Welcome to the Tuesday Teaching Tip, an easy-to-implement tool that you can use immediately in your classroom teaching.
TUESDAY TEACHING TIP: Catholic Social Teaching in the Classroom
In the Jesuit classroom, teaching is sacred work. This work is dedicated to social justice and the common good– to form students who think ethically, act justly, and lead with love. Some of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) guide the way through this work, even during politically divisive times:
- Life and Dignity: Every student is made in God’s image.
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- Tips: Use inclusive syllabi, affirm identities, respect all voices.
- Solidarity: We belong to one another.
- Tips: Highlight underrepresented narratives, foster allyship.
- Common Good: Education should benefit all.
- Tips: Encourage collaboration, ask “Who’s included?”
- Option for the Poor: Focus on the margins.
- Tips: Use community-engaged learning, uplift marginalized scholars, and foreground the many gifts and assets that marginalized communities bring to the table; underscore how attention to the margins is central not only to the Catholic tradition but also to any thriving democracy.
- Rights & Responsibilities: Advocate for equity.
- Tips: Explore access, inspire civic responsibility.
- Dignity of Work: Work reflects God’s creative act.
- Tips: Discuss labor justice, encourage ethical careers.
- Care for Creation: Justice includes the Earth.
- Tips: Address climate equity, explore environmental ethics.
This week, we challenge you to consider the role of CST in your course and invite your students into conversation about how these principles inform the work you do together.
Here’s one way to do it
- Invite your students into conversation about one or more of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching in relation to your course content.
- Solicit reflections about how CST affects their understanding of the course and its purposes
- Apply one of the above tips in an upcoming class session or course
DID YOU DO IT?
Let us know how it went. We would love to hear your feedback about how you implemented today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip in your classroom. Click here to fill out our 3-question survey. The survey is anonymous, but if you choose to enter your name, you’ll be entered in a drawing at the end of the quarter to win a new book from Faculty Development!
UPCOMING EVENTS
- CAFE: Social Justice in the Academy, Part 2 on Thursday, January 22 at 12:00pm RSVP
- Repeat: AAC&U AI Faculty Listening Session on Wednesday, January 28 at 1:00pm RSVP
- Last Thursdays Shut Up & Write on Thursday, January 29 at 9:00am RSVP
WANT TO READ A LITTLE MORE?
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), ‘Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching’. NB: this USCCB resource has some divergences from the principles outlined above; as a Jesuit, mission-driven institution of higher education, SCU has a distinctive expression of these values, traditions and themes
This week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip was prepared by Nicholas Hayes-Mota and Amy Lueck on behalf of the Faculty Development and the Center for Teaching Excellence.
Missed a teaching tip? Read them all here.
And check out our full calendar of CAFEs and other Faculty Development events.
