Making Every Class Catholic

Making Every Class Catholic

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Are you a Catholic teacher looking to permeate every class with the Faith? We're here to give you some ideas and resources to do that.

Photos from Making Every Class Catholic's post 21/01/2025

To help students understand how Christianity relates to culture, consider comparing the 47 Ronin to the 26 Martyrs.

We talk a lot about permeating in Catholic schools, but this is an activity you could even do in a secular setting, particularly if your curriculum mandates teaching about Japan. It will get your students thinking about what makes Christianity distinctive and attractive, without being overtly evangelistic.

During Japan’s long period of isolation from the rest of the world (aka the Edo period) to attempt to maintain national independence, Christianity was banned because it was seen as a foreign contagion that led countries like the Philippines to be colonized by Christian empires. Japan wanted to keep her own culture.

What was that culture based on? Honour, loyalty, duty, and strict observance of social codes. To illustrate this, you can tell students about how the story of the 47 Ronin was very popular and influential at the time and how the Ronin were seen as ideals and as heroes.

Without getting into all the details here, a Ronin is a Samurai without a master. The 47 Ronin’s master had been forced to kill himself by a rival, so they attacked that rival, killed him, and then committed ritual su***de—which was common practice in Japan for one who had been dishonoured.

Discuss with students what this tells us about the ideal of the samurai and how a samurai should behave, and what this presumably meant for everyone else (similarly to how the way knights behaved in the Christian West became a code of chivalry for men everywhere to follow). You may conclude that fierce loyalty and obedience, awesome warrior skills, and a willingness to kill yourself were ideals for Japan at the time.

Then you can teach them about the 26 Martyrs, including St Paul Miki, who were crucified on a hill in Nagasaki for their faith. They were abused, paraded through towns, and, while on the crosses, were lanced, so their death strongly resembles that of Jesus. From the cross, St. Paul Miki preached repentance to those who were standing nearby and forgave his murderers. A memorial to them stands on that hill today and was visited by Pope Francis a few years ago.

Now discuss with students: what do THESE people tell us about the Christian ideal? After that discussion, have them (perhaps in groups and with big poster paper) create a Venn diagram showing what is similar and what is different about the two groups.

Your students may discover on their own (and you can guide them if they don’t) that both were willing to die for their master. Both showed great courage. Both displayed great honour. But one group saw this as being displayed in attacking, killing, and getting revenge, and saw self killing as honourable, whereas the other’s warfare consisted of missionary work; instead of revenge, they forgave; instead of su***de, they believed in laying down their lives.

This puts on display how Christianity always appeals to and saves some elements of a culture and challenges others.

Some directions you could take this:
—Which aspects of our culture are compatible with Christianity and which are not?
—What would have happened if St Francis Xavier and his heirs had successfully converted Japan? What would have happened to the Samurai? Would they have become like the Christian knights of Europe? You can cite here the example of Blessed Justo Takayama, a Samurai who became Catholic and went to the Philippines.
—Speaking of the Philippines, if you have any Filipino students, you could also discuss the martyrdom of St Lorenzo Ruiz and his beautiful testimony to his murderers that “I am a Catholic and do heartily accept death for God; had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer.” (When I brought this up, my Filipino student burst into applause.)
—When Christianity was legalized in Japan during the Meiji Restoration, it turned out that “hidden Christians” had secretly been passing on the faith all this time, with nothing but baptism, their own liturgy, and some catechesis to sustain them (since they had no priests). What does this tell us about faith?
—How did Nagasaki’s Catholic heritage cause it to react to being bombed in WWII? The example of Dr Takashi Nagai, the Catholic doctor who ministered in the ruins, is a great one here.
—For students who are into anime or manga: what Christian elements do they see in Japanese entertainment today? (Trust me, it’s there.)

And, fundamentally, who do you want to be more like:
The ronin or the saints?
How is God calling on you to respond to the injustice against you today?



20/01/2025

Official Community Launch!
Look for an email on January 21st to sign up and gain access to exclusive events, including that evening’s presentation by Dr. Pamela Patnode “Teacher Burnout? A Defense of Sabbath and Leisure.”

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Windblown English Read Aloud 15/01/2025

Here's an example of a book elementary teachers can use that lends itself beautifully to faith integration/permeation: "Windblown," by Edouard Manceau (translated from French). You can see the entire book read in the attached video.

In it, various creatures try to take credit for some pieces of paper. "They're mine!", they keep saying, because they found the pieces, or they cut the pieces, or they found the tree that the paper originally came from.

Finally, the wind interrupts.

"Shhh..." it begins.
It was the wind, after all, who knocked over the tree, and was responsible for everything else. The wind then blows the pieces away from the animals - to you, the reader. The book ends by asking:
"They're yours now, too. What will you do?"

Obviously, this lends itself perfectly to hands-on activities involving colourful pieces of paper. But it's also got a great lesson if you see the wind as a metaphor for God (as Scripture does). We try to claim things as our own, just like the animals in the story each try to say the paper pieces belong to them, but, just like the wind is the true owner of the pieces in the book, God is the true owner of everything, since He made everything.

(In fact, the way the book ends reminds me a bit of the Book of Job, where God interrupts all the squabbling by coming in a whirlwind, shutting everyone up, and reminding them that He is God and ruler of everything.)

Something to consider trying:

Have your students make something out of paper. Take one example from a student, show it to the class, and ask, "Who does this belong to?" Probably, they'll say it belongs to that student. "Why?" Well, because they made it, so it belongs to them. You can then press them: "But who made the paper?" This can potentially lead to a science discussion about how paper comes from trees. "But who made trees?"

This could lead into a reading of this book. And this could be where you talk about how the wind is like God, how the Holy Spirit is like a wind, about how Genesis 1-2 talk about God creating with His wind/spirit, and how everything we have is on loan from God and we steward it. Everything we make and do ultimately belongs to God. What does God ask us to do with the things we make?

