Due to our human dignity, all people have both the responsibility and right to work. However, work is not equated with the type of work we do or the product we make. Because work is an expression of human dignity, through our work we are able to join with God in shaping the world.
1. Hold a class debate. One side should take the stance of Genesis 2:15 on work; that is, work is part of our nature and our destiny. We participate in God’s work. The other side should take the stance of Genesis 3:17-19; that is, work is a curse for human sin.
Have the students meet as a team and come up for reasons that support their position on work. Call on representatives from each team to share a reason. Allow the other team to respond to the point. Then switch the order.
To conclude the debate, have them students individually write short answers to the following questions:
Why do you think both messages about work appear in Scripture?
Why do you think the Church adopted the teaching of Genesis 2:15 rather than Genesis 3:17-19?
2. Have the students explore Jesus’ attitude toward work by reading the following passages and writing a short essay under the heading “What Jesus Believed about Work.” Tell them to reference at least three of the passages in their essay.
Luke 4:14-22
Matthew 12:9-14
John 5:1-30
Mark 2:23-28
Luke 14:1-6
John 9:1-17
Trust is an important component of friendship, and closely related to faith. Trust is something people use to critique their personal relationships—both friendships and dating relationships. Create a worksheet with the following sentence starters. Each sentence should be finished with a first name. Accompany the activity with a discussion about trust and what the students learned from writing down these names.
Whom Do You Trust
Fill in the blanks of people you trust to
. . . keep a secret
__________________
. . . offer you sound advice
__________________
. . . always be there for you
__________________
. . . tell the truth no matter how bad—or how good—it is
__________________
. . . borrow your car
__________________
. . . stick up for you
__________________
. . . use your debit car
__________________
. . . look at your phone
__________________
. . . take care of you when you are sick
__________________
. . . take care of you if you were permanently disabled
__________________
Your theology classroom is likely a place for great discussion opportunities in both large and small groups. Consider these six basic principles to guide any discussion.
1. Quality vs. Quantity
Don’t try to finish all the items of a particular agenda or every question if some items are taking more time than anticipated. Carry the less urgent items to another discussion, or drop them altogether.
2. Make the Questions Available to Everyone
Have the questions or discussion items posted or on a handout where everyone can take a look at them before having to speak.
3. Have Clear Rules So that Everyone has a Chance to Speak
Establish a set of rules that everyone understands. For example, no one speaks a second time until everyone has a chance to speak, raise your hand if you want to speak, be courteous, etc.
4. Offer a Chance for a “Pre Response”
Allow everyone to jot down their response before being called on to speak.
5. Rotate Leadership
If a group has a moderator or leader, switch the roles so that everyone get a chance to be a leader.
6. Affirmations
Consider beginning any group discussion with having everyone go around the group or with a partner by offering a heartfelt compliment or affirmation to the person.
As the start of a school year draws near, you might appreciate this helpful acronym master catechist Frank Mercadante developed to help him remember what it means to E-D-U-C-A-T-E his students.
E mphasize Interaction
D iversity of Learning Approaches
U tilize Life Experience
C ontent Moderation
A pplicable to Real Life
T hree-fold Response
E nvironment of Concern
Here are some additional notes on each point.
Emphasize interaction with the students by breaking up your lesson presentations with discussions and other group-centered involvement (e.g. panels, forums, one-to-one conversation). Allow plenty of room for questioning.
Use a diversity of learning approaches by connecting with the four basic catechetical models suggested by the National Directory of Catechesis:
Community: For a sense of belonging among your students, not just in your classroom but within the larger student body and the Church herself.
Worship: Provide many opportunities for participation in liturgy and for personal prayer. Have you created a prayer corner in your classroom?
Service: Build in applications to every lesson. How will the students take what they have learned into their families and larger communities. Consider assigning in-class and outside of class service projects along with each unit of study.
Message: Don’t feel the need to water down the academic piece. Students are used to challenging courses in other subject areas. Your class can keep those standards.
Keep content moderation in mind. Your students don’t have to learn everything there is to know about God, Jesus, the Church, Scripture, and morality during one semester. In God’s Providence, they will have other chances in the future to go deeper on the same material.
Use both contemporary and historical examples of Catholic witnesses to make the lessons applicable to real life. Share everything from the examples of the lives of the saints to the lives of their peers.
Remember the three-fold response: catechesis involves educating whole person: head (knowing), heart (believing), and hands (doing).
Cultivate an environment of concern. This step can trump them all; if you like your students and they like you, it makes all the difference. You draw on their energy and they draw on yours. They feel that they are loved and cared for. It’s how Jesus was an effective teacher.
Best wishes on the start of the new semester!
