As fourth graders study through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation, they pay careful attention to the politics and culture of the church.  They study many great men of the faith and their impact on the development of Western culture.  Early in the year, students are introduced to the trend of self denial and separation that developed into monasticism around the fourth century.  The children study St. Benedict and his rules for monastic life and turn their own classroom into a Benedictine monastery. 

In order to experience the culture and influence of this period, children are required to take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience.  They are given a monk’s habit and their shoes are removed.  They are then separated by gender and placed in a monastery or abbey for the day.  They spend their day in true Benedictine fashion, characterized by prayer and work.  The children are given written and manual work to do in silence.  Every hour they are directed to stand and say the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, and for lunch they are supplied with a meager meal of stew and bread. 

At the end of the day the children complain of grumbling bellies, aching muscles, and loneliness.  Self denial is not as easy or enjoyable as they expected. Their esteem for these dedicated church fathers multiplies and they become intrigued to learn more about these men and their time.  The young children foresee corruption in the medieval church as men desire the prestige of monasticism without the sacrifice involved.  For a day, history has become more than a story.  It is the life of real people, in real time and space, to whom they can relate.  Despite their discomfort, our goal has been accomplished:  history has moved from the past to the present.  History has become living and real.

Trisha Detrick teaches fourth grade at Geneva. She enters into the spirit of Monastery Day by doning a habit herself, along with her students.