I thought of Dr. Scott Clark's great article, Why We Memorize the Cathechism
which is in turn taken from Dorothy Sayer's The Lost Tools of Learning.
Dr. Clark says, "In the 'pert' stage (circa ages 9-12), children begin to analyze the raw data which they have memorized. Because they lack emotional maturity, the questions may be expressed rudely (hence 'pert'), but in fact questions about the faith show that children are trying to make sense for themselves of what they have been taught. If properly catechized, children now have something interesting to discuss at Sabbath lunch, especially in the pert stage. They will also ask questions just before bed such as, 'Daddy, how can God be one in three persons?' This will be a good stimulus for parents to learn the catechism for themselves!"
About the "poet" stage, he says, "In the 'poet' stage (circa ages 12-14), children begin to apprehend that there is more to reality than what they can taste, touch, see, smell and hear They begin to learn how to express themselves more appropriately and to appreciate the finer things in life. Much more importantly, however, if we begin catechizing our children early enough, by the time they reach this stage, we can expect them to begin to 'discern the body' (1 Corinthians 11:29), to be ready for profession of faith, to take up the covenant for themselves and to be ready to be fed by Christ's body and blood with Christ's congregation. If we catechize our children early on, by the grace of the Spirit, they are able to develop their powers of doctrinal discernment, which they will certainly need."
Most of the children in our group have taken the pre-profession class with Pastor Brown, some have made profession of faith and some are scheduled to do so very soon. I would say that they are already in the "poet" stage! Because their emotional maturity is still developing, we have chosen (in counsel) the name "pre-poets".
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