Damien High School (Pomona, CA) theology teacher Gary Sullivan has compiled a valuable and sizable collection of resources including worksheets, videos, , slide presentations, vocabulary lists and much more around core courses and topics in a high school theology curriculum. These catechetical resources can be found at Apex Catechetics (searh: http://apexcatechetics.com/) .
Gary also has written many thought-provoking religiously-themed articles at Catholic365. Check out this months article, “The Biblical Meaning of Blood.”
Also, Gary’s collection of videos have been paired with Ave Maria Press’s high school textbooks and can be viewed by registered Catholic high school theology teachers* by clicking on any book on our Classroom Resource page.
*To register for full catalog of Classroom Resources, please email your name and school information to Heather Glenn at hglenn@nd.edu.
You may be on a team with the responsibility to offer direct service opportunities to your students. Use the summer months to collect a clearing house of ideas for direct service. For example:
Training to become a liturgical minister
Supporting homebound ministries
Teaching religious education
Offering free babysitting to parents in need
Cleaning up a park
Becoming a hospital helper
Organizing a Thanksgiving dinner for those in need
Volunteering at the public library
Planning a hunger fast with donations
Supporting a right to life event
Participating in meal preparation at a homeless shelter
Also, undertake personal reflection to help you with this effort. For example:
Think about successful opportunities for direct service that you have provided in the past. What are some common elements of these success stories?
Describe the attitudes of your teens towards direct service.
What do you find difficult in teaching your students about a Christian’s call to service.
Name some ways you can incorporate lessons on the Church’s social teaching within your programming.
Read and reflect on John 13:1-20. Define for yourself what it means to be a servant leader.
What are some other local parish and communities ministries and agencies with whom your school could partner to serve others.
Here's a moral case study you might present to your students with an assignment to follow up. For more case studies along with information and discussion questions related to the Ten Commandments, see: The Ten Commandments: Case Studies in Catholic Morality by Eileen Flynn.
Steve’s parents recently lost their jobs. They both worked at an overnight package-delivery facility, and the business went bankrupt. Most of the other people in the community also worked for the same employer, and they, too, are out of work. There are no other major employers in the area and prospects for finding jobs in the region are bleak. Many of their neighbors who are unemployed have listed their houses for sale. They want to sell their homes and move to other places to find work and begin anew.
Steve’s parents tell him what is going on. Steve is fifteen, and they feel he is old enough to understand the family’s situation. Steve’s four- and seven-year-old siblings are not part of the conversation because his parents think that they would not be able to grasp the reality that confronts them.
His parents tell Steve that the family is now living on unemployment insurance that will run out within a year. After that, there are some savings, but the savings will not last more than six to eight months. They tell Steve that he will need to find part-time jobs like landscaping and snow shoveling to help out. Things will have to change, and they will have to cut back. His parents tell Steve that they are canceling cable TV and Internet service, and that they will not be able to take the family vacation they planned. Also, the family food budget is going to be cut; there will be no expenditures for clothing; the thermostat will be turned down; and he will have to leave the school he is attending and transfer to the local public school because they cannot afford the private school tuition.
Steve is shocked by what he hears. Over the next few days he becomes sad and angry. Why should his life take such a harsh turn? He envies his best friend Mark, whose wealthy grandparents subsidize that family’s income. There are no changes in Mark’s family’s lifestyle. Steve becomes increasingly moody and thinks about running away from home. Anything to avoid looking for work mowing lawns for elderly neighbors.
Evaluation
1. Comment on how Steve’s parents are approaching the family’s economic crisis. Can you suggest a different, or better, approach?
2. What makes Steve feel so sad and angry? Does his emotional reaction indicate that he has a spiritual problem?
3. Is it fair that Mark’s family is not in economic crisis and Steve’s is? What responsibility, if any, does Mark’s family have to Steve’s and to others in the community?
4. Steve’s parents tell him that he will have to change to a public school, because they can no longer afford to pay tuition. Are there any steps that authorities at private schools can take to assist students like Steve?
Assign each of the following activities:
Read the parable of the weeds (Mt 13:24–30, 36–43) and the parable of the net (Mt 13:47–50). Write your own interpretation of these parables based on what they are saying about God’s judgment.
C. S. Lewis contrasted Heaven and hell using images like the one’s below. Create at least four more images of your own to contrast Heaven and hell.
Hell is . . . Heaven is . . .
an unending Church service without God God without a Church service
grey and so are its inhabitants full of colors and all colors of people
full of clocks and telephones full of only those possessions you gave
away on earth
sex without pleasure pleasure without sex.
Lewis also wrote, “The safest road to hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” What does Lewis mean? Is he correct? Offer evidence one way or the other.
