Educators in America have always purported to emphasize moral development. They identify the role of the teacher as one of fostering moral growth in addition to academic success. But in the late 1950's, a purely cognitive emphasis on academic achievement heralded a switch in the focus from shaping character to the promotion of personal intellectual growth. Any mention of religious or moral values was excised from American education and replaced with the strong expectation of academic excellence, particularly in the areas of math and science. Now, that educational system is being strongly criticized, and there are calls for reform. School systems are once again being asked to address moral and social issues.

The advocacy of a return to traditional values within the context of school programs has been impacted by the increase in social problems with school age youth. The role of the teacher has been expanded to include the instilling of basic social and moral values beyond passing on academic knowledge. This has resulted in a number of contemporary approaches to moral education based on socialization, and is facilitated by providing the students with opportunities to experience positive relationships. Students should then be able to develop the skills and knowledge to function competently in school and in the larger society.

Not surprisingly, the key-socializing agent is the teacher. Educators today have become increasingly aware that providing students with educational opportunities to develop skills in the affective, behavioral, and cognitive domains is most successful in this socializing process. Skills in the cognitive domain have remained the "constant" in the equation, but developing skills in the behavioral domain is relatively recent, and is current for the affective domain. The educator must provide a setting that nurtures development of emotionally appropriate and socially competent behaviors. At the same time, students need guidance to develop skills that will be useful for a lifetime. Effective efforts to address students' social and emotional needs can promote academic performance and decrease the likelihood of their engaging in risky behaviors. The task of the teacher is to provide a positive environment and an affective classroom setting where the emotional education of the student is part of the curriculum.

If students are challenged on all three domains, affective, behavioral, and cognitive, the chances for educational success increase in any field of study. Many educators (Lickona, Eissenberg, Mussen) believe that these three learning domains are critical to moral development. I refer to these as "the ABCs of Moral Development" – affective, behavioral, cognitive. This particular focus for religious educators is exemplified in Silver Burdett Ginn Religion's BLEST ARE WE: Faith & Word Edition. It addresses the three domains addressing them as "love, live, and learn."

Affective Learning = Love

Programs to promote affective development that are available for implementation in the contemporary public school setting are varied, and approach the goal of emotional competence from different perspectives. Although the goal is the socially and emotionally balanced student who will be an asset to society, the focus of each program is slightly different. Public school education attempts to achieve this development through character education, values clarification, and the development of emotional intelligence. Within the Catholic religious education setting, the focus is on the application of faith values to everyday life.

In this domain, the goal is to stimulate interest for the subject matter. The focus is to engage the child on an emotional level, to generate enthusiasm for the concept, to create good feelings about the topic and to develop emotional competence through forming good relationships. BLEST ARE WE: Faith & Word captivates the learner in this domain, in every brightly illustrated chapter. An audio CD is available for select Scripture stories in the child's book in English and Spanish for grade levels 1-4. These audio versions reach out especially to young children who are better audio learners. The new multimedia Catechist Guide provides visual stimulation to create an enthusiasm for each of the units with the addition of a Quick Clips DVD extending sacramental, liturgical, and real life themes. Each unit of the child's book features a song sheet related to the unit theme. These songs are also available on grade specific CDs. The enhanced activities found on www.blestarewe.com further develop the excitement oof faith investigation. The outcome of all this is to build an emotional level of enthusiasm for the subject. Children will love to learn about their faith. So, in this example, A (affective) really equals L (love).

Behavior = Live

The challenge of public character education is to build better citizens. The goal of religious education in the Catholic setting is to develop faith-filled persons who are capable of living their faith in everyday life. The intent is that children choose to be engaged in their faith enough to live it.

The goal in this domain is to involve the learner in the "real world" application of learning. BLEST ARE WE: Faith & Word makes it hard to miss how well actual activity is built in to every chapter. The child becomes more connected with the individual ministry to answer the call of one who is baptized. The family is encouraged to join in active prayer through the "Take Home/Family Time" pages for each chapter. The Faith in Action section provides a direct link between what is learned and the practical, physical application of that concept at home, in the parish, and in the community. So, B (behavior) really equals L (live).

Cognitive = Learn

The cognitive dimension of moral education is the binding force and central to the entire educational process. The educator must go beyond the raw material and develop a setting in which the individual student feels welcome, is encouraged to be active, and a community in which the socialization process serves as the foundation of religious education.

Programs in public education often struggle to develop a cognitive foundation, a reason to behave in a prosocial or caring manner. Religious education has the benefit of being able to draw on centuries of theology and Scripture to provide the catechist with a wealth of information on Catholic faith concepts. With BLEST ARE WE: Faith & Word the Catechist Guide strengthens this cognitive piece for the catechist. Each chapter of the child's book is built on a solid faith concept, enhanced by lessons based firmly in Scripture, and explained in an age-appropriate manner. A thought-provoking review closes each chapter. The information is structured in an exciting yet effective way that allows each child the opportunity to connect with the academic faith concept. So, C (cognitive) really equals L (learn).

The goal of the catechist is to tap into all three domains of learning – affective, behavioral, and cognitive – and intertwine them within a group setting. The catechist leads the child to build sound social relationships, develop the behavioral through prayer and faith rituals, and eagerly explore the cognitive material.

BLEST ARE WE: Faith & Word incorporates a variety of materials that applies to all three domains. Using the DVD Quick Clips to generate enthusiasm, adapting the ideas provided in the "Take Home/Family Time" sections for real world action, and utilizing the wealth of information in the Catechist Guide all ensure that the catechist will be engaging the learner on all three domains – affective, behavioral and cognitive. The end result is a setting in which the child becomes enthusiastic about his or her faith, behaviorally involved, and cognitively competent. In other words, the child can "love, live and learn." This correlation of the ABCs with the 3 Ls could be the key to helping catechists nurture young Catholics, helping them become individuals with a true commitment to live out their faith in their parishes, and in the world.