Classrooms create ‘continent of imagination’ based on Church’s social teachings

Detroit — What would it be like if the world actually followed the Catholic Church’s prescriptions for a just, ordered society?

That was the question the spring 2014 semester at Holy Redeemer Grade School in southwest Detroit sought to answer as students were tasked with creating a “Continent of Imagination” based on the Church’s social teachings.

The unusual project was the focus of a grant-based initiative at the school this year.

“This may have been the most intense project I’ve done,” said Holy Redeemer teacher Laura Ilover, who spearheaded the project for the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students.

The project, which drew from Catholic social teachings, Scripture and discussion of saints’ lives, combined students of the three grades into nine groups to “build” a world based on true social justice principles.

The lands were represented in 3D maps made with common classroom materials such as clay, paper and paint; each team also created a flag, imaginary animal and board game for their country. Additionally, several teams made puzzles based on the lands for the younger grades to learn, and each team created a DVD to film short documentaries.

Teams wrote histories of their small countries, addressing how the Church’s social teachings influenced the countries’ history and development over the years.

And keeping in mind the need for proper stewardship of God’s creation, the students also included an actual, endangered animal in their country’s biome.

Ilover said the project was the result of “a lot of brainstorming” among herself and the other two junior high teachers, Maria Davison and Joanne Xenakis, with their principal, Mary Beth Kiley.

“We met in November (2013),” said Ilover, explaining she had created a binder for all three teachers to keep the details of the semester’s project goals.

Ilover gave everyone a calendar with a “very specific schedule” to make sure deadlines were reached on their designated days.

“It was a lot of hard work, but we liked it, and the kids liked it a lot,” she said.

After they had begun plotting out the “Continent of Imagination” project, Ilover learned of the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools’ Helen Casey Memorial Grant, named for the woman who passed away in 2004 and had been a strong Catholic voice in Michigan against nuclear weapons and all kinds of violence.

After applying, Holy Redeemer received the $500 grant to help with the costs of project materials: “The grant really did help us,” Ilover added, explaining that she and the other teachers had originally planned to pay for many project costs out-of-pocket.

The countries grew as students got to know one another better and perfected each of their tiny lands, which bore creative names such as “Land of Life,” “Heavenstone,” “El Sacramento” and “Dignity Land.”

Periodically, the teachers would give the students evaluation forms to see how things were going. This proved a good opportunity for reflection.

“I need people to bounce ideas off of,” wrote one student, while another admitted, “It is easy to work with people who are my friends but not so much with others.”

“I learned that I could achieve a lot of goals if I put my mind to it and I could figure out another way to do something if the first one fails,” wrote one student.

And another student shared: “I learned that even though I was the oldest in my group, the sixth and seventh graders had some better and more advanced ideas than I had, which I didn’t mind.”

At the end of the semester, members of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Catholic Schools Office were invited to a special May 14 presentation.

The presentation included time for reflection, prayers of intercession, Scripture readings and the singing of David Haas’ song “We Are Called.” The students guided their visitors to each of the 3D maps, pointing out the details of each land.

Ilover said the students themselves became “strong, self-assured; they were proud of themselves.”

“I’m proud of what they did,” she said.

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To see more photos of the project, visit gallery.themichigancatholic.com.

Helen Casey Memorial Social Justice Fund

All schools that are members of the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools (MANS) may apply to the Helen Casey Memorial Social Justice Fund. To learn how your school can apply for the grant, visit www.m-a-n-s.org, or call (800) 394-5949.