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content-rich materials that engage the rich cultural
heritage of the Christian past, using good and great
books that ask the big questions using eloquent po-
etry and prose. Catholic school curriculum inspires
students to ask the most essential questions about
that which we study, and a Catholic worldview pur-
sues these questions to their richest understanding.
Finally, it draws upon beauty not only by teaching
the fine arts but also by pointing to natural, artistic,
and spiritual beauty in every subject.
The Cardinal Newman Society Curriculum Stan-
dards offer an important resource for assessing
curriculum f rom a Catholic worldview for the areas
of English, math, science, and history.
1
The stan-
dards are divided between grades K-6 and 7-12 and
supplement existing content standards with gen-
eral, intellectual, and dispositional ones. The Arch-
diocese of Denver has begun incorporating them
into our academic content standards, as well as
using them in our new four-day Catholic Worldview
Seminar, required for all new teachers. This seminar
draws upon the four pillars of the Catechism and
connects them with the liberal arts and the four
major content areas addressed by the Cardinal
Newman Society standards.
The way we teach, the habits we form, and the
worldview we impart through every subject we
teach, all form an important approach to support-
ing discipleship. Learning, in any subject, and faith
are not unrelated. The Catholic faith, by providing
the broadest and most comprehensive view of
reality, serves as a principle of integration for all
subjects, motivation for learning, and for applying
the f ruits of study to life.
1 "Curriculum Standards," Cardinal Newman Society, https://
newmansociety.org/catholic-curriculum-standards/.
