Or maybe it’s OK. I don’t know. You be the judge…but please don’t judge me to be a looney and please don’t call the police on me!
My First Confession
Whenever I walk through a tunnel, I always shout out to hear the echo. Always. It helps if I’ve got children with me to turn it into a game. But, I will also shout out if I’m on my own walking or riding my bike through a tunnel or an underpass. Usually, I’m desperately hoping no one will catch me being slightly frivolous and free!
My Second Confession
One of the few times in my life when I’ve taken something without the owner’s consent (yes, I’m avoiding saying that I’ve stolen something!) was in 1999. The worst part of this story is that I don’t think I regret the criminal act.
For a moment, imagine the scene. I was in Sixth Form. One week into my A Level Religious Studies class, we were each given a copy of ‘The Catechism of the Catholic Church’ to help us complete the homework tasks we had been given. However, once the catechism was in my possession, I didn’t return it. I still have it today on my bookshelf, alongside some updated editions. Yes, that’s right, I stole a catechism. I kept it by my bed and I spent a disproportionate amount of time reading it – in between clubbing and planning what I’d be wearing for the Sixth Form prom.
What Sort of 17-Year Old Does That?!
The answer to that is simple. I was a 17-year old who was searching and hungry for truth and I was seeking to understand some of the bigger, existential questions of life, while grappling with the moral dilemmas that were beginning to face me in my late-teenage day to day existence.
‘The Catechism of the Catholic Church’ is a book that is a complete summary of all the teachings of the Catholic faithful. I had suddenly begun to find answers that made some sense to me. Feel free to call me a geek: I was honestly gripped. At 17, I could not believe that the Church would be so bold to include teachings on topics like masturbation! At that time, I did not understand why the Church would need to say anything on the topic of fortune telling, but I was learning and learning fast.
The word ‘catechism’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘to echo’ and during Sixth Form, the truth of the Church’s teaching was echoing round my mind equally as loudly as lyrics by the Stereophonics or the Bluetones.
That echo of the teachings of the Catholic Church certainly did not only begin in 1992 when Pope John Paul II promulgated the catechism. Catholics believe in the authority of both Scripture and Tradition. The echo of the truth of Jesus Christ has been echoing through the centuries since the Early Church and various forms and versions of a catechism book have existed over the years. (Ask any Catholic in their mid-60s or older to answer the question, ‘Who made me?’ and inevitably you will receive the stock answer, ‘God made me…’, learned by rote by many of that generation from the ‘Penny Catechism’).
Why Am I Telling You All of This?
I want to share with you some of the enthusiasm that my 17-year old self had for learning about the Church’s teaching because I know that this learning made me understand and love the Church more, it made me a better youth minister and teacher, friend and wife. It may sound corny, but as we read in John 8:32, ‘…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’
Who doesn’t want to be free? Free to love, to live life to the full…and maybe occasionally free to run through tunnels shouting with abandon!
So, through The Ten Ten Hub and the articles you will find here, we hope that whether or not you are a Catholic, you will delve deeper into some of the teachings of the Catholic Church and gain a greater understanding why, as Catholics, we do and say some of the weird and wonderful things that are part of the tradition that has been echoed down to us through the centuries.
My First and Second Confession Leads to a Third Confession
Here is my third confession – I love St John Paul II! So my parting gift to you today is my absolute favourite video of St John Paul echoing a bit of truth. You can thank me later!
Related content:
Programme Update for Secondary Schools (LTTF)
New Year 10 lessons and videos, and changes to the programme structure
Read More
Human Dignity and the Protected Characteristics
What insights does the recent declaration on human dignity offer for teachers of RSE?
Read More
Year 9 New Content
Over the past term, we have uploaded seven brand new Life to the Full sessions for Year 9.
Read More
The Heart of the Matter
What can Pope Francis’s encyclical Dilexis Nos teach us about Catholic RSE?
Read More
Statement from Ten Ten Resources
A recent negative assessment of our Life to the Full programme by the organisation Voice of the Family has prompted us to reflect again on our vision and mission.
Read More
Let’s Talk About Smartphones
It’s hard to miss the numerous news articles, social media posts, documentaries and books discussing the impact of smartphones on the lives of young people.
Read More
What’s new for 2024-2025 from Ten Ten Resources?
Read about the latest subscription news and updates
Read More
How stories change the world
This month we are exploring one of Ten Ten’s key principles - the belief that stories have the power to change hearts and minds.
Read More
Gender Questioning Children in Schools and RSHE
Exploring the new draft Government guidance
Read More
Why is pornography a problem?
On Thursday 19th October 2023 Ten Ten Resources will be live-streaming a discussion session for parents and carers of children in KS2 and KS3 on the subject of pornography. Commissioned by the Catholic Education Service, this session is available free of charge and will be live streamed at 9.15am, 3.30pm and 6.00pm. Here, Ten Ten’s CPD Leader Nicola Sweetman tells us why parents should be encouraged to discuss pornography with their children.
Read More
What’s new for Life to the Full Secondary?
Useful updates and reminders as you begin the new term
Read More
Subscription Packages and Loyalty Discounts for 2023/4
Discover how bundling your Life to the Full, CPD and Collective Worship subscriptions will give you amazing savings!
