Practicing Nonviolence
# Practicing nonviolence and nurturing self esteem
Practicing Nonviolence & Nurturing Self Esteem
House of Hope students learn Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a healing approach to conflict resolution that gives them the skills to understand what triggers them, deepening their connection with themselves and others, and transform their habitual or emerging responses to the injustices they experience.
Beloved Community
Every student participates in House of Hope’s “Beloved Community” curriculum, which examines seven universal spiritual themes that are found in the three Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Students also learn about Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the importance of reconciliation through forgiveness.
Creative expression is threaded through all of our lessons as a way to actively engage students in mind, body, and spirit. Giraffe and jackal puppets are used to introduce the students to NVC. The giraffe represents communication with compassion and empathy, while the jackal represents when fear and judgement block compassion.
As our students find unique ways to explore and engage their emotions, they are equipped to integrate these lessons as a path toward internal healing of trauma that in turn leads to an ability to engage with their peers and communities with confident compassion.
House of Hope Student Pledge
Recited by House of Hope students at the start of every school day
- May I be a nonviolent person in the footsteps of those who fought for love, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and other great prophets who refused to obey injustice, murder, and racism.
- I promise to love my country, my school, and my neighbors.
- I will be nonviolent with myself and not put hate in my heart.
- I will put love where there is hate, forgiveness where there is abuse, and agreement where there is dispute.
- I will have faith where there is doubt and search for light where there is darkness and find joy where there is hopelessness.
- O Lord, use me as an agent of peace and to respect every human being different from me in belief, color, ethnicity, and religion.
- Use me for peaceful resistance and help me walk a path toward freedom, dignity, and independence.
- The most honored before God is the most faithful.
