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Faithr
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| Posted: June 16 2010 at 8:33am | IP Logged
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I'm going to be leading a small group of high schoolers through a course on Church history and Literature next year. I am trying to plan it out. It just won't cooperate and come out all nice and neat for me! So I'd like feedback please!
We are going to meet for two hours twice a month but in between these times the kids and I are going to build a blog where we'll discuss our readings and I hope to post information and links to interesting articles, maybe poems that we aren't officially studying but would be good to touch on, etc
For Church history we'll be using Didache's The History of the Church. The kids will be building notebooks from the text's study questions and also writing short essays prompted by the questions at the end of each chapter.
For lit, I'm trying to come up with a list of books to read. I'm going for a mish mash of Catholic authors and books about saints. Here's what I've got so far (I don't think this is quite in chronological order) and the study guides so far that I am going to lean on when leading discussion with the kids. I'm also trying to weave harder reading in with easier reading since we are trying to accomplish a lot.
Confessions by St. Augustine - Study questions from Fran Rutherford's guide)
Augustine Came to Kent - I know this one is an easy read for high schoolers - I'm going to use Socratic Questions from Teaching the Classics for this.
Either Ballad of the White Horse or Lepanto by G. K. Chesterton - study guides from CHC (I just bought these haven't looked at them yet!) Which would you choose to do if you could only do one of these??????
William the Conqueror by Belloc - I wanted to get Belloc in there somewhere and I like how this ties to history AND it is a fairly short read. I'll use Teaching the Classics questions.
St. Francis of Assisi by Chesterton - If I could I'd do the whole class on Chesterton - study guide from CHC
Dante's Inferno - I heard that Fran Rutherford has a new guide out for Middle Ages. I wonder does it extend to Dante as well?) I don't have a study guide for this yet though I plan to watch a Teaching Co lecture series this summer on Dante.
The Quiet Light by Louis de Wohl - Teaching the Classics questions - I wanted something a little easier to read after Chesterton and Dante!
Murder in the Cathedral - T.S. Eliot - study guide????
King Lear or Hamlet - Ignatius Press Guides. Which one? I think Hamlet might appeal more to teens, but I've never read King Lear and would like to.
Joan of Arc by Mark Twain - I don't know of any study guide so I'll use Teaching the Classics.
History-wise in our literature selections the most contemporary we get is the Renaissance! I was thinking of filling in this deficit by using the blog to post poems by Hopkins and Kilmer, for ex, and by linking to articles about Catholic lit and writers.
What would you do differently? Who/what have I missed?
Thanks for any and all feedback!
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MarilynW
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| Posted: June 16 2010 at 4:13pm | IP Logged
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Faith - here is the list from my daughter's theology list:
Didache Church History- Hahn
10 Dates Every Catholic Should Know - Moczar
Letters to a Young Catholic - Weigel
Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church (Crocker)
The History of the Church - Eusebius
The Story of the Church - Johnson
A Catechism of Church History - Fox
EPIC Timeline Chart of Church History
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization - Woods
We are also using Teaching the Classics - though my literature list will be geared to the Ancients.
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Faithr
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| Posted: June 16 2010 at 4:41pm | IP Logged
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So are you reading all of these, Marilyn? That's a lot of reading! I find Eusebius almost impenetrable! I always admire scholars who can read such arcane (to me) stuff!
I have read 10 Dates and Triumph neither of which I cared for.
I've been wanting to read How the Catholic Church built Western Civ for a long time. So thanks for mentioning that one!
And I've had Letters to a Young Cathoic floating around the house for about a year and I've never read that either.
Where did you get the Epic Timeline Chart of Church History? That would be a really useful tool to have.
Thanks for providing this list. I appreciate it.
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guitarnan
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| Posted: June 16 2010 at 7:02pm | IP Logged
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I highly recommend Chesterton's "Lepanto." It has some fantastic imagery - perfect for a literature discussion.
(Besides, even my poetry-hating son loved it because it was about a famous battle!)
Hopkins poetry would be great, too. I'd add in more poetry rather than another novel or bio, if you think you want to add to the "official" reading list. Great prep for college!
