When NAPF Peace Leadership Director Paul K. Chappell visits high schools, he broadens his talk about waging peace and ending war to often include growing up in a violent household, bullying problems, the three elements of universal respect, how positive change happens, and why we should have hope.
Students at Mercy High School in Baltimore. Maryland recently wrote:
“Mr. Paul’s words were greatly wise and will stay with me for a long time.”
“What Mr. Paul spoke about really opened my eyes and I am very thankful he came to talk to us.”
“We have the ability to change the world.”
“I want to help and stop nuclear weapons. I want to try and work my life around trying to end war.”
“I loved listening to his talk and perspective on life and it opened my eyes more to the aspects of life and how I see life itself.”
“I took away that you should respect everyone.”
“One takeaway I have from the guest speaker is the great importance of my actions that have been influenced by the past and can greatly affect the future.”
“The thing that stood out to me the most was his belief that the world is generally a good place and it is getting better. Before his speech I generally thought things were getting worse. I did not have a lot of hope for the world. However, he brought up a lot of valid points that made me think otherwise.”
Comments from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland included:
“I especially enjoyed when you said how fighting often starts because of a lack of respect because I have seen that in my own life but never realized it until now.”
“You are an inspiration to others going through hard times.”
The practical nature of Paul’s talks for teenagers continues to find a welcoming audience.
“Thank you so much for coming to talk to us about peace. You made some really great points that were very eye-opening and talked about big issues in a way that all people could understand. It is very hard to get a class of teenagers to get interested in some subjects, and I am very impressed that you did!”