Category: Teaching

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Kindle Books for Catholic Educators: Saints and Shakespeare

In this week’s Kindle Books for Catholic Teachers we share a book on the saints for teachers and a pair of books for those who teach Shakespeare in Catholic schools. Each book is also available in print form, for a slightly higher price.

My Best Teachers Were Saints: What Every Educator Can Learn from the Heroes of the Church, by Susan Swetnam. Loyola Press. Printed Length: 298 pages. Kindle Price: $9.99

Dry spells and indifferent students, acrimonious meetings and recalcitrant colleagues, isolation and self-doubt–the stresses of the teaching profession are plentiful. In times of strain, many teachers draw on the wisdom of their mentors, the seasoned teachers who taught them classroom skills and became trusted models and friends. For Susan H. Swetnam, some of the best, most inspiring, and most insightful mentors she has are saints of the Catholic Church–and a remarkable number of these men and women were teachers themselves. In fact, many of the church’s heroes achieved their saintly stature by facing challenges identical to those that teachers face today.

Some of the fifty-two saints described in My Best Teachers Were Saints give lessons on how to overcome the teaching profession’s unique problems; others show today’s teachers how to identify successes that are often quite difficult to discern. All of the saints in this book share one thing in common: they persevered in the educational work that God called them to do. Swetnam brings to life each story of perseverance and makes it easy for today’s educators to discover mentor-companions who can help them rekindle and fortify their passion in the classroom. – Amazon.com

Quest for Shakespeare: The Bard of Avaon and the Church of Rome, by Joseph Pearce. Ignatius Press. Print Length: 367 pages. Kindle Price: $13.17.

Highly regarded and best-selling literary writer and teacher, Joseph Pearce presents a stimulating and vivid biography of the world’s most revered writer that is sure to be controversial. Unabashedly provocative, with scholarship, insight and keen observation, Pearce strives to separate historical fact from fiction about the beloved Bard.

Shakespeare is not only one of the greatest figures in human history, he is also one of the most controversial and one of the most elusive. He is famous and yet almost unknown. Who was he? What were his beliefs? Can we really understand his plays and his poetry if we don’t know the man who wrote them?

These are some of the questions that are asked and answered in this gripping and engaging study of the world’s greatest ever poet. The Quest for Shakespeare claims that books about the Bard have got him totally wrong. They misread the man and misread the work. The true Shakespeare has eluded the grasp of the critics. Dealing with the facts of Shakespeare’s life and times, Pearce’s quest leads to the inescapable conclusion that Shakespeare was a believing Catholic living in very anti-Catholic times.

Many of his friends and family were persecuted, and even executed, for their Catholic faith. And yet he seems to have avoided any notable persecution himself. How did he do this? How did he respond to the persecution of his friends and family? What did he say about the dreadful and intolerant times in which he found himself? The Quest for Shakespeare answers these questions in ways that will enlighten and astonish those who love Shakespeare’s work, and that will shock and outrage many of his critics. This book is full of surprises for beginner and expert alike. – Amazon.com

Through Shakespeare’s Eyes: Seeing the Catholic Presence in the Plays, by Joseph Pearce. Ignatius Press. Print Length: 364 pages. Kindle Price: $9.99.

Fulfilling the promise he made in his previous book, The Quest for Shakespeare, bestselling literary writer Joseph Pearce analyzes in this volume three of Shakespeare’s immortal plays – The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and King Lear – in order to uncover the Bard’s Catholic beliefs.

In The Quest for Shakespeare, which has been made into an EWTN television series, Pearce delved into the known biographical evidence for Shakespeare’s Catholicism. Here the popular and provocative author digs into the plays, which were written and first performed during the English crown-s persecution of Catholics. English history and literature were taught for generations through the prism of English Protestantism. Of late both of these fields have been dominated in universities and academic presses by modern scholars with filters and interpretations of their own. Though the evidence for Shakespeare’s Catholicism has been studied before now, thanks, in part, to the unique contribution of Joseph Pearce, the Bard’s genius is being analyzed in the open air of the public arena, the very place where Shakespeare intended his dramas to entertain and edify. – Amazon.com

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Kindle Books for Catholic Educators

In light of news this week that e-books are outselling hardcovers at Amazon.com, I’m beginning a new feature here at Catholic School Chronicle: The Catechist's ToolboxKindle Books for Catholic Educators. Catholic education is a pretty narrow market, so chances are you won’t be finding too many of these books in your local bookstore; with the Kindle, however, you can be reading any of these books within seconds of ordering them. And remember, with a Kindle you can download a sample to see if the book is right for you.

