Morality & Chastity Curriculum

Faith and Morals

  1. Students will learn God created each one of us out of love, for love.
  2. Students will learn God gave us our family to love us and to teach us what is right and good.
  3. Students will learn we should thank God for all He has given us by being respectful of other family members.
  4. Students will learn the loving person seeks to do what is right and good in every situation.
  5. Students will learn there are different kinds of love: God's love for us, the love between husbands and wives, parents' love for their children, love between friends, and love for all humanity.
  6. Students will learn parents have been given authority by God to help their teenage children to do what is right and good in all situations.
  7. Students will learn homosexual activity is objectively (that is, regardless of circumstances) disordered and can never be approved. Students will learn that homosexual orientation is different from homosexual activity. (CCC 2357-2359)
  8. Students will learn that God's grace enables us to do the good which we otherwise would be unable to do through our own efforts.
  9. Students will learn that daily prayer, frequent reception of the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion and a devotion to Mary help us to develop a close personal relationship with Christ which will assist with the development of a chaste life.
  10. Students will learn that when we receive Holy Communion we should offer to Christ all of our efforts and struggles to live a chaste and loving life in union with His sacrifice on the cross.
  11. Students will learn that freedom from sin allows us to develop our full potential as persons and is a source of deep peace and joy.
  12. Students will learn that the world presents freedom in a way that is different from -- and frequently opposite to -- the Church’s teaching on human freedom.
  13. Students will learn we love God and share in His life by listening to the Gospel, living by the Commandments, praying, worshipping at Mass, receiving the Sacraments, and practicing Christian charity.
  14. Students will learn God always loves us and wants us to turn to Him and say we are sorry when we have sinned. Sin is choosing to do what we know is wrong.
  15. Students will learn God forgives our sins when we are sorry and ask for forgiveness. God is always forgiving.
  16. Students will learn that we should forgive those who hurt us.
  17. Students will review what conscience is, how to examine one's conscience, and the role of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in Christian life. (CCC 1422 ff)
  18. Students will learn that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God shows us His love and forgiveness in a special way and gives us the grace to become more loving people. (CCC 1422 ff)
  19. Students will learn there are moral norms which are absolute, that is, which bind in every case and on all people. (CCC 1954 ff)
  20. Students will learn that the physical union of a man and a woman is meant for good and is meant for marriage only. (CCC 1601 ff)
  21. Students will learn that responsible parenthood means taking on the vocation of making one's home a domestic Church.
  22. Students will learn that there are many positive consequences to the practice of chastity, including: (a) developing one's individual personhood; (b) experiencing healthy same-sex and opposite-sex friendships (spiritually, academically, socially); (c) preparing for one's vocation in life (religious, single, married) and one's future career; (d) pleasing God and thereby deepening one's relationship with God; and, (e) experiencing the joy of doing God's will.
  23. Students will learn that as Christians we are called to show compassion towards all who are sick and suffering.
  24. Students will learn about examples from the lives of Jesus, Mary and the saints related to family life and chastity.
  25. Students will know the reason for gender-separated classes for some topics.

Personal, Health, and Safety Issues

  1. Students will learn positive skills needed to cope with stress: i.e., prayer, exercise, recreation, intellectual challenge, etc.
  2. Students will review the negative and destructive effects of substance abuse (e.g., alcohol, drugs, inhalants, nicotine, food, etc.) on the spiritual, mental, physical and emotional well-being of the individual, the family and society. A "no-use" approach will be taught.
  3. Students will learn to analyze the moral and social issues related to teenage pregnancy.
  4. Students will learn that God has designed the human body with a marvelous immune system to protect itself from infection and disease.
  5. Students will learn that every person has the right to care, comfort, and consolation when living or dying with AIDS or any disease or malady.*

*Note to Teacher: AIDS will be discussed in the Evening Program.

Character, Family, and Social

  1. Students will review the characteristics of the human person and identify where they are developmentally in each area: spiritually, intellectually, socially, physically, emotionally and ethically.
  2. Students will review that marriage is a life-long commitment of love and fidelity and that the physical union of the husband and wife is a sign of the sacred love between them, and of their mutual self-giving. The physical union of the husband and wife is also the way that God brings children into the world. (CCC 1601 ff; 1646 ff)
  3. Students will review that according to God’s plan, children are to be raised in a loving family unit consisting of a father, a mother and the child/children and that everyone should strive to reach and maintain this ideal plan of God’s. (CCC 2202) At the same time, students will recognize that it is sometimes necessary for children to be raised by grandparents, single parents, or others, and that these people make great sacrifices to raise the children in difficult circumstances.
  4. Students will learn that marriage between a man and a woman is God's plan for the best way to provide for stable family life for individuals and is a foundation of society.
  5. Students will be encouraged to rely on their own family for help and guidance.
  6. Students will learn ways to increase communication with parents and contribute to family well-being.
  7. Students will review the fact that their family is an important part of their Church and will be encouraged to find ways to serve that Church.
  8. Students will review the fact that their family is an important part of the local community and will be encouraged to find ways to serve that community.
  9. Students will recognize that the development of sexuality is one important aspect of the mature development of the human person.
  10. Students will learn that true freedom includes saying "no" to premarital sexual involvement.
  11. Students will learn what true friendship is and how friends can help one another (positive peer pressure).
  12. Students will learn how to make good decisions, including assessing both short- and long-term decisions and dealing with any negative or positive consequences.
  13. Students will learn that society and the media affect attitudes, behaviors and decisions. (CCC 2496)
  14. Students will learn that the media (TV, movies, books, magazines, newspapers, music, etc.) send erroneous messages about instant gratification having little or no consequences.
  15. Students will learn peer pressure can be positive or negative. Positive pressure helps us live the virtuous life. Negative pressure increases the temptation to sin.
  16. Students will learn that they must choose their friends carefully and that their choice of friends will have a large influence on whether their behavior is moral/good or immoral/bad.
  17. Students will learn to identify the positive and negative issues associated with dating and friendships.
  18. Students will learn the importance of following established family rules for activities with friends.
  19. Students will identify that greater privileges which accompany the teenage years also include greater responsibilities.
  20. Students will that learn young teenagers have many abilities and opportunities to help make their families communities of love.
  21. Students will learn that friendship is based on shared values and sincere concern about the spiritual, mental, physical and emotional well-being of another person.
  22. Students will learn that infatuation is a feeling that can be experienced by any person. Love, however, is a commitment to do what is right and good for yourself and the other, regardless of how one feels.
  23. Students will learn that junior high students should only participate in supervised group activities with members of the opposite sex, e.g., athletic events, dances, parties, community service projects.
  24. Students will learn that when parents set limits they do so out of love for the child and for the good of the child.
  25. Students will learn that going steady is counter-productive to living a chaste life and is an impediment to the cultivation of friendships.
  26. Students will learn that junior high is an important time to begin discerning one's vocation for life, e.g., religious, single, married.
  27. Students will learn that the loving and mature person can manage the emotional challenges of life.
  28. Students will learn elements of self-worth, fairness and justice, caring and compassion, social responsibility, personal integrity, pursuit of  excellence, and appropriate expression of rights and responsibilities.
  29. Students will learn practical applications of the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance) and the theological virtues (faith, hope, charity). (CCC 1805, 1813)