My teenage daughters’ favorite television show is The Glee Project. On The Glee Project twelve teenagers and early-twenty-somethings live together for three months and learn how to be actors, actresses, singers, and dancers. But, it’s also a competition, where one person “goes home” each week and the eventual winner gets a starring role in the television show Glee.
Our entire family, girlfriends, guy friends, and neighbors all come together on Tuesday night to watch this show. So, one night, I wondered, “What makes this show so important for these teens and what can I learn from it?” Or, more to the point, “What can it teach me about forming kids in faith, particularly through the RCIA?”
Here’s what I learned from watching the show with a group of teenagers and how it applies to RCIA.
Teens love to hear the story of other teens
Everyone loves a good story. The same is true for teens. They love to hear of the joys, challenges, frustrations, anxieties and questions of other teens. It’s good for them to know that other kids have the struggles and interests that they do. For example, on one show Michael said, “I love calculus.” My Katherine cheered, “Somebody else loves calculus!” Now, she forever admires Michael. In addition, the young people on the show talk about more serious issues, insecurities, hopes and dreams, too.
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Granted — it’s a television show. But, the point is that it’s important for teens to talk to each other about what’s going on in their lives. In this way, they can support and help one another.
Implication for RCIA
Provide opportunities for teens to share their stories with one another. This is an important part of what happens in precatechumenate.
Teens like to work together and learn from each other
On The Glee Project young people work together to become better singers and dancers. It’s a group project where they work hard, but also have fun. It’s also a competition and that’s where our analogy breaks down, since nothing about Church or discipleship is competitive. Nonetheless, kids enjoy some healthy competition.
Implication for RCIA
Have baptized teens work together with the unbaptized teens to learn what it means to be a Catholic Christian teenager in the 21st century. Maybe even do a group project like collecting socks for the Shoe Bus. The winning group gets a smoothie!
Teens need mentors to help them along the way
Some of our favorite characters on The Glee Project are “the mentors.” These are the adult professionals who help the young people learn to sing, dance and act. When watching the show, you get the feeling that they really care about the kids and that they really listen to their stories.
Implication for RCIA
As an initiation minister or catechist, think of yourself as a “mentor,” rather than a teacher. Just like with singing or dancing, you teach by example rather than from a book.
Teens with common goals and interests will form community
Even though it’s a television competition, the kids on Glee Project form community. They come together around a common goal. They all have a similar purpose for being there. Imagine if the common goal was becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Implication for RCIA
Make the heart of your catechumenate process conversion to Jesus Christ. Teenagers will form community around the person of Jesus Christ and good news of his Gospel message.
Lastly, I must admit that there are parts of The Glee Project that I find inappropriate and over-sexualized. But, most everyday teenagers have to deal with situations and people that are inappropriate and over-sexualized. If you have a teenager in high school, you know what I mean! Thus, I believe that if we are going to minister to teens in the RCIA, we must be comfortable talking about and dealing with the issues they face every day. And, we must be comfortable showing them how to deal with those issues in the way that Jesus would.
Your thoughts?
What television shows to the teens in your life watch? What are the implications for faith formation, especially in the RCIA?
Good thoughts, Rita!
Can you address the question of discernment for teens? The persistent competition dynamic in reality shows usually substitutes for plot (keeps people watching to the end). But I wonder if, in real life, these entertainments create more anxiety for teens overall. Will any teen who needs more time for the process be likely to feel they “lost” and others “won” or something like that. Is there some “discernment” (going by another name) in the Glee world?
Or perhaps this is going to come up in your webinar?
What an insightful reflection! Thank you, Rita.
Good questions, Rita. There is a lot about “The Glee Project” that does not fit with or relate to RCIA in any way. However, the discernment issue you raise is very important. In RCIA with teens discernment is ongoing throughout the process. The underlying discernment question is always there, “Do you want to follow Jesus and live this Catholic Christian way of life?” Not all teens who start the process find they want to live this life and thus they opt out.
In addition, a more specific discernment happens before each of the rites when we help teens discern if conversion is truly happening. That type of discernment is an adaptation of what we do with adults or children.
Going back to the “The Glee Project,” some of those kids also do a type of discernment and they opt out of the competition. Both this season and last season one of the young people decided they didn’t want the type of life style that was being offered and they chose to go home. Glee did not fit their value system or way of life. They were not willing to do what was being asked.
For us as Catholic Christians, we offer teens a way of life and help them to discern if they want to follow the way of Jesus Christ. There are no winners and losers. Everyone who wants to follow Christ according to the Catholic Christian way of life is indeed welcome.