Hannah Chartier's piece on teaching a Catholic sexuality class to young adults is resonant with my experience of having taught a sexual ethics/theology of the body class to high school freshman. I'm conflict-averse and was really reluctant to teach it (somehow it was dropped into my lap alongside the English that I actually applied to teach). And it was overwhelming to face students who were often indifferent or even hostile to the church's teaching (even though the curriculum approach was strictly philosophical/reason based).
I remember on one occasion feeling really discouraged after a lot of my students were pushing back hard on IVF. When I shared this with a colleague, she said "it's important because this may be the only time some of these students ever hear this perspective." And that completely changed my attitude from "this is something I have to do" to "this is a matter of justice and it's owed to these students to hear the truth".
So true! There are so many ideas that young people are hearing about sexuality, and it's so important to at least give them the perspective of the Church, even if they aren't ready to fully enter into following the Church's teachings.
These are all good (as usual) but I really loved the minimalism article. I appreciate that the couple doesn't use it as an aesthetic choice or let it consume their way of living, but rather as a baseline to determine what's most of value and works best in their family. (And love that they found each other, as two people so united in their way of thinking.)
Oh man, I loved that interview for the reasons you mention here. Simplicity of life can certainly look different ways for Christians... so I love that they shared a thoughtful and counter-cultural approach specifically to possessions.
Thanks, Emily! There’s quite a few who are more the Inspired Lurker type, and honestly it makes sense, given the nature of the newsletter. :) Always love when they do unexpectedly pop in the comments or email to say they appreciate it.
Now that you mention it, I see how multiple of them could be relevant and encouraging to you. haha The Comment one will do you some good, if you get a chance to read it (and haven't already)!
Those are absolutely real dichotomies, for sure. I know some people implement short periods of one-on-one time as a more structured example. (Like one kid, once a week has solo time with mom or dad, maybe cooking dinner dinner, doing errands, working on a project, etc...) I've heard of one family doing sibling/parent pair-ups once a week, on a rotating basis. (Every ___day evening, someone gets a buddy (sibling/parent) and they spend ___ amount of time together.) This probably works better with older kids. haha
Still trying to figure out how this could look in our family, but for now it's managing to take the small moments to be fully present with a particular child.
Hannah Chartier's piece on teaching a Catholic sexuality class to young adults is resonant with my experience of having taught a sexual ethics/theology of the body class to high school freshman. I'm conflict-averse and was really reluctant to teach it (somehow it was dropped into my lap alongside the English that I actually applied to teach). And it was overwhelming to face students who were often indifferent or even hostile to the church's teaching (even though the curriculum approach was strictly philosophical/reason based).
I remember on one occasion feeling really discouraged after a lot of my students were pushing back hard on IVF. When I shared this with a colleague, she said "it's important because this may be the only time some of these students ever hear this perspective." And that completely changed my attitude from "this is something I have to do" to "this is a matter of justice and it's owed to these students to hear the truth".
Thanks for sharing that - What kind of school was this at, I'm fascinated. haha
It was at a Catholic school run by the Nashville Dominican sisters. This is the spine we used for the course if you're interested: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Human_Person.html?id=tZhkzgEACAAJ
So true! There are so many ideas that young people are hearing about sexuality, and it's so important to at least give them the perspective of the Church, even if they aren't ready to fully enter into following the Church's teachings.
These are all good (as usual) but I really loved the minimalism article. I appreciate that the couple doesn't use it as an aesthetic choice or let it consume their way of living, but rather as a baseline to determine what's most of value and works best in their family. (And love that they found each other, as two people so united in their way of thinking.)
Oh man, I loved that interview for the reasons you mention here. Simplicity of life can certainly look different ways for Christians... so I love that they shared a thoughtful and counter-cultural approach specifically to possessions.
Just here to say your newsletter is always so enjoyable, Haley! I don’t often comment but I find endless inspiration here ♥️
Thanks, Emily! There’s quite a few who are more the Inspired Lurker type, and honestly it makes sense, given the nature of the newsletter. :) Always love when they do unexpectedly pop in the comments or email to say they appreciate it.
Great collection this week! (It’s always good, but some were especially relevant and encouraging to me today).
Now that you mention it, I see how multiple of them could be relevant and encouraging to you. haha The Comment one will do you some good, if you get a chance to read it (and haven't already)!
Those are absolutely real dichotomies, for sure. I know some people implement short periods of one-on-one time as a more structured example. (Like one kid, once a week has solo time with mom or dad, maybe cooking dinner dinner, doing errands, working on a project, etc...) I've heard of one family doing sibling/parent pair-ups once a week, on a rotating basis. (Every ___day evening, someone gets a buddy (sibling/parent) and they spend ___ amount of time together.) This probably works better with older kids. haha
Still trying to figure out how this could look in our family, but for now it's managing to take the small moments to be fully present with a particular child.