For meetings that have young people in high school, this is an excellent resource to apply the Peace Testimony to daily life. It explores the steps needed to register as a Conscientious Objector. Made for First Day School teachers who work with high school students, it includes six lesson plans to use as a group.

These resources were originally compiled by Curt Torell and Alice Carlton. They were updated in 2025 to reflect more gender-neutral language and web formatting. FGC will continue to update this page as staff time allows. Please note that this page may refer to resources that have yet to be added.

  

                              
Find Families Who Value Peace

If your local Quaker community does not have enough high school students to make a First Day School class, consider teaming up with other peace churches in the area for interfaith, peace-oriented lessons. Contact Church of the Brethren and Mennonite Churches for like-minded faith organizations. Resources:

• Advice from the Mennonite Church to Conscientious Objectors facing draft registration
• Advice to Conscientious Objectors from Church of the Brethren

Contacts and Resources

• Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft
• Quaker House
• Should I Register for the Draft? – from the Center on Conscience and War
• National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth – a program of American Friends Service Committee
• The Evolution of Military Conscription, from the Independent Review
• Conscientious Objector page from the Selective Service System
• Iowa Peace Network

Preamble

Turning 18 years old marks a passage into adulthood—the right to vote, to make legal decisions without a parent’s consent or knowledge, and to retain private information such as one’s college grades or medical records. But for people born male, it also brings the federal mandate to register with the Selective Service System. Few young people consider this ahead of time, and it is a life milestone that may require care and consideration.

Volunteers from Friends General Conference created lesson plans that designed for use over several months. The group activities encourage high school aged youth to think about the Quaker peace testimony and how it applies to Selective Service registration. They are intended to prepare young people to consider whether they feel a leading to be conscientious objectors (COs). These lessons focus on stimulating reflection about becoming a CO and provide steps to substantiate such a conviction if so led.

The decision about whether to participate in the military, or even to cooperate with registration, is an individual and personal choice. While the Quaker peace testimony stands against war, not all young Friends have such a leading, and they should be respected for their individual convictions. In a society that glorifies violence, some see war as a natural course of events. Others oppose war but are reluctant to take a stand out of loyalty to their friends and peers who join and fight in the military. Some feel more comfortable serving in a noncombatant position. Still others feel a sense of leading that prevents them, under any circumstances, from participating in the military in any capacity. And some see this process as walking toward peace, with a different mindset for dealing with world and personal problems. Regardless of a young Friend’s leading, it is hoped that each meeting will support and nurture the decision that a person makes.

Teachers may wish to encourage the wider meeting’s consideration of how (and whether) they can support all young Friends, regardless of the decisions they arrive at about registration. Adults in the community need to be honest with young Friends when some positions are not as “acceptable” to other members of the meeting community. At the same time, adults need to support the right of young people to make their own informed decisions. Similarly, parental involvement is crucial. This curriculum is for young Friends under 18, who, as minors, are still under the guidance of their parents.

Including parents can take several forms:

• offering an orientation session
• attending a lesson
• reviewing drafts of their son or daughter’s statements
• co-teaching
• arranging individual sessions with a specific family

A letter or email is sent to the young Friends and copied to their parents to introduce the course and welcome comments and feedback.

Cautions and Disclaimers

We are asking young Friends to explore how they are led. Here are some cautions and disclaimers that should be understood fully by facilitators, parents, and young Friends:

1. Being a conscientious objector comes from a deep, inner leading. It is not a way to get out of the draft or to avoid life-threatening situations. Simply put, a conscientious objector refuses to participate in war or to kill another human being through the act of war. For many 18-year-olds, this conviction usually may be just blossoming and and may requires accompaniment from a community.
   
2. While Quakers shun violence, we hold in the Light the people who serve in the military. Some young Friends are not led to be conscientious objectors and may feel more strongly about this conviction after considering these lessons. Both the meeting in general and the course facilitator specifically should respect, honor and support those individual leadings, even if they stand contrary to one’s personal views.
   
3. The information in these lesson plans is based upon prior experience and case law from when the draft was in effect. It is based on provisions in the Selective Service System code as of 2003. Further research and updates to this information are necessary. It is important to note that attaining a CO status will be neither easy nor guaranteed.