Our first two books come from 8th grade catechist Joe Paprocki and popular Catholic author Amy Welborn.

The Catechist’s Toolbox: How to Thrive as a Religion Education Teacher by Joe Paprocki. Loyola Press. Print Length: 148 pages. Kindle Price: $7.95.

Each year, roughly one-third of the more than five hundred thousand volunteer catechists in Catholic parishes are new to the job; they come with little formal training for their work and are essentially students themselves, quickly needing to learn how to prepare a lesson, lead a discussion, supervise children, apply discipline, and help kids grow in their faith. The Catechist’s Toolbox by Joe Paprocki is an invaluable collection of techniques, tips, methodologies, and advice for all catechists who must learn on the job. Paprocki shares the wisdom he has gleaned in two decades as a catechist, high schoolteacher, and religious educator. Employing the metaphor of a homeowner’s toolbox, Paprocki explains how a catechist is like a do-it-yourself builder who needs the right collection of tools to do the job; throughout the book, Paprocki explains what the tools are, what they can do, and how to use them skillfully and effectively. The Catechist’s Toolbox will help first-time catechists feel at home in their new role and will empower catechists at all levels of experience to thrive as educators of the faith. – Amazon.com

Loyola Kids Book of Saints by Amy Welborn. Loyola Press. Print Length: 307 pages. Kindle Price: $9.99.

Who are the saints, why are they important, and what can today’s children learn from them? In Loyola Kids Book of Saints, the firstLoyola Kids Book of Saints book in the Loyola Kids series, author Amy Welborn answers these questions with exciting and inspiring stories, real-life applications, and important information about these heroes of the church. This delightful collection of saints’ lives, written in a storybook style for children eight to twelve, explains how saints becomes saints, why we honor them, and how they help us even today.

Divided thematically, the book features more than sixty saints from all over the world and from all across time, including our newest saints, such as St. Katharine Drexel; popular saints, such as St. Anthony of Padua; and Blesseds, such as Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. Each story tells about a saint and encourages readers to consider how they might apply what they learn from the story to their everyday lives. – Amazon.com

Full disclosure: Catholic School Chronicle benefits from every sale of an Amazon product that is purchased by visiting Amazon.com via a link here. It’s a great way to support the work of Catholic School Chronicle, and if you were going to purchase an item anyway, it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

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A Catholic Teacher Issues a Challenge

What is the biggest challenge you see facing Catholic education today? In the following interview excerpt, Alan Grant of Sts. Peter and Paul School in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, issues a call to active evangelization by Catholic schools:

Alan Grant

I guess the biggest challenge that I’d like to pose to those involved in Catholic schools in particular is we need to work out where the Church can find young people and connect with young people. Traditionally I think we’ve been quite lucky that people have come to the Church and the Church has therefore had that opportunity to connect; now, I think it’s more a case of the Church needing to find these young people and find ways to connect with them. I think young people have that desire still, I don’t think that’s changed, and obviously what the Catholic Church is and has to offer is as rich now and as needed now as it has ever been; but I think there’s less opportunity for connection now, and the Church, I think, has to take the initiative and make those connections. We need to take the Church and take it to young people, encourage young people and give young people opportunities to engage with the Church.

How can we as Catholic educators respond to that challenge? Are we making connections with our students? Are we reaching them where they are at? For instance, how many of our schools have a Facebook page? A Twitter account? Are we communicating via text messaging? These new technologies define the world in which our students live and breath each day.

I disagree with Grant that there’s less opportunity for connection now, but I think he’s dead on about the Church needing to be more proactive with young people. What do you think?

Here’s the full interview:

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The Educational Value of Failure

Are your students afraid of failure?

  • Do they worry about being made fun of for appearing too “religious”?
  • Are they afraid to raise their hands in class out of fear of being wrong?
  • Do they hesitate to come forward and tell you about how they or their friends are being mistreated?
  • Is it safer for them to ignore their homework, rather than take the risk that their work might be judged less than perfect?

The following video might be a good way to begin a discussion about the educational value of failure and the importance of taking healthy risks.

Afterward, students could be given one of the following questions to either discuss in small groups, act out in a short skit, or write about:

  • What are some risks Jesus took, and what was the result?
  • Describe some moments that Jesus’ disciples failed.
  • When did you experience failure that ended up being good for you?
  • Talk about a time that you took a risk and it paid off.
  • Comment on the following: “If you’ve never failed, you’ve never lived.”