Submenu |
Read user submitted reviews
These comments have been sent by other people regarding the Thermostat DVD and study guide.
March 3, 2006 How do we as Mennonites and in particular as a Peace Church respond to the realities of the current wars, militarism and patriotism? And more specifically how do we talk to our youth about these issues as they think about conscientious objection and Christ's way of peacemaking? In our search for study guides on peacemaking from a Peace Church point of view we discovered Thermostat to be an invaluable, rich and most useful resource that addresses creatively the questions above. Our youth group at Madison Mennonite Church used the Thermostat curriculum almost exclusively last fall (2005) and focused on the sections of Allegiance, Security and Terrorism. Overall the lessons were well received by our youth and their teachers. Here are some of the student responses. I really liked the video clips and slides, especially the one about the flag. It made me think.(G.,16) I appreciated that they don't tell you what to think, but allow you to come up with your own conclusions.(M.,13) Even though I knew already quite a bit about the topics I found the questions resulted in very good discussions. I think this curriculum would be also very good for adults.(M., 14) Some teacher responses: I liked that you can pick and choose your lessons and tailor them to your youth group.(T.) Thermostat does a very good job in combining scripture with personal stories.(T) I liked how Thermostat explores controversial topics that aren't usually discussed and how it facilitates open discussions. Overall, Thermostat is one of the most useful and up-to-date resources that we found in dealing with the issues of war, militarism and peacemaking from an anabaptist christian view point. We highly recommend it.
Carola Breckbill, Thanks for such a fine curriculum. Our youth group has really enjoyed the activities, video clips and discussion the unit has generated. Quite frankly, it has made my job quite easy – except for the great challenges it gives me! Two quick stories: One of the girls is a leader in the senior class and was appointed to read announcements at school one week. Part of reading announcements means that you also lead the pledge of allegiance. She does not say the pledge and during this week asked the school secretary to take the lead on the pledge. The principal asked her why she did this so Hillary could give her reasons why she doesn't say the pledge of allegiance. The military recruiter was at school a couple of weeks ago and two of my students entered into an extended discussion about the issues Thermostat brings up. Although it was a friendly conversation at first, the recruiter became quite defensive at the end of the exchange — I was impressed by the students’ boldness. Thanks. This material is so relevant for kids today.
Tim Penner, October 4, 2005 Although we chose Thermostat for our summer, inter-generational series, we found it so helpful and thought-provoking we've continued it into September, not intending to leave it until mid-October. We're a very small church—about 15-20 on a Sunday morning, including children, 11 years old to 68. We used sessions from all the sections, although by the time we finish using it, we will probably have left nearly 1/3 of the material unused. Our Worship Committee chose the sessions we used, based on their assessment of what would be most interesting to both youth and adults. We alternated leadership of the sessions among our members, and the leaders used the study guide extensively and found it very helpful. The background materials and discussion ideas were particularly useful. The 5th session in the Nonviolence segment of the study, where sexual violence was the focus, was one session we intentionally chose not to use because the parents of our youngest participants were not comfortable with having it used. I can truthfully say that every session stimulated lively discussion. The session dealing with conscientious objectors was particularly good because our youth had the chance to hear about something the older folks had been involved in as a practical way of living out our faith.
Elaine Stoltzfus, Sept. 28, 2005 Thermostat is one of the best resources I have used. It is very adaptable and while it is especially good to use with youth groups it is easily adaptable for cross-generational or adult classes. It not only can be used alone, it is a wonderful resource to use with other material. Whether teaching Sunday school, doing presentations as a leader of youth retreats in the Church of the Brethren or leading discussions regarding my work with Christian Peacemaker Teams, I find this a very valuable resource. Rick Polhamus September, 2005 The Mennonite Central Committee has produced an outstanding curriculum about active non-violence and peacemaking from a Christian pacifist perspective. Thermostat is Christ-centered and evangelical in the best sense of the word. I couldn't recommend it more highly. Thermostat will be useful both as an introduction to the practice and theory of Christian peacemaking and as a tool for countering military recruitment. It is worth noting that, in addition to its stated purpose as a curriculum for youth groups, Thermostat will be a helpful tool for adult Christian formation and for ministry with college students and young adults. In general, it complements the Creative Peacemaking curriculum offered by EPF and the Fellowship of Reconciliation well. Topics covered include peacemaking, imagination, allegiance, security, terrorism, military recruitment, and non-violence. These seven units are divided into thirty sessions, and there is enough content to keep a group busy for a year or more. Alternatively, many of the materials could be used to supplement an existing curriculum for Christian education. This might be especially appropriate for confirmation classes Thermostat combines Bible study, role playing exercises, historical examples, contemporary stories, and other creative exercises, with high quality video clips on a DVD that is included. In many cases, there is more material than facilitators will be able to use for a given session, providing ample opportunity to adapt the materials to local need. In general, the exercises are well chosen. I was particularly impressed with the unit on imagination. Developing the ability to imagine alternatives to violence is an important step in awakening participants’ sense of themselves as God’s covenant partners who can make a difference in history. Impoverished imagination is often responsible for perpetuating the cycle of violence. If there is a drawback to Thermostat, it is that so many of the examples cited and resources offered are specific to the Mennonite tradition. There are exceptions, like the moving testimony from a Jewish man who lost his daughter to a bombing in Israel, who now works for peace with an organization made up of Jews and Palestinians, all of whom have lost children to armed violence. Many of the video clips contain powerful and inspiring stories. There is also abundant testimony from a diverse group of witnesses, including many young people. Some groups of Episcopalians who use Thermostat may feel a need to adapt it or draw from additional materials from the history of the broader peace movement, and the Anglican/Episcopal churches in particular. Alternatively, some groups may want to use the materials unaltered to serve as a kind of ecumenical encounter with committed disciples from one of the historic peace churches. No matter what their level of experience with peacemaking, participants will find themselves challenged and inspired to take up this central task of Christian discipleship.
From the Episcopal Peace Witness Newsletter, The DVD, called Thermostat, had real people talking about their real experiences with war. Being able to hear straight from people who were in the army and even some who fought in a war was startling because many of the realities of war are not shown to the public. Like boot camp, for example, where soldiers are asked, “What makes the grass grow?” and forced to respond yelling, “Blood! Blood makes the grass grow!” This is information that can be found only through a primary source and it was made available to use through this seminar. In a role play, one of the sessions touched on recruiters who go around to high schools talking to students and trying to get them to sign up for the armed services. There have been multiple people in my school passing out brochures and trying to catch the attention of passing students. Something as simple as letting us know that if we do sign up, we can acceptably change our minds before we leave for boot camp was big because mostly recruiters won’t tell you that. Their job is to get you there. Even though I had heard this topic spoken about before, I learned a lot of new information. Mercy Oyana, a senior at Central High School in Philadelphia, PA in the winter of 2005, saw parts of the Thermostat DVD during a workshop at Spruce Lake Retreat. |
|
|
