Possible Scheduling Solutions for MAPM Formation 2018-1019

1. The reasons for the scheduling difficulties

1. The current Tuesday 4 to 6 PM time slot works well for the students in the second-year formation
cohort.
2. But the current Tuesday 3 to 6 PM time slot probably will not work for the first-year and third-
year students because of their other commitments (3:00 is pretty early for grad students to come
to campus).
3. We have a second-year student who also needs to take the fall first-year formation course, so we
cannot have first-year and second-year class instruction at the same time, from 4 to 5 PM.

2. Proposed Solution 1: Modify the schedule for first and third-year students.
1. The second-year students could continue to meet on Tuesdays from 4 to 6,
2. and the first and third-year students could meet on one Saturday a month and on the third
Tuesday of the month when we have joint sessions:
3. First-year students could meet from 9 to 12 on Saturday.
4. Third-year students could meet from 11 to 1 on Saturday.
5. First-year students would have 2 hours of instruction in the morning. We would all eat together
and pray together from 11 to 12; then first-year students would leave, and third-year students
would have their hour of instruction after lunch.

3. Proposed Solution 2: Change the formation schedule for all students to Saturdays and Tuesdays.
1. From now on, have one Saturday a month be a formation day for all MAPM students.
2. Begin the day after 8:00 Mass and have a light breakfast and lunch together.
3. Have separate instruction for each of the three years of formation:
1. First-year students have instruction from 9:00 to 11:00.
2. Second-year students have instruction from 11:00 to 12:00.
3. Everyone eats together and socializes or prays from 12:00 to 1:30.
4. Third-year students have instruction from 1:30 to 2:30.
4. Continue to meet one Tuesday a month from 4 to 6 PM: everyone comes together for a joint
formation session, which includes instruction, evening prayer with the seminarians (the students
love this part of formation), and a dinner together.

4. Proposed Solution 3: Change the formation schedule to simply one Saturday a month for all students
and no longer have separate instruction for the three years of students.
1. Designate one day a month—a Saturday—as formation day: students come together to study and
discuss a topic and there is not a schedule of first-year, second-year, and third-year topics.
5. Rather, each Saturday has a set topic that everybody studies together. And students are required
to come to a certain number of formation days in order to complete the MAPM program.
6. Only Saturdays are formation days, and there are no Tuesday joint sessions.

Solution 2 seems to be the best solution for moving forward as we try to find a more sustainable way to
do formation. Solution 2 seems to solve the scheduling problem that we have on Tuesday
afternoons/evenings, in which it is difficult for one set of students to come in as early as 3:00 in the
afternoon.

At the same time, and most importantly, Solution 2 respects that people in different stages of the program
are going to need different levels of formation. This solution continues to have the students form a cohort
with their own year of students and to receive instruction that builds upon instruction (that is, beginning
with happiness and virtue, and then moving on to the sacraments and temperaments and friendship and so
forth). Solution 2 also allows the students to experience evening prayer with the seminarians once a
month. For many students, this aspect of formation has been one of their favorite parts. Finally, Solution 2
works well for me as the instructor. I can continue to work with the different cohorts of students, and
Saturdays are good days for me to come in to the seminary.