DeMatha Catholic High School, 4313 Madison Street, Hyattsville, MD 20781 - USA
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Course Description
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Grade 11 (Junior Year) --- 2 semesters, 1 credit
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Ethics provides humans with a framework within which to interpret, understand and act in the world. Christian Ethics provides that structure by drawing upon our collective lived human experience informed by Sacred Scripture, tradition, and the social teaching of the Church. Grounded in the fundamental belief of the sacredness and dignity of life, Christian Ethics establishes the foundation for the individual and the community to live and act justly.
The course seeks to acquaint the student with the richness of the Catholic-Christian ethical tradition in dialogue with pluralistic perspectives of contemporary secular society. The course incorporates an interdisciplinary approach, integrating the social sciences and history with theology. The material covered explores factors affecting ethical decision-making: moral maturity, competing methodologies, formation of the conscience, theological understanding of personal and moral sin. Inherently dynamic, ethics invites application. The practical aspect is explored through examination of moral dilemmas and contemporary issues.
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The course focuses on the following areas of ethical concern:
 Western Philosophy --- topics include logic, relativism, utilitarianism, and virtue;Sexual Ethics --- topics include pre-marital sexuality, homosexuality, and auto-sexuality; Bioethics --- topics include artificial conception, cloning, contraception, abortion, stem-cell research, genetic engineering, organ harvesting; andSocial Ethics --- topics include economic justice, social justice, and war and peace studies. |
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Required Texts:
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Introduction to Catholic Ethics
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 Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk
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Goals & Objectives: The course seeks to enable the student to:
Develop and internalize a healthy respect for the inherent dignity of the human person;
Recognize the theories and perspectives of Christian ethics as applied to specific contemporary issues (i.e., biomedicine, citizenship, culture, sexuality, war, women, etc.);Identify the social and personal challenges towards living Christian moral life through human relationships;Comprehend the role of the individual in building a society in which each person's dignity can be realized; andRespond to the needs of other human beings through their personal and social behavior. Ultimately, the goal of the Christian Ethics course is to enable the student to understand, evaluate and critique ethical issues and perspectives in the process of informing his own conscience.
Instructional Methods will include prayer, interactive multi-media lecture, small/large group discussions, cooperative learning, and student presentations.
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Supplemental Texts &
Selected Resources
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Miscellaneous Handouts
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Multimedia Demonstrations
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Class Policies
The student must arrive for each class on-time and be prepared with pens, sharpened pencils, erasers, loose-leaf paper, textbook(s), notebook, handouts, and other required materials.The student is expected to participate in class discussions and activities. The student's active participation will be assessed and graded at the discretion of the teacher.Homework will mostly consist of reading assignments, note-taking, review of the day's class notes, and writing assignments. Homework must be completed on time. Failure to do so will result in the student receiving a grade of "0" for that assignment. Late homework may be accepted and graded at the teacher's discretion. The student is strongly encouraged to keep up with the homework assignments. Reading & Writing Assignments require the student to take detailed notes. The student should review his notes daily in order to be prepared for subsequent class lectures, discussions, and announced or unannounced quizzes. The student is expected to complete homework along with reading and/or writing assignments, and will be responsible for this material in the form of review exercises, periodic tests, quizzes and examinations. ALL “Guidelines & Formats” established by the teacher for homework and writing assignments MUST be carefully followed. NO EXCEPTIONS! Each student and his parent or guardian will read, sign and return the DeMatha Computer Code of Ethics form. Each student will maintain a DeMatha computer account throughout the entire school year.TurnItIn.com will be used for plagiarism protection, student peer review, and some written submissions.When a student has been absent from class, he is responsible for completing all required work when he returns to class. It is the student's responsibility to contact the teacher immediately upon returning to school in order to arrange the time and place for making up the missed work. Students may share missed class notes among themselves.Tests on significant units of course material are scheduled on the class calendar under “Class work & Homework." Tests dates will be announced and/or posted at least one week in advance. Any missed tests must be made up outside of class time within one day of the student's return to school.Students will complete a major course project before the end of the Third Quarter. Details will be announced in January, 2008. |
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Grading
The student's quarter grade will be determined as follows:
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| Class Participation |
10%
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| Homework |
10%
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| Presentations and Projects |
25%
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| Quizzes |
25%
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| Tests and Examinations |
30%
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Midterm and Final Examinations will count as 30% of the Semester Grade.
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The Final Course Grade will be determined by averaging the first and second semester grades.
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Grading Scale
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The grading scale of this course will be as follows:
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A 93-100
A- 90-92
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B 85-89
B- 80-84
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C 75-79
D 70-74
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F Below 70
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Academic and Moral Integrity
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It is the teacher's assumption and expectation that all work the student turns in or presents is his own.
Cheating on tests, copying homework and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty will be dealt with according to school policy. As a gentleman and scholar, Christian behavior is required in class.
August, 2007
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