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Thursday, October 19, 2000
ConmeMiiry
Everyday Graces
The Southern Cross, Page 5
I applaud many innovations
in education, but as the
mother of four school-age
children, I confess to hav
ing a serious problem
with one of them—the
daily reading log. In
many elementary schools,
children are required to
keep a list of the title of
Reading is not a
that book isn’t appreciated as
much for the pleasure it
yielded as for the oppor
tunity to add yet anoth
er title to the list.
Yes, children need
motivation to read. All
the competition from
television, computers, and
Nintendos prevents chil-
every book they read, the Mary Hood Hart dren from filling up their
date they read it, and the author’s
name. Sometimes they even have
to list the number of pages read. I
guess such a log is necessary in an
age when children aren’t reading as
much as they should, but I sure
wish there were another way to
encourage reading without turning
it into conspicuous consumption.
In my life, reading has always
been a pleasure, something I’ve
done not because I have to or
should, but because I want to. I
wish for my children that same
pleasure. Although reading logs are
intended to keep children enthusi
astic about reading for its own
sake, they can have the reverse
effect, by turning reading into a
method of getting something—
whether it be a good grade, recog
nition, or a prize. While surely the
child enjoys the book at the time,
leisure time with books. Yet could
n’t that motivation be found in
more creative ways than assigning
reading logs and giving awards to
the children who’ve consumed the
most book in a month?
When my son was in first grade,
he was required to fill in a log for
all the books he read alone or I
read to him. Each time the chil
dren’s lists reached the one hun
dred mark, their names were posted
on the classroom wall, and they
were rewarded. The list of children
who read 100 books included most
of the class. But the list grew short
er as the numbers increased. My
son’s name appeared with many
others on the list of those having
read over 200 books (there are only
180 days of school) but a couple of
children in his class were listed as
having read over 600.
competitive sport
When I spoke to his teacher
about it, she shared her dismay that
the competition had heated up so
intensely among one or two chil
dren, and she felt they were reading
books mainly to show each other
up. While there’s no doubt that
reading skills will improve with all
this reading going on, I have to
wonder how much pleasure these
children derived from the books
themselves. And what will happen
to their interest when reading is no
longer a contest?
While I encourage my children to
read, I don’t make a fuss about the
competition. I am doubtful they
will ever win a prize for the most
books read. But I have confidence
that one day they’ll enjoy books for
the intrinsic rewards they bring.
I must admit feeling a little infe
rior to those parents who do such a
competent job of keeping their
children’s reading logs up to date.
While reading is as natural in our
household as eating and sleeping,
recording what we read is not. I’ll
read a chapter of a book aloud
almost every’ evening to my chil
dren, but only rarely do I remember
to write it down. When we sit on
the couch to impulsively page
through a book, I make a mental
note to record the book later, but
invariably I forget. At the end of
the week or month, when reading
logs are due, I try to reconstruct
what we read, but I always over
look some titles.
I start feeling really silly when I
scour the bookshelves at home try
ing to pick out books we read over
the last weeks, so I can write them
down in the log. Perhaps I’ve got a
problem with reading logs because
they remind me of the times in my
life when I’ve been required to
count calories. I never enjoyed
recording those either, and eating
certainly became less pleasurable
when I had to log everything I put
into my mouth.
I’m willing to accept the fact that
in most grades, particularly the
early ones, reading logs are here to
stay. But as one who tries to be
understanding and supportive of
my children’s teachers and their
requirements, I hope they can
appreciate my nostalgia for my
own school days—when reading
was considered a pastime, not a
competitive sport.
Mary Hood Hart lives with her
husband and four children in
Sunset Beach, N.C.
Lay Ministry takes academic, spiritual preparation
By Kate Blain
Albany, NY
4 iscemment” is part of the process for
JL/those considering a vocation to reli
gious life. People interested in lay ministry
should go through a discernment process too,
say experts in the field.
Preparing to become a “lay ecclesial minis
ter” —the newest term for laity serving the
Church—takes both academic and spiritual
preparation, said Maureen O’Brien of
Duquesne University, president of the
Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry.
The association encompasses more than 50
graduate education programs in the United
States.
Most of those involved in lay ministry are
middle-aged women, many with grown chil
dren. A new book from the Center for Applied
Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Catho
licism USA: A Portrait of the Catholic Church
in the United States, cites the average age of
lay ecclesial ministers as 50 and notes that the
majority are Caucasian. But an increasing num
ber of post-college-age people of various races
are being drawn toward lay ministry.
“We’re getting more people who are
younger,” said Betsy Rowe, director of the two-
year Formation for Ministry Program (FMP)
for the Diocese of Albany, New York. The pro
gram trains lay people to use their gifts in min
istry. This year, its youngest participants are in
their late 20s and early 30s. Several African
Americans and Hispanics are participating.
Ms. O’Brien said a positive campus ministry
experience during college or volunteering with
an organization like the Jesuit Volunteer Corps
leads young people to feel called to lay min
istry. “Virtually everyone I talk to sees it as a
call,” she said.
Deciding whether to pursue a career as a
youth minister, director of religious education
or pastoral associate should not be a snap deci
sion, the experts agreed.
“It’s a process of discernment: looking at
yourself and having dialogue with those who
know you well, who can listen and give honest
feedback,” Ms. O’Brien stated. “An [internal]
call is vital, but you need a sense of external
call.”
Those not already active in a faith community
probably aren’t appropriate for lay ministry
careers, Ms. Rowe noted. She said active laity
should ask themselves, “What are my gifts?
Where is my passion? What kind of work gives
me life?”
“Talk to people already involved in ministry
and have them tell their stories,” she urged.
Next, said the experts, lay persons should find
out what credentials are necessary for the area
of ministry that interests them.
Ms. O’Brien said each diocese has different
requirements; religious education directors usu
ally need a master’s degree, and one may be
required for pastoral associates, as well. Some
dioceses require a pastor’s recommendation for
acceptance into a pastoral-formation program.
Lay ministry formation programs are just
being instituted in many dioceses, Ms. O’Brien
said. “There’s an attempt to create something
appropriate to the lives and call of lay people.”
Laity may have to explore outside their own
dioceses to find an appropriate program, she
added.
Some dioceses have internship programs that
help laity gain skills while discerning their call.
Ms. O’Brien believes some type of “supervised
placement” is necessary.
Academically, she said, lay ministers need a
grounding in traditional areas of theology,
including Scripture, Christology and ethics; and
ministerial skills, including pastoral counseling,
communication skills, planning liturgies and,
for religious education directors, catechesis.
“You need appropriate credentials,” Ms.
Rowe stated. “I’m not sure that’s a master’s in
theology. It could be a degree in social work
with theology credits.”
Spiritual formation is as important as aca
demics, the pair said. “What the best programs
are coming to [believe] is that lay people grow
individually and communally,” Ms. O’Brien
said. She recommended reflecting on one’s call
through Bible study or Renew 2000 groups, and
said formation also should include spiritual
(Continued on page 11)