Then, since the book ends with an invitation, have an activity where students make things that glorify God and/or that they can use to serve other people.







Windblown English Read Aloud Windblown by Édouard Manceau read by Ms. Porter in English.

Lessons from the Cheese Nun 19/12/2024

People who really love science start to see connections between science and the rest of life. Reality is coherent and truth is one. And so we should expect things that are scientifically true to shed meaning on our life and experience beyond science. This is, by the way, Jesus's own method when he deploys the scientific knowledge of his audience in parables.

And so we have the "cheese nun" reflecting on enzymes and community; flavor, decomposition, and death.

What scientific idea, theory, or process have you or your students found illustrative for thinking about bigger questions?
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Lessons from the Cheese Nun Benedictine sister and cheesemaker, Noëlla Marcellino speaks with Margarita Mooney Suarez in The Wounds of Beauty: Seven Dialogues on Art and Education.

Educating for Eternity: An Interview w/ Dr. Brett Salkeld 18/12/2024

Wow! I am humbled by this beautiful video the Catholic Diocese of Lansing produced about the day I spent with their principals and pastors in November.
Thank you so much! Hope to see you when I am back in Michigan in April!

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Teaching Literature as Literature - The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education 17/12/2024

"When I was first introduced to Catholic liberal education as an undergraduate, what struck me most profoundly was the unity of all subjects in the person of Christ through whom all things were created. Even so, there are different modes by which we approach that fount of knowledge, and literature has its distinctive mode."

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Teaching Literature as Literature - The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education Several years ago, some friends recommended a dystopian novel that was very popular within Catholic academic circles. The book had a lot to say about our contemporary situation, they said. It was a sharp critique of where we’re heading and the kinds of fallout we might have to suffer if we don’t...

The surprising way AI fits into Catholic education 14/12/2024

My latest .

"I was recently at a presentation on AI and the future of Catholic education. One claim the presenter made struck me as particularly worthy of critical investigation: AI is likely to be so good (in fact, already is pretty good) at tailored tutoring that teachers will be freed up from laboriously working with individual students on things like math skills and will be able to focus on bigger-picture questions and relationships."

The surprising way AI fits into Catholic education How do we adapt to the prevalence of artificial intelligence? Read these tips about how to approach AI in our lives and in Catholic education.

Education at the Crossroads 12/12/2024

Sounds like a book I need to read. Have any of you read it?

"if “the chief task of education is above all to shape man,” then one’s philosophy of education is necessarily dependent upon one’s anthropology. Defining man first and only then education, [Maritain] delineates education’s specific aims before describing its modes of operating, making specific curricular and structural recommendations"

Education at the Crossroads Review by Thomas Beyer

The Making Every Class Catholic Podcast - Episode 1: Christopher Baglow 04/12/2024

The Making Every Class Catholic podcast (featuring Dr. Chris Baglow) premieres on YouTube at 7:10 pm CST!
Check it out!

The Making Every Class Catholic Podcast - Episode 1: Christopher Baglow In the inaugural Making Every Class Catholic podcast, I interview Dr. Christopher Baglow of the McGrath Center for Church Life at the University of Notre Dam...

MECC - Math Pilot Unit 02/12/2024

In Leduc, Alberta last week I got to do something new: all day Wednesday with biology and chemistry teachers, all day Thursday with physics and math teachers. At this level of specialization, you can really get into the particulars. Which is where we moved fromthe general idea of "pilot units" to something quite specific - and fun!

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MECC - Math Pilot Unit I was recently in Leduc, Alberta working with math and physics teachers for a day where this neat idea emerged.Apologies for my limited tech capacities here....

Francis Su: Mathematics for Human Flourishing 28/11/2024

Francis Su is one of the best voices out there helping us think about math. This short video might be a great tool for getting your students to think about math in a larger framework.
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Francis Su: Mathematics for Human Flourishing Mathematician Francis Su speaking at (En)Lightning Talks LA on October 17, 2017.

Thinking Faith: Catholic Podcast: The Feast of Christ The King With Brett Fawcett - Part 1 24/11/2024

A key resource for integrating Catholic faith across the curriculum is the liturgical calendar. On this Feast of Christ the King, I wanted to share this two-part podcast I did with Brett Fawcett for history and social studies teachers. Many Catholics don't know the story of this feast and its relationship with 20th century totalitarian ideologies. But becoming familiar with this story could be a great foundation for a lesson or unity plan.

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https://thinkingfaith.libsyn.com/the-feast-of-christ-the-king-with-brett-fawcett-part-1
https://thinkingfaith.libsyn.com/the-feast-of-christ-the-king-with-brett-fawcett-part-2

Thinking Faith: Catholic Podcast: The Feast of Christ The King With Brett Fawcett - Part 1 Thinking Faith welcomes returning guest Brett Fawcett to discuss what has been called the "Crowning Glory of the liturgical year"; the Feast of Christ the King. Show Snippet "When he (Pope Pius XI) talks about nations and societies and peoples recognizing the Kingship of Christ, it's really importan...

Why Religion Is Not Going Away and Science Will Not Destroy It 22/11/2024

"In brief, global secularisation is not inevitable and, when it does happen, it is not caused by science. Further, when the attempt is made to use science to advance secularism, the results can damage science."
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Why Religion Is Not Going Away and Science Will Not Destroy It Social scientists predicted that belief in the supernatural would drift away as modern science advanced. They were wrong.

MECC - Lansing Workshop Idea 19/11/2024

Had a great day today here in Michigan with the principals and pastors of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing. In a conversation this morning in the workshop, a conversation about teaching art helped me make a breakthrough in my own work on .

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