As a teacher, Michael Eckert writes that he believes the classroom is the place where he can be most effective in promoting global peace and justice while he teaches students how to write essays and read literature. In part, Eckert's interest in this approach is a response to a challenge issued by Ihab Hassan, and recalled by Mary Rose O'Reilly in "The Peaceable Classroom" and paraphrased as "Is it possible to teach so that people stop killing one another?" This meditation encompasses a period of seven years of reading, thinking, and experimenting. Summarizing the highlights, Eckert says that Mary Rose O'Reilley's" The Peaceable Classroom" got him wondering how to make teaching a more peaceful encounter. Michael True's speech led him to look at teaching and learning in a more global context, and Parker Palmer encouraged him to see those principles as a personal and professional commitment. Finally, Eckert credits Stephen Brookfield and Stephen Preskill for offering several concrete methods for promoting the ideal of peaceful teaching.