, it was during my Junior year when I realized that my own parish needed my help that I was able to donate an hour of my time every weekend from September to late April. The service opportunity I pursed was by becoming an aide to a religious education class of fourth graders every Sunday from 10AM to 11AM at St. Mary Magdalen Parish.

Parents who send their children to public schools are able to guarantee a Catholic education for their children through religious education programs all across America. These classes are similar to normal school classes as students are given textbooks that are reviewed by an ad hoc committee from the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in accordance with the Catholic faith. Religious education students are even given quarterly assessments to monitor their progress. Although classes are only an hour per weekend, most of the expected school policies still apply to the students to support a thriving, educational setting.

As an aide to a class of fourth graders, I mainly perform small tasks such as taking attendance and individually helping the students when they cannot grasp concepts. However, the greatest part of volunteering at a religious education program is being able to observe the change in the young students’ faiths as they continue to learn more about their own religion. Although I am not as involved in comparison to the main teacher of the class, I am able to watch my students grow into more mature and educated Catholics. Being able to witness their curiosity and excitement regarding their faith is where I find joy in this service opportunity.