Read More
An Interview with… Rod Isaacs
How to get the most out of Life to the Full for Post-16 pupils
Read More
Change in age for marriage and civil partnerships
What has changed in the law and how is it reflected in LTTF Secondary?
Read More
“How many times do you need to be reminded?”
What is a spiral curriculum and how can the Life to the Full programme be considered one?
Read More
CPD – Watch again
Did you know that we now have a ‘watch again’ function for our CPD sessions?
Read More
Is Your School In Wales?
If the answer is ‘yes’, then you may be interested to learn how we are working with the Catholic Education Service Wales to help you implement the new statutory Guidance and Code for RSE.
Read More
St Bernadette Relics Tour and Ten Ten Resources
We are delighted to be an official partner of the St Bernadette Relics Tour…
Read More
Should Schools Consult With Parents About RSHE Every Year?
Let’s have a look at what the DfE says and how you can fulfil this through your ‘Life to the Full’ subscription…
Read More
The Real Mo Farah…
…and how you can explore the real issues of human trafficking with students.
Read More
CPD Sessions for the Start of the New Academic Year…
Whether you need to familiarise returning staff with programme updates or you need to get new staff up to speed, we’ve got sessions for you starting on 1st September...
Read More
Hub Highlights
Looking back over this academic year, we’ve had so many great articles to share with you through the Teacher Hub that we’ve decided to compile some of the most popular to share with you again in case you missed them the first time round!
Read More
What’s New For 2022-23?
The first thing you will notice at the start of the new academic year is that we will have a new website. We have been working with some wonderful website designers and developers to address some of the key issues that our users have fed back. We hope that our new website will improve your user experience and the way you access the content.
Read More
Have You Seen Our New CPD Package?
Due to the amazing success of our CPD events this year, we are delighted to announce…
Read More
Ideas For Funding Your Ten Ten Resources Subscription
Is renewing your Ten Ten Resources subscription a difficult decision because of financial challenges?
Read More
Now Is The Time To Resubscribe
Find out how to renew your subscription here… Did you know that most Life to the Full subscriptions expire on 31st July 2022? It is the same case with the majority of Combined Collective Worship and Life to the Full subscriptions. To maintain access and to prepare for the new academic year in September, schools need to renew.
Read More
Natural Family Planning: Myths and Misconceptions
What might a Catholic say to the argument that Natural Family Planning (NFP) is still a couple ‘playing God’, albeit in a more natural way than using contraception?
Read More
The Law and DIY Abortions
The phrase ‘DIY abortion’ might conjure up tragic images from times before abortion was legalised; characterised by fear, judgement of ‘unfeeling’ or ‘promiscuous’ women and a lack of understanding or communication about changing attitudes towards sex. A particularly harrowing episode of ‘Call the Midwife’ involving a backstreet abortion springs to mind. Now, more than 50 years on, have things changed?
Read More
‘It is love that has explained everything to me’
‘It is love that has explained everything to me,’ is a quotation from St John Paul II, but what did teachers from around the country think about learning about his Theology of the Body?
Read More
Communicating with Parents About RSHE
What does the Government and the Church say about engaging with parents about RSHE and how does Ten Ten Resources enable schools to support parents?
Read More
Keeping Children Safe in Education – Secondary Schools
In January we shared an article for primary schools on ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’. We’ve since had requests for an article for our secondary school colleagues, so here it is…
Read More
#PrayforUkraine
In response to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, we have created a prayer resource freely available for use in schools across the country.
Read More
Warning Children About Pornography
How young is too young to warn children about pornography?
Read More
Human Trafficking – Sixth Form Resource
It’s hard to believe that slavery exists in our modern world…
Read More
Religion Is Booming On Social Media
Two thousand years before social media was a ‘thing’ Jesus was trend setting and getting people to follow Him!
Read More
(The Pope’s) Sex Education
No, this isn’t the Pope’s exclusive review of the popular Netflix series ‘Sex Education’.
Read More
Ten Ten’s Guidance on Protected Characteristics
Ten Ten has published guidance which provides a summary of the expectation on schools to teach about the Protected Characteristics and guidance on how we support Catholic primary and secondary schools in this teaching through our programme, Life to the Full.
Read More
Standard vs Super
If you came here expecting an in-depth character analysis of Clark Kent and Superman across the entire franchise, I’m afraid you’ll be sorely disappointed. (Sorry-not-sorry about the deliberately misleading picture and title).
Read More
One Kind Word
Bullying is not funny, I think we’d all agree on that. Therefore, I was quite surprised to find that bullying related humour is a thing!
Read More
Addressing Gender Stereotypes
“Hmmm… it looks like a tampax advert!” This was the response of my male friend (on more than one occasion!) when we were discussing the colours on a poster for events we were organising at university.
Read More
Key Decisions
In creating the Life to the Full programme we have tried to pitch the resources at an age-appropriate level for children within each learning stage.
Read More
New CPD Courses
We are delighted to announce that we have created a number of exciting new CPD opportunities for both subscribers and non-subscribers in the areas of Collective Worship and RSHE.
Read More
New Year 11 Programme
Starting with ‘Self Worth’ on Monday 6th September, our new Year 11 resources are ready for gradual release over the coming weeks.
Read More
Relationship Watch
There’s something in us all that is intrigued by human relationships - how they work, how they don’t, and how they thrive or nose-dive under certain pressures of life.
Read More
