Lifetime of Learning – Theology of the Body standards added to elementary school religion curriculum

Kathleen Doyle

Archdiocese of Louisville teachers will implement a new religion curriculum for kindergarten through eighth-grade students this year. The religion framework, developed from the collaborative work of Archdiocese of Louisville teachers, agencies and community members during the 2017-18 school year, strives to connect the doctrine and precepts of our Catholic faith to the stories of the living community in our parishes and schools.

One of the church teachings that receives greater emphasis in the new religion framework is St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. As part of the morality anchor standard at each grade level, kindergarten through eighth-grade students will be exposed to St.  John Paul’s teaching on the meaning and purpose of the human person made in the image and likeness of God. Fundamental questions of human experience will be explored in age-appropriate ways using the themes of love, gender, gift, vocation, creation, redemption, purity and covenant. Archdiocese of Louisville students will develop a deep understanding of self-sacrificing love, one that might help them combat the confounding moral issues that social media and technology bring to light.

To help support teachers in the implementation of Theology of the Body standards, the Office of Catholic Schools is partnering with the Catholic Education Foundation to pilot instructional materials specifically designed to share St.  John Paul II’s teaching. With generous support from the St.  Thomas Aquinas Fund, nine teachers, one at each grade level from kindergarten to eighth grade, will receive Ruah Wood’s Rooted series for their classrooms. The Rooted series, based on St.  John Paul II’s Theology of the Body teachings given during public audiences from 1979-1984, uses children’s literature and journaling exercises to help students recognize their unique gifts as children of God.

Teachers who participate in the pilot program will be invited to share their experience in Theology of the Body formation sessions designed in partnership with the Office of Faith Formation. These sessions are planned for spring 2019 as part of ongoing professional development efforts for archdiocesan religion teachers.

Kathleen Doyle is the curriculum and instruction coordinator in the Office of Catholic Schools.

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