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Science and the Catholic Church (Fall)

In our modern moment, the public narrative pits science against Christianity. Adherents of one simply cannot adhere to the tenets and truths of the other, so it seems, and our young Catholic students are perpetually hearing about their church’s squelching of Galileo, Copernicus, and other Heroes of Modern Science in particular.

And yet, is there truth to these claims? What actually happened in those controversies, and are they being portrayed accurately? Have there been Catholic laymen, vocations, and even saints among scientists? Is science inimical to faith, or vice versa? As Catholics, what can we hold forth from the nearly two thousand year history of our faith in support of science, and what can we say that science has also offered our faith as a reflection of God’s truth?

In this course, we will explore these questions through the lenses of scientific method, resources in Catholic theology from scripture to papal encyclicals, and informal logic. We will discuss readings, perform scientific experiments as they were historically performed, engage in Socratic discussion, and debate the merits of various perspectives and arguments often encountered along the frontiers of science and faith. We will learn about historical natural philosophers and scientists through the lenses of their writings, professional and personal, to see how they reconciled their craft and their faith. We will see in them, and in their work, echoes and shadows of our own time, our own concerns, and our own walks in faith.

We will also engage modernity with an eye to the way that we use scientific knowledge through technologies and interpretation of what it means to be human. We will come face to face and argument to argument with key voices on both sides of the debate about AI, The Singularity, virtual reality, and biohacking. As we wrangle with the ideas, narratives, and historical facts, we will form a picture of the relationship between science and faith that honors the notion that all Truth is God’s Truth, and that God has given us the tools of intellect and discernment to serve him in a variety of ways, alongside and in resonance with truth, hope, and love.

 

Syllabus

Mr. Hall’s Syllabus

For each skill instructors have determined whether it is a prerequisite skill or a skill to be developed throughout the course. For lower school, instructors indicate where parent support is expected.

  • With Parent Support: Skills that most lower school students will need help with.
  • Developing: Skills that the instructor will help develop and emphasize throughout the year.
  • Mastered: Prerequisite skills that the instructor is expecting students to possess.

Canvas

  • Mastered
    • Be able to manage Canvas assignments and submissions (view assignments, check for teacher messages, submit homework as pdf file, submit revisions if necessary, set Canvas notifications for the class, view class notifications when posted, etc.).
    • Be able to set notifications settings to alert the student of class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
    • Be able to review notifications ongoing throughout the year; notifications which include: class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
    • Be able to respectfully and wisely engage with other students and the instructor on Canvas discussion boards.
    • Be able to respectfully, wisely and formally engage with instructor through private Canvas messaging.
    • Be responsible for reviewing teacher feedback, suggestions and comments about student work and employing that feedback as necessary.

Writing

  • Mastered
    • Be able to hand-write answers in complete sentences.
    • Be able to write sentences with basic sentence syntax (i.e. capitalization of first word in a sentence, punctuation at the end of each sentence, space between sentences, capitalization of proper nouns, each sentence having a subject and predicate, etc.).
    • Be able to spell at grade level and employ course vocabulary cumulatively throughout the course.
    • Be able to build well organized paragraphs which employ (among other skills) topic sentences, transition sentences, clear linear thinking throughout the essay.
    • Be able to build a logical, well-reasoned argument through a written essay providing sound reasoning (i.e. true premises, valid arguments, sound conclusions).
    • Be able to request a family or peer to edit submissions, but understands these requests should be for the purposes of raising important questions for the student to consider and suggesting minor edits. The student understands that family or peer editors should not be reworking of sentences, redefining terms, building new concepts, building arguments or writing passages for the student.
    • Be able to build and use alphanumeric outlines as part of the writing process.
    • Be able to employ the feedback of the instructor into future edits and submissions of the assignment.
    • Be able to self-edit written submissions for grammar and spelling mistakes.

Reading

  • Mastered
    • Be able to read material independently and identify the information which might be relevant to course discussions and objectives (even if the student doesn’t fully understand all of what’s being read).
    • Be able to mark, underline or highlight important words, definitions or concepts within a text being read both while reading independently and reading corporately as a class.
    • Be able to identify key terms in a passage, and follow the author’s argument.
    • Be able to read material independently and identify questions which require clarification or further explanation from the instructor.
    • Be able to listen to the author’s argument and understand it even if the student disagrees with the conclusion reached or reasons given.

Typing

  • Mastered
    • Be able to type short answers in complete sentences.
    • Be able to type paragraph essays (short essays, and 5 or more page essays).
    • Be able to employ basic MLA formatting skills (i.e. 1-inch margins, double spacing, heading on paper).
    • Be able to employ MLA citations for (for quoted material and referenced material) through the use of footnotes or endnotes, bibliography, work-cited page. Student should have a concept of what plagiarism is and know how to avoid it.

In-Class

  • Mastered
    • Follow along with instructor-led note-taking and record notes during class.
    • Be prepared to thoughtfully answer questions when called on in a group setting, during class.
    • Be prepared to volunteer thoughtful comments, answers and ideas in a group setting, during class.
    • Be prepared to generate thoughtful questions to enhance the class discussion, to identify areas needing clarification, and to make valuable connections with other course content.
    • Follow class discussions and seminar conversations to record notes without the instructor identifying specifics.

Study

  • Mastered
    • Be responsible to study at home for quizzes, tests and other assessments.
    • Understand the difference between assignments given by an instructor and the necessary and independently initiated need for private study of material.
    • Be able to schedule and manage multiple projects from multiple instructors and courses.
    • Be able to schedule time outside of class to complete independent review of materials.
    • Be able to determine the best places and ways to study at home (i.e. quiet, undistracted, utilizing various methods of review (auditory, written, visual, practice tests, flashcards, etc.).

REQUIRED COURSE TEXTS AND MATERIALS:
• New American Bible
• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Commonplace notebook
• Pencil
• Highlighter
• A variety of resources and course readings will be posted on the course website for students to download, print, and read. These will include excerpts from books, papal encyclicals, and articles relevant to the topics at hand.

 

 

Chris Hall.jpgChris Hall has a BA in philosophy from Gettysburg College and an MAT in elementary education from Towson University. He has been a classroom educator and administrator for 25 years, having served in public, independent, and classical schools. In that time, he has served as a classroom teacher in grades K-12, primarily as a science educator, PK-8 Science Department Chair, and a Lower School Academic Dean.  Along with his professional pedigree, he is a lifelong practitioner of several of the common arts profiled in his book Common Arts Education: Renewing the Classical Tradition of Training the Head, Hands, and Heart, and the founder of Always Learning Education, an organization dedicated to teaching, learning, and propagating the common arts. He lives on a small, homesteaded farm in central Virginia with his wife and three homeschooled sons. [email protected]

 

 

 

Red checkmarkComputer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

Red checkmarkHigh-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Red checkmarkWebcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Red checkmarkHeadset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Red checkmarkZoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. unnamed-e1455142229376 To download Zoom:

  1. Visit zoom.us/download.
  2. Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
  3. Open and run the installer on your computer.
  4. In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

 

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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.

 

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