Tabor Publishing has been selling their First Eucharist prep video since 1987 -- a series of stories called "The Oak Street Chronicles" -- and it should have been withdrawn from the market 20 years ago.
I was first exposed to it as a parent about 12 years ago. Several other parents and I complained to our CCD head, and nothing was done. When I learned that the retired CCD head shared my concerns about the series, I called Tabor myself and explained the problems with the materials. They said that they had heard the complaints before, and that they were coming out with a newer series to replace it. (A lie, in retrospect.)
Five years later, another child of mine was ready for First Communion, and I determined that they were STILL using the same program at my parish. (Even though the Pastor had promised me 5 years earlier that he had been in touch with Tabor himself, and that "changes are occurring as we speak.") This is how my Parish had solved the problem: they continued to show the videos to the 7 year olds, but they no longer showed them to the parents! And they supposedly told the 7 year olds to IGNORE the parts of the videos that sent the wrong message. That's when I decided to switch parishes.
I also called the Diocese, and tried to get them to take the series off their approved list, but they weren't interested in doing so. Unfortunately, I couldn't switch Dioceses.
The problem in a nutshell: the cute little stories contain messages that could enable pedophiles. I and other parents (and at least one CCD head) could figure this out. In retrospect, it's clear that the whole Catholic Church has had a blind spot with regard to this issue. But NOW? In 2007? What possible excuse can we have for still peddling junk like this to our kids?
Here's a link:
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/emrc/Series300W.html"VCW-300 OAK STREET CHRONICLES SERIES- (E); 3 VC's, 10 Episodes, 10 to 16 min. ea.; Tabor, 1987.
"Ten dynamic stories dealing with the ethical issues that children confront in their daily lives. Each video parable introduces a theme which helps the child to understand a sacrament. For Catholics the series accompanies specific lessons in Welcome Home and Welcome To The Table.
" Ep. 1 THE BEGINNING- The neighborhood kids correct their wrong first impression of a mysterious neighbor when he befriends them and lets them use a room for their clubhouse.
"Ep. 2 THE WRONG CHOICE- Liz disobeys her mother and has to suffer the consequences of her wrong choice."
The two really objectionable episodes also happen to be the first two.
IN THE BEGINNING, a group of elementary age friends are shown spying on an older man who is new to the neighborhood. No one knows him and they don't trust him. They wonder about that strange building in his backyard. Then the mother of one of the kids asks her child to take a package to this man. The other children are alarmed, as they watch their friend disappear into the house with the stranger. Their friend and the man finally emerge, all smiles. Then nice Mr. Wo invites all the kids -- none of whom know him, or appear to have parents who know him (except for the package-mother) to come into his backyard. He brings them into an outbuilding back there and tells them that if they clean it up, they can use it for their own clubhouse! Cool! Without a word to any of their parents, or any concern at all, they get to work.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A DUMBER STORY TO BE TELLING 7 YEAR OLD FIRST COMMUNICANTS?
Well, as hard as it may be to believe, the folks at Tabor thought up an equally dumb story for the second episode, THE WRONG CHOICE.
In this story Liz (maybe 10 years old, as I recall) was told by her mother to watch her little brother. Something came up, Liz had something better to do, so she brought her brother to her friends' house and asked her friend to take care of her brother for her. When the mother came home, neither of her children was there! Mom was surprised, and worried -- and just then, Liz turned up on her bike. Mom asked her where her little brother was, and Liz had to admit she didn't exactly know: she had left him at her friend's house. That was THE WRONG CHOICE. Mom is mad.
Right at that moment, Mr. Wo drives up. He's got a bunch of kids in his car. One of them is little brother. It turns out that Mr. Wo just got back from taking a bunch of kids -- including Liz's friend and Liz's little brother -- to the swimming pool for the afternoon.
Mom is all smiles and thanks Mr. Wo. Everyone is happy now.
EXCUSE ME??? What mother in her right mind would be angry at her 10 year old for leaving her brother with a friend and NOT be angry at the adult man who -- without her permission or even so much as leaving a note -- took her five year old son with a group of older kids to the swimming pool?
We have all had some terrible lessons since 1987. You'd think we'd be smarter by now. No parish should be peddling this junk anymore. Seriously.
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