St. James Academy
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St. James Academy |
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Eighth Grade FAITH DEVELOPMENT
2007-2008
Fr. Callaham
This class meets once a week
during the year and is taught by The Rev. Arthur Callaham.
While Faith Development I & II are presupposed in Faith Development
III, students new to the Middle School in eighth grade will be sufficiently
introduced to the methodology used in this course.
The
focus of this course is on practical problems middle schoolers typically face as
they encounter questions of ultimate meaning, often for the first time in a
formal, reflective setting. Through
reading, reflection, discussion, writing, and participation students will begin
to connect the issues and the questions they encounter in the course material to
their everyday lives.
The
year will be divided into three units. The
first unit will be on the theme of Covenant, with the baptism and marriage
liturgies from the Episcopal Church’s Book
of Common Prayer as the starting point.
Students will read the scripture passages appointed for use in the
liturgies and will discuss their meaning within the context of other biblical
narratives of covenant. From there,
students are given an entry point to the surrounding issues of covenants in
general: commitment, fidelity,
trust, love, promise keeping—as well as their opposites. Students will read selected short stories in conjunction with
scriptural passages relating to these stories and their issues.
The
second unit will be on the theme of Good and Evil, with a special focus on
temptation—how we encounter it, resist it, and all too often, give in to it.
As in the first unit, students will read scripture in conjunction with
short stories and Prayer Book liturgies. In
this case, Mark Twain’s Novella, The Man
That Corrupted Hadleyburg will be juxtaposed with scripture accounts of the
temptation and fall from Genesis, and the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
Additionally, students will explore the unit themes in the context of
sacramental liturgies such as the Rite of Christian Initiation and
Reconciliation of a Penitent.
The
final unit of the course will focus on the notion of vocation and discernment.
Again, modern literary classics will be placed into dialogue with
biblical tales in order to highlight notions of faithful decision-making.
Prayer Book rites of Ordination and Commitment to Christian Service will
be used as examples of the various ways in which people act upon their choices
in the context of the Church.
It is fine for students to listen to these books. CD’s, Tapes and
MP3’s are available at the public libraries, bookstores (on-line also), and
downloadable at www.audible.com
(for use with an iPod). But
perhaps the best method of all is just reading the text aloud to them. The
subsequent discussions are worth the time spent.
This
is a graded course. Evaluation will be based primarily upon homework completion
and class participation.
Parents
and students are encouraged to contact Fr. Callaham with questions and concerns
either via e-mail: acallaham@saintjames.org
or at the parish office: 410-771-4466.
In an attempt to reduce the
number of pages of printed material distributed in this class and to ensure that
an appropriate amount of material can be covered in our once-per-week class
format, this course makes maximum use of available internet technologies.
The foundation of these on-line resources is the class Moodle page which
can be accessed by pointing your browser to: http://saintjamesacademy.org/moodle/course/view.php?id=19
. This
page can also be accessed from the student resources page of the general academy
website.
Generally,
students will be expected to find and complete their weekly homework assignments
online. Occasionally, and most
particularly in the event of school closure or missed classes, additional course
material will be presented in electronic format. Students will also be able to
access their individual course grades online, so that they will be able to track
their progress through the course.
It is imperative that both students and parents become both familiar and comfortable in the use of the available internet technology. During the first week of the course and periodically throughout the year, students will be instructed in the appropriate and efficient use of on-line assignments. I will also make myself available to parents during “Parent Teacher Night” for individual questions. Furthermore, I will be more than happy to answer questions from both parents and students at any time during the year.