CJEN Newsletter Catholic Justice Educators NetworkArchdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Spring, 2001
Welcome to the Spring, 2000 issue of the newsletter for the Catholic Justice Educators Network! The purpose of CJEN is to highlight the ongoing efforts of teachers to integrate Catholic social teaching into schools and religious education programs of the Archdiocese. Excerpts from our fall, 97and winter,98, fall 98, spring 99 and spring 2000 issues are also online.
PUBLIC ACHIEVEMENTHow can young people in Catholic schools and parishes become makers of history? That was the question that brought faculty, administrators, and students from four Catholic institutions together in February for a luncheon. Leaders from Epiphany school in Coon Rapids, Cretin-Derham Hall school in Saint Paul, Saint Stephen in Anoka, and St. Hubert in Chanhassen gathered to hear about Public Achievement. An effort that began under the auspices of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota, Public Achievement teaches young people the citizenship skills they need to be able to engage in public work. Students meet weekly and work in issue groups with the help of a “coach”, often a college student or young adult that agrees to teach and lead young participants. They work together to identify common concerns, and then identify strategies for addressing those concerns.
Over the course of the 2000-2001 school year, a working group comprised of staff from the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, the Office for Social Justice, Catholic Education and Formation Ministries, the University of St. Thomas, and the College of St. Catherine began to discuss how to create a specifically Catholic model for Public Achievement. They wanted to teach young people both about the principles of Catholic social teaching and vehicles for putting that teaching into action.
Their efforts culminated in a luncheon, where participants heard about the history and purpose of Public Achievement and the effort to craft a model aimed at Catholic schools and parishes. Students, administrators and faculty from two Catholic schools already participating in Public Achievement, St. Bernard in St. Paul and St. John Vianney in South St. Paul, described their experiences with the initiative. During a question and answer session, they acknowledged that Public Achievement required a lot of work and a lot of effort. The rewards, they said,have been worth it. Following the panel discussion, participants were asked to make a commitment to participate in Public Achievement.
All four institutions made the decision to begin in a small way next fall. Many of the institutions have already visited other Public Achievement sites. Many are sending leaders to a summer retreat to craft a plan for beginning Public Achievement in the fall. In some institutions, young people are already signing up to participate.
The effort is unique in two respects. First, though Public Achievement is a nationwide initiative, this is the first attempt to create a distinctly Catholic model. Secondly, Public Achievement is based almost entirely in schools. St. Stephen in Anoka will be the first parish to bring Public Achievement into their faith formation program. As always, we are a pioneering diocese when it comes to the integration of Catholic social teaching!
Matt Gladue
CST Classroom Resources
Deborah Ruddy teaches in the John Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought. Her work involves gathering and reviewing curriculum and then sharing what she learns with teachers working in the trenches. In our ever lasting efforts to put curricula in your hands, here is Deborah’s review of two new resources:
St. Mary’s Press has recently published an excellent book for high school CST courses called, Living Justice and Peace: Catholic Social Teaching in Practice (1-800-533-8095). The text has an easy to read layout filled with great visual aids: including student art work, graphs, and illustrations of key themes. Students play a unique role in this textbook. They are featured in over 60 true stories about taking up the Gospel call to justice. This text puts “flesh on the bones” of social teaching and engages American youth culture in concrete ways. It’s an excellent read for teachers and students alike. Most importantly, it inspires young people to see themselves as key players, now, in living out the church’s social mission.
Broad theological topics like creation and original sin are introduced in chapter one. Then, the central documents and key themes, laid out in chapter two, are woven throughout the subsequent chapters. Icons symbolize the principles of social teaching and connect the principles with contemporary issues. The book also introduces a “circle of faith-in-action,” which provides a very accessible lens for students to deepen their awareness of how to analyze and respond to contemporary questions. The activities and dialogues interspersed throughout the text challenge students to look beyond conventional left/right categories when thinking about how to respond to the pressing social issues of our time.
Currently, a website is being designed to supplement this text. It will include up-to-date information about justice issues. This text will take a while to become dated, so be sure it’s on your shelf and let me know how it works out in the classroom.
Another highly recommended textbook is Catholic Social Teaching: Learning and Living Justice by Michael Pennock (Ave Maria Press: 1-800-282-1865). One of the strengths of this book is that it situates Catholic social teaching within larger theological themes. It provides a solid foundation for seeing Catholic social teaching within the broader framework of our faith.
This text emphasizes the history of the church’s social tradition, its scriptural roots, and its connection to the sacramental life. Figures in the church’s social ministry are highlighted, and there are charts and exercises that provide effective tools for social analysis and self-scrutiny.
At the end of each chapter, there are helpful vocabulary lists, internet links, and review questions. Also, the teacher’s manual includes information for video resources as well as a computer disk with a testing program, review questions, and resource pages. This text is already being used by teachers throughout the country so recommendations and feedback may be just a phone call away!
Deborah RuddyJohn Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought
