I was really commenting on the anxiety of the kids (actually, mostly of the program leaders who didn't want to look bad in front of the new guy.) As it turned out though, they had done a good job teaching the kids, and they were able to handle anything the Abp threw at them.
If they've been properly instructed in the essentials of the faith (rather than just handed a bunch of touchy-feely stuff with no content), it shouldn't be a problem. Unless you had a kid who was painfully shy . . . but my daughter is about as shy as they come and she had no difficulty (although I'm sure the archbishop was wishing he hadn't asked "Who was St. Martin of Tours?" because he got a two paragraph answer (and she could have given him ten if he hadn't thanked her.)) Remember these aren't the little kids any more, they're confirming them now as high school sophomores or freshmen. My daughter was one of the older students, because we had come in sideways from the Episcopal Church and the poor kid had to get confirmed AGAIN.
Speaking of which, the Episcopal confirmation class was a joke. They didn't learn much of anything about the history of the church, the liturgy, Scripture, or theology. They just talked about their "feelings" for the entire class. I attended a couple of classes, and my daughter and I started counting the times the facilitator said "Faith Journey". We quit counting at 50 because we were laughing so hard people were looking at us funny.
It was a good thing she got reconfirmed in a Church that actually (1) believes; and (2) teaches it to the kids.
Thanks for the additional information. I agree that solid instruction is very important. I learned the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a Presbyterian :-).
I wouldn't laugh so much here:
" Speaking of which, the Episcopal confirmation class was a joke. They didn't learn much of anything about the history of the church, the liturgy, Scripture, or theology. They just talked about their "feelings" for the entire class. I attended a couple of classes, and my daughter and I started counting the times the facilitator said "Faith Journey". We quit counting at 50 because we were laughing so hard people were looking at us funny."
My Parish does that. No books, no learning whatsoever of Church history or teachings. It's just a social time for two hours, and nothing integral happens. The only reason I know anything about my faith is my Jesuit HS and self-research (I was confirmed last year).