Our Lady of Lourdes

Christian Simplicity- 5th Graders Discover Shocking Statistics in Religion Class
On Ash Wednesday, the 5th grade students went to Religion class in the afternoon just like they do everyday. Except on that day, the students were surprised to be engaged in a discussion about the environment. Students were probably wondering, ‘Does Ms. Gipe think this is Science class?’
That day in Religion class, we took a break from learning about the 7 Sacraments and discussed the concept of “Christian Simplicity,” the theme of Lent 4.5. We began by talking about the typical things that one gives up during the season of Lent- ice cream, sodas, fried foods, candy, t.v. shows, etc. As we continued our discussion, we began to realize that usually after about three or four days of giving up that special treat, we learn to replace it with something else, and our Lenten fasting becomes less of a sacrifice and sometimes a fairly easy goal to accomplish.
This year, the students are being challenged to make their Lenten sacrifices reflect the concept of Christian Simplicity. After we discussed that giving up ice cream wasn’t going to kill us, students began to become intrigued with the question of, “Well what in the world am I supposed to do this Lent?” Before the students were given an explanation of how to change their Lenten sacrifices, we discussed the concept of Lent 4.5- the fact that if everyone in the entire world were given a plot of usable land to live off, each person should get 4.5 acres. At first, the students did not think this was a big deal. Then, we explored the fascinating and outrageous statistics of how much land we really use throughout the world. For example, the average person in India only takes about 1.9 acres to sustain their lifestyle. Other figures included Egypt at 3.5 acres, Columbia at 7.4 acres, Italy 12.2 acres, and there were many more. Last, the students were given the statistic for the amount of land that Americas take to sustain our lifestyle, and they were shocked at the horrendous answer of 22.3 acres per person!
We discussed what this meant to us as Americans. Many of the students were in such shock that they didn’t know what to think about it! Immediately, students began describing Americans as “wasteful, selfish, and greedy” people. Then we began exploring how exactly these statistics came to be by discussing that everything that requires energy releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which heats the Earth. As a class, we went to the website, http://www.zerofootprintkids.com/kids_home.aspx , and calculated the 5th grade class’ carbon footprint. Students were once again amazed that, compared to all other countries around the world, their own carbon footprints were much larger.
This Lent, students in the 5th grade are trying to live more simply as we are all called to by Christ himself. Please help these children reach their goal of living more simply this year by encouraging them to recycle at home and at school by using the recycling bin in the parking lot and the drawers in the atrium that collect various recyclable items (batteries, ink cartridges, etc.). Students brainstormed things that they could do at home like walking to school or to a friend’s house, reading a book or playing outside instead of watching television, play an instrument or make up a song instead of using the ipod or computer, use a refillable water bottle, turning off the lights, and many other small solutions. I encourage you to discuss “Christian Simplicity” with your child, and to always ask yourself, “What would Jesus think about our actions and lifestyles?”
Ms. Michelle Gipe
5th grade Religion
Our Lady of Lourdes