“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” I first heard this quote, attributed to the poet Rumi, when I attended my initial NVC training as a novice teacher, longing for ways to embody Nonviolence within and beyond the classroom. The training was the Nonviolent Leadership for Social Justice Retreat, a weeklong intensive where people of different backgrounds and identities with varying degrees of NVC and social justice experience came together, trying to connect within that field Rumi spoke of.

During moments when some people veered off the field, finding temporary comfort in the familiarity of “right” and “wrong,” the training team held everyone’s needs with abundant care. I felt so deeply inspired and moved by how they called in with love, listened with full presence, and refused to write off anyone. It was the kind of space my heart had been yearning for, and my life and teaching were forever changed by the lasting relationships that formed and (un)learnings that emerged.

As an educator, I have committed myself to creating classroom spaces that dissolve notions of right/wrong, good/bad, us/them and, instead, center relationality, needs, and love. I have committed myself to creating the kind of learning environment that I desperately needed when I was a young person enveloped with self-loathing and hopelessness. I have committed myself to promoting and integrating Nonviolence in how I teach, parent, live, and love.

In addition to my work as a classroom teacher, I facilitate trainings with fellow educators, students, social change activists, and others who want to deepen their understanding of Nonviolence, particularly in schools. In a time rife with polarizing culture wars, pervasive violence, and collective despair, many educators are craving ways to create classrooms and schools that sustain hope, center needs, and embrace relationality.

I am also a certified trainer in Kingian Nonviolence, which draws from the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Kingian Nonviolence is a philosophy and methodology of radical Nonviolence that aims to realize Dr. King’s radical vision of the Beloved Community in our relationships, institutions, and world.

As a CNVC and Kingian Nonviolence trainer, I look forward to continuing to support teachers and students who want to create humanizing classrooms and schools, as well as anyone who wants to learn more about nonviolence. I feel immensely grateful and humbled to be in a position where I can share some of my learning and skills; doing so meets my own needs for companionship and contributing to a more loving world.

If you are interested in learning about what Nonviolence can look like in a teaching/classroom context, my book Heart at the Center explores this in depth. I would love to hear from you if you would like to connect.