“Jesus said to him,
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first
commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. On these two commands hang all the law and the prophets.”
(Matt. 22:37-40)
Objective:
This class is intended
to present to high school freshmen a broad overview of the major
doctrines and teachings of the Catholic faith in the context of the
student’s own personal character formation and development. This
class, therefore, seeks to help students build good character and
develop Christian life skills, particularly by introducing their minds
as well as their hearts to both the intellectual and the practical
aspects of the values and practices of the Catholic tradition.
Textbook and
Readings:
-
Building Catholic
Character: Developing Christian Life Skills, by Janie
Gustafson. Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, Inc., 1998.
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Excerpts from other
assigned readings will be distributed in class throughout the
semester.
Course Structure:
The course begins by
introducing what it means to be human, what it means to be Catholic,
and what it means to grow in the image of, and in relationship with,
God. The course then proceeds to a deeper examination of these
questions by looking into relevant implications of six attributes of
God: Goodness, Power, Wisdom, Love, Mercy, and Justice. It is
important to note that we look at these aspects of God not solely as
abstract theological concepts, but more so as they relate to
adolescent students in today’s reality.
Tentative Topics of
Study:
Being Human and Being
Christian
Goodness
-
Healthy Self-Esteem
-
Integrity and Honesty
Power
Wisdom
-
Making Good Decisions
-
Work
Love
-
Sexuality and
Friendship
-
Generosity
Mercy
-
Peace and Patience
-
Forgiveness
Justice
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Fairness and Equity
-
Good Citizenship
Wholeness and Holiness
Grading Breakdown:
2 Research
papers/projects @ 50-75 points each
3-4 Tests @ 50-100
points each
6-8 Quizzes @ 10-25
points each
Homework and In-Class
Assignments @ 5-15 points each
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE =
around 800-1000 points (400-500 points per quarter)
Grading Scale:
A 100-93
A- 92-90
B+ 87-89
B 86-83
B- 82-80
C+ 79-77
C 76-73
C- 72-70
D+ 69-67
D 66-63
D- 62-60
F Below 60
How to Succeed in
Theology I, Personal Morality:
Success in this class
may be summed up with three bits of advice:
1. Pay Attention
Paying attention does
not simply mean listening (although listening is an important part of
paying attention). Rather, paying attention means that you actively
engage yourself with the topics being presented and discussed. Yes,
this means that you listen; but this also means that you open up your
mind and intellectually wrestle with the topics at hand. Share your
opinions about the topics with others (i.e., the class), compare your
opinions with other perspectives, and reevaluate your opinions in
order to strengthen them, modify them, or, if necessary, even change
them. Practically speaking, therefore, paying attention requires a
lot of listening and participating. Through this, you will gain a
deeper understanding of the class topics, and you will be able to
succeed come test-time. But also, more importantly, through paying
attention you will move further and further down the road to young
adulthood, growing intellectually and spiritually along the way.
2. Take Good Notes
This class covers a lot
of material, and as a result we will talk about a wide range of
information. It is good to organize this material by selecting the
important points—that is, the stuff that gets repeated or emphasized
throughout our lectures and discussions—and jot down these important
points in some sort of organized fashion (for example, in an outline
format). I will often help by providing on the chalkboard a basic
outline of topical information that will be covered. But, I stress
that this outline is only basic and is mostly for organizational
purposes; it in no way should be the only substance of your notes.
Rather, use this outline as a starting point, adding to it as the
lectures and class discussions go into further detail. Come
test-time, good in-depth notes will come in very handy. It is much
easier to recall the important information covered in previous class
lectures and discussions if you have a written record to study, rather
than just trying to remember everything.
Furthermore, this class
will talk about many philosophical ideas and foreign concepts which
may be difficult to grasp. A good way to understand these ideas and
concepts is by taking the information presented in the lectures or
readings and restating this information in your own words in your
notes. This allows you to internalize the information and grasp it on
your own terms. Therefore, developing your own system of note-taking
to explain esoteric ideas and concepts will greatly help you come to a
deeper understanding of the class topics, and you will be in a better
position to succeed come test-time.
3. Ask Questions
Questioning is necessary
in any learning enterprise. Questioning helps to clear up
misunderstandings, it gives you alternative ways to understand, and it
allows you to more fully connect with the topic. In short, by
continually asking questions about the material, your understanding will
grow along with your critical thinking skills. This, no doubt, will put
you in a better position to succeed come test-time.
Class Rules, Policies,
& Procedures:
“Obedience is a
blessing to be shown by all, not only to the teacher but also to one
another as brothers and sisters, since we know that it is by this way of
obedience that we go to God”
(St. Benedict of Nursia,
The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 71).
1. Be respectful to
everyone.
2. Be on time and seated
when class begins.
-
You are counted tardy if
you enter the classroom after the bell without an appropriate pass,
and if you are not seated in your assigned seat and ready to go when
the bell rings.
-
More than 3 tardies will
result in either a school or a teacher detention.
3. Follow the dress code
at all times. No Gum.
4. Be prepared each day;
bring your textbook and all your supplies to class everyday.
5. Cheating will not be
tolerated.
-
Any student caught
cheating on any test, project, or homework assignment will receive a
zero on that task and may face further consequences in line with the
student handbook.
-
Cheating includes
plagiarism as well as copying off the work of other classmates.
6. Homework is due at the
beginning of class; in-class assignments are due at the end of class.
7. Late homework
assignments will be accepted up to one week after the original due
date. Turning in late homework is far better than turning in no
homework.
-
Late homework turned in
up to three days late will automatically loose one letter grade per
day late.
-
Late homework turned in
four to seven days late will automatically loose half of the total
points possible.
-
After a week has passed
since the original due date, homework not turned in will be
automatically counted as a zero.
-
Late homework turned in
prior to the one week deadline and with a valid excuse will be
accepted at no penalty; however, I reserve the right to determine the
validity of the excuse.
8. Quizzes and tests will
be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and/or
long essay questions. Quizzes and tests account for approximately 60%
of your total grade.
9. For students who miss
a day of class:
-
It is your
responsibility to see me when you return to class to see what you
missed. I will give you the appropriate reading assignments,
worksheets or handouts (if any), and homework assignments (if any).
Please get the notes from the class you missed from a fellow
classmate.
-
All homework assignments
must be made-up and turned in. The amount of days missed is the
amount of time you will have to make-up the homework and turn it in
with no penalty.
-
All quizzes and tests
must be made up within one week of the original quiz or test date.
Please coordinate your make-up date with me. Quizzes or tests not
made up will result in a zero.
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