Class #7 - 2/26/08

Hi Everybody!

It was great to be back in class after a week away. Too bad Gabi & Gracie were absent but we still had a good class.

We began class with Eric giving us a detailed review of his trip to Arizona and meeting Ken & Heather. I think Ken made a good impression on Eric. He described Ken as "a hoot" and told us about going to get terriyaki together. Sounds like a fun car ride, Ken! :)

The bulk of Eric's presentation was about the interview he conducted of Ken & Heather. He mentioned how Ken has regular conversations with Colman McCarthy and that Ken & Heather told him that Andreson Sa doesn't speak English. Ken also loaned Eric a copy of the Anderson Sa movie Favela Rising. I'm going to look into offering that as a Friday activity. Eric videotaped his interview and has loaned the tape to me to look at. I may show part of it in class as time allows. Let me know if you want to see it.

The remaining time in class was spent reviewing journal entries specific to Part 3 of the book. I think my favorite comment came from Josh who was quite taken by Desmond Tutu and said, "Desmond Tutu is insane." Obviously, insane in this context was a good thing. Good work was done here. Here are some additional links for you to consider as you further your studies:
Bruno Hussar - Oasis of Peace
Desmond Tutu Peace Centre
Riane Eisler - Partnership Education
Seeds of Compassion - The Dalai Lama in Seattle, April '08

Remember, no class next week due to intensives week so our next gathering is on March 11th. Including that class, we only have 3 sessions remaining.

Summary of Homework Due on 3/11:
- Finish reading the 4 chapters in Part Four of the book and complete the journal entry.

Class #6 - 2/12/08

Please pardon the brief entry this week. It is consistent with my work-related theme for the week - very busy.

In fact, this *theme* impacted the Peacemakers class as I missed most of it due to an important phone call. Fortunately, the plan for this week's class didn't require a lot of facilitating. You all did a great job generating questions for Eric to take on his trip next week, a portion of which will be spent interviewing Ken & Heather.

Eric, if you can, consider posting the questions in the comments section of the blog or emailing them to me.

As a reminder, there is no class next week due to the week off.

Summary of Homework Due on 2/26:
- Finish reading the 4 chapters in Part Three of the book and complete the accompanying journal entry.

Class #5 - 2/5/08

We reviewed the 4 peacemakers featured in part 2 of the book. Here are some additional resources to further your understanding:
- Mother Teresa - One of TIME Magazines 100 Most Important People of thge 20th Century
- Thich Nhat Hanh & Plum Village
- Solutions to Violence, an 8 session class developed by Colman McCarthy
- Oscar Arias Foundation For Peace & Human Progress

Next week we're going to put together questions for Eric to take to Heather & Ken since he's going to get to meet them over mid-winter break. And because of this break, you have until the 26th to read the chapters in part 3 of the book.

Summary of Homework Due on 2/26:
- Finish reading the 4 chapters in Part Three of the book and complete the journal entry.

Class #4 - 1/29/08

We spent most of the class period reviewing the Study Guide's vocabulary words for Part 2: Ethics, Conscience, Stereotype (as a noun), Solidarity, Demilitarization. Although not required, I encouraged you to take what we did in class and write it up, personalize the words in some ways in order to "own" them.

We also had a good conversation on the topic of serving at the individual level rather than the societal level, focusing especially on Mother Teresa. She wanted to help individuals rather than address bigger concepts, believing that by helping specific people get fed she was addressing the bigger concept of hunger. Some criticized her for this. You may want to consider this issue in greater depth and see how it applies to other peacemakers, or even in your life. Clearly, if this topic interests you, you'll want to answer Question #1 from the Mother Teresa chapter.

Help me remember to start getting questions written down for Eric to take to Ken & Heather. As you know, he's going to get to meet them in February over mid-winter break. I think one question had to do with knowing how Ken & Heather chose Anderson Sa and whether they've had the chance to meet or talk with him.

Summary of Homework Due on 2/5:
- Finish reading the 4 chapters in Part Two of the book and complete the journal entry. This work must be done prior to the start of class. Be ready to talk about Part Two in class.