The word curriculum has at its root a notion of a journey or course, much like the running of a river. We have tried to arrange the various lessons included here like stepping stones along that course, to be combined in various ways as you work within different teaching and learning situations. Lessons found in the Beginning the Journey section are designed to build group cohesion, and set the stage for exploring the content together.  Finding A Better Way and Redefining Our Enemies introduce students to some of the Veterans’ stories, organized around a central theme, and allow them to follow those themes in-depth. Extending the Journey encourages students to apply what they have learned from the Veterans to issues in their own lives and in their own communities.

Our hope is that these lessons provide useful guidance as you navigate the histories and meanings of struggles for justice and peace in the world. We offer them as a way to help raise a new generation of Veterans of Hope that will continue the work of creating a more compassionate and just society. We trust that you will bring your own talent, creativity and commitment to help your students make connections between the stories we have presented and the local and global concerns of their lives.

Resources for Teaching

1. Beginning the Journey

A set of activities designed to help participants introduce themselves and build connections to one another.

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2. Finding a Better Way

Draws on experiences in the lives of James Lawson and Anne Braden, when, in the face of injustice, they found powerful alternative paths away from violence.

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3. No Enemies

Helps participants think about how adversaries are defined and why. The lesson suggests ways that we can redefine our relationship to struggles for justice so that individuals and groups are not demonized.

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4. Extending the Journey

Helps participants reflect on the discussions they have had about the Veterans’ stories and gives them inspiration to apply them to their own lives.

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