I like this list as is, actually. I think it's excellent. I taught a Church history class with the Didache book, which is pretty meaty in itself. I am guessing that your students will be challenged by this reading list but will end up loving almost every selection.
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Faithr
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Nancy. Lepanto it is! I keep thinking that the course is rather male dominated, but I think I could make up for that via the blog. I also think I'm going to require a final paper for the literature section.
Any other thoughts?
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SallyT
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 2:15pm | IP Logged
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Doesn't CHC have a study guide for Murder in the Cathedral? I think that's one of their high-school selections. I haven't seen it so can't review it one way or the other, but I think it exists.
I would second the Woods book, too. It's almost a unit study in itself, since it touches not only on history, but on the development of disciplines like science and economics.
What about Meriol Trevor's Sun Slower, Sun Faster for the English Reformation? It's also not a tough read for high schoolers, but mine enjoyed it (and my husband has used both it and Augustine Came to Kent with his Honors Institute students at Belmont Abbey -- great minds think alike).
Sally
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MarilynW
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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Faith - CHC sells the timeline.
I will be doing some more planning over the summer - will let you know if I add anything.
I am previewing 10 Dates and the Crocker book right now - not sure yet what I think.
Someone on our TORCH list gave me a good review of the Woods book - I can forward the email to you if it did not go out to the group.
We can handle Eusebius in moderation!
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 5:50pm | IP Logged
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Have you looked at the Epic website?
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Faithr
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 9:03pm | IP Logged
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I loved, loved, loved Sun Faster, Sun Slower! I read it as a read aloud to all my kids and the high schoolers down to the little ones were all enthralled by it. I still remember that summer with great fondness because of that book! That would make a great addition to the course. I'd love to reread it again.
Marilyn, I didn't care for 10 Dates because it just felt too reactionary to me. And I did not like Crocker's tone in writing. He seemed snarky to me. I hate snark anymore. I think I read too much of it in the blogosphere! I just want my history straight up, thank you very much, without too much author bias.
I definitely like the Epic timeline. That looks terrific.
Thank you all. I really appreciate the input!
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 9:56pm | IP Logged
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Faithr wrote:
| I loved, loved, loved Sun Faster, Sun Slower! I read it as a read aloud to all my kids and the high schoolers down to the little ones were all enthralled by it. I still remember that summer with great fondness because of that book! That would make a great addition to the course. I'd love to reread it again. |
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I have the same feeling. I read this in middle school age one summer at my cousin's house. I kept looking for a copy for my own library after that. That book, Outlaws of Ravenhurst and St. Patrick's Summer were some of my most memorable favorite Catholic themed reading as a young girl.
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Natalia
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| Posted: June 18 2010 at 8:03am | IP Logged
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I tried to use the 10 Dates book a while back and it didn't work for us. I was trying to read it and create a skeleton of a timeline but we found the writing boring. I was reading it aloud, maybe it just didn't work as a read aloud. But even reading it myself, I found it boring.
Letters to a Young Catholic is an excellent book!
Your list looks excellent.
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Natalia
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| Posted: June 18 2010 at 8:06am | IP Logged
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Faithr wrote:
Marilyn, I didn't care for 10 Dates because it just felt too reactionary to me. And I did not like Crocker's tone in writing. He seemed snarky to me. I hate snark anymore. I think I read too much of it in the blogosphere! I just want my history straight up, thank you very much, without too much author bias. |
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What do you mean by snarky?
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Faithr
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| Posted: June 18 2010 at 9:14am | IP Logged
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I guess I mean kind of a mean-spirited snideness. I haven't read the book in years. I gave it away a while ago, but I just remember not liking the author. He seemed to gleefully make unnecessary jabs at those whom he disagreed with. He tended toward ridicule. One reason I like The History of the Church by Hahn, et al is that it is straightforward and respectful. It isn't any less Catholic in viewpoint. It is just written in a more gracious way.
I am also very tempted to get the new Catholic Textbooks Project book which covers Church History. Can't remember the name off the top of my head but its the newest one. I really liked the two other books I've got on World and American history.
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Erin
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| Posted: June 18 2010 at 9:23pm | IP Logged
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Just want to jump in and say "Excellent List"  you have so inspired me to see what I have 
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: Church History and Literature
