Arise: Empowering Teachers to Guide Teens to Virtue and Mental Health

WHY ARISE?  

As a middle or high school teacher, you have a front seat to the great potential, as well as the needs, of today’s adolescents. Our young people are thirsting for meaning and guidance, but they receive so many confusing messages in our world today. They are also experiencing huge developmental changes in both mind and body.  

See this clip of Inside Out 2 for a perfect visual of this!  

As their teacher, you are in a unique position to help them navigate all this. You want to help them cope with their rocky emotions. But you want more for them than just coping or compliance—you want them to be whole, free, and restored, living out their full potential in Christ.  

But as you serve and love your students, you may be wondering:  

• “How can I lead my students to both spiritual and mental health?” 

• “How can I help my students see the connection between their Catholic faith and their everyday struggles as a teenager?”  

• “How can I hold high standards of behavior for kids who are suffering so much?” 

• “Are some of my students too confused and broken to be invited to a life of virtue?” 

• “How can I integrate knowledge of adolescent development with the wisdom of our Catholic faith?” 

Arise is the answer to these questions. 

WHAT IS ARISE? 

Arise is a video series for middle and high school students that integrates the best of neurobiology with the call to virtue and holiness, leading adolescents to happiness, holiness, and mental health.  

Arise presents 39 short videos, each with accompanying lesson plans, activities, and student handouts. 

Each Arise video will integrate four topics:  

• Neurobiology 

• Social Emotional Learning Strategy 

• Saint 

• Virtue 

Each of these videos is accompanied by student handouts to give students a deeper understanding of each of these topics. There is also an Arise Teacher’s Manual that explains how to use the student handouts and empowers the teacher to guide students through the program.   

In leading your students through the Arise series, you will empower your students to: 

• Understand their minds and bodies in light of the best scientific research. 

• Develop healthy habits and strong social-emotional skills. 

• Navigate the workings of their growing minds and bodies in a mature and virtuous way. 

• Experience the connection between growth in virtue and mental and emotional health.  

• Look to the saints as relatable role models who shared their same struggles and became heroes of virtue. 

• Strengthen their characters and develop their personal identities as sons and daughters of God. 

• See how their Catholic faith can shed light on their most authentic questions and struggles.  

WHAT MAKES ARISE DIFFERENT?  

Unlike other SEL programs, Arise is rooted in Catholic faith and anthropology. With many confusing influences bombarding our young people today, we are committed to providing sound and wholesome resources that foster both spiritual and mental health and set young people on the sure path to heaven through Jesus Christ.  

All truth has its origin in God, our Creator. The discoveries of developmental neurobiology are assisting parents and educators to better help adolescents cope with the stresses of life. But the truths discovered by science are not enough for human flourishing. Ultimately, we need a Savior. We need Jesus Christ and so do our students.  

Arise makes use of the discoveries of neuroscience, integrating them with virtue and the examples of the saints, and pointing to Jesus Christ as “the answer to the question posed by every human life.”²  

HOW DO I USE ARISE? 

When you view the Arise videos, you will see a download underneath each video. These are student handouts that extend the concepts from the video. These student handouts are free for all Openlight Media Plus subscribers.   

However, there is a lot more available for the teacher in the Arise Teacher’s Manual. This manual has lesson plans for the teacher, guiding them through each of the student activities and handouts. The videos and student handouts are a great start – but we highly recommend purchasing the teacher’s manual if you want to be in command of the material.   

Arise is flexible and easy to use, so adapt it to your own students and time frames. Each video is about 3 minutes long, but the extension activities that accompany each video could be extended into a whole week of short lessons.  

If you only have time for the videos, great! But if you would like to dedicate 10-20 minutes each day to helping your students navigate their minds, bodies, and emotions with virtue, there is enough content in Arise to carry you through the entire school year.  

With Arise, you can help your students manage the “wrecking ball” of adolescence. Imagine the difference Arise could make in your students’ lives. 

ENJOY FREE ACCESS TO LESSONS 1-3 

We’re so confident that you’ll be all in after previewing the course that we’re giving you and your students the first three Arise videos and downloads for free!  These lessons will introduce your middle and high school students to a program that will change their daily lives, leading them to greater freedom, balance, and virtue.    

• Once you’re hooked, get access to the remaining 36 lesson videos and downloads, exclusively available with an Openlight Media Plus subscription. 

• Already have an Openlight Media Plus subscription? Watch the videos and download the lessons now.