The Peace Class: A Study of Effective Cheek-Turning, Neighbor-Loving and Sword-to-Plowshare Conversion

The book came from a feeling that the instructional resources, activities, and experiences from a class about nonviolence should be shared with others. The dream of "The Peace Class" -people who could transform the world to practice peaceful conflict Resolution-evolved from observing and absorbing the power of nonviolence from the study of successful peace initiatives and the people who have led them. Students who have only learned confrontational ways to deal with conflict often are amazed that there are other more peaceful and effective approaches. Abraham Maslow said, "If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." The study of nonviolence provides other tools that might resolve conflict and create the ultimate "Peace Class."

Diana Hadley has been an educator for 43 years and a Quaker for a lifetime. She didn¹t combine the two until 2007 when she started teaching nonviolence as a four-week winter term course at a small liberal arts college. The class evolved from a winter term course to a full semester and then a team-teaching effort with David Weatherspoon that led to this book. Diana and David hope the stories of their experiences will encourage others to provide nonviolence studies to many levels of education. David Weatherspoon served the past ten years as a college chaplain, and during that time he had several opportunities to teach a variety of classes including joining Diana Hadley in the adventure of team-teaching a nonviolence class together over the course of five years. Passionate about the teachings of Jesus, the chance to educate others about the history and practice of nonviolence alongside a good friend in the classroom was an opportunity that David could not turn down.