Lesson 1: Panel Presentations: Experiences of Previous Conscientious Objectors

If you’re able, find people in your community who were conscientious objectors. That could be people who opposed participation in the military, or people who served in the military and later turned against it. Ask Friends if they would be willing to share their experiences with the high school class. This lesson introduces the concept of a conscientious objector and raises issues about COs in a very real and personal way. Alternatively, you may check with Veterans for Peace for resources and discuss those instead.

1. Introduction (5 minutes)
   Begin with a brief period of worship.Welcome and introduce everyone. Give an overview of what to expect for today. Explain what conscientious objection is, and hear people from the community share about it.Allow time for question and answer with panel and for discussion among the class.
   
2. Opening Exercise: A Simulation of a Draft Lottery (5 minutes)
   Explain that for this class, everyone will consider themself as someone eligible for the draft who is about to turn 18 years old. Pass out a number of index cards, each with a random number between 1 and 366. Have class members write their first names (nice and big so everyone can read them) on their cards.
   
   Explain that the number on the card corresponds to the number they might receive if a draft lottery were held today. Explain that probably the first third (numbers 1–120) would be sent an induction notice. An induction notice is an order to report to military for duty.
   
   Ask: What number did you draw? Was it high or low? (Give time for answers.) You might ask: How do you feel about the number you drew? Did it make a difference?
   
3. Overview of Conscientious Objection (10 minutes)
   Review the terms in the Overview of Selective Service and Conscientious Objection.
   Review some Supreme Court rulings that relate to pacifism. FGC has provided some, but this page may need to be updated
   
   Go over some resources, including those listed at the top of this page.
   
   Set aside time for people to set up an organization system to retain these resources. They might make a folder on Dropbox or in Google Drive. If you have printed the resources, then hand each person a folder for staying organized. Give people time to scan them or take screenshots if that is helpful.
   
4. Panel Presentations (15 minutes total)
   1. Have two or three guests who were conscientious objectors talk about their experiences.(This may also include people who were in the military and eventually realized their inner conviction against participation in war.)
      
   2. Possible discussion questions:
      How did you come to your leading as a CO?
      What was your experience with others (friends, local draft board,government authorities, religious leaders, military personnel, etc.)?
      In hindsight, what would you have done differently, if anything?
      What advice do you have for our young people now?
5. Discussion, Summary and Closing (10 minutes, time permitting)
   Open up discussion to entire group. Ask for questions to and from the panel.
   
   Summarize: Emphasize the importance of keeping these resources for the future. Encourage those interested in getting more information to contact appropriate people in meeting. (This could include asking Ministry and Worship to set up a Clearness Committee, for example.). Thank panel members for their time and willingness to participate. End with a period of worship.

Lesson 2: Examination from a Mock Draft Board

Note: This simulation is designed to go quickly, illustrate several dynamics and be relatively fun. A more intense simulation might simply ask the candidate only the question: “Why are you claiming status as a CO?” Knowing that a person would have only 20 minutes to give all the information that would determine their claim, a candidate would not want to be too brief or overly simple.

1. Introduction (5 minutes)
   Begin with a brief period of worship. Welcome and introduce everyone
   Give an idea of what’s to come: We will fill out a Conscientious Objector application as practice.
   
2. Exercise 1: Filling Out and Defending a Claim for CO Exemption (15 minutes)
   Print out or display the page Sample Questions a Draft Board Might Ask. Split class into groups, depending on numbers, of 2–4 members each. Assign students 2-3 questions to consider in each group. Ask students to report back to the bigger group.
   
3. Exercise 2: Defending Your Claim Before a Draft Board (15 minutes)
   
   Before the class, recruit a few adults who can join you in the simulation by answering difficult questions about peace. When the class is gathered, explain the activity and put one adult volunteer in “the hot seat.” Explain that while the applicant is responding the board’s questions, students should take note of the dynamics that emerge, including both content and emotional reactions.
   
   The Mock Draft Board, made up of facilitators and other adults, asks the person sample questions to defend his/her position. The questions may be deliberately aggressive, reflecting biases and prejudices against COs. Only adults are put in the hot seat on this round. At the end of each simulation, thank the applicant for volunteering and offer an affirmation specific to what you saw in them (courage, thinking carefully, expressing emotions, etc.)
   
4. Discussion (8 minutes)
   After each simulation, ask the applicant:
   What did it feel like to be put on the hot seat?
   What was easy? What was difficult?
   What did you want to say, but didn’t?
   
   After “debriefing” the applicant, ask the full group:
   What did the applicant do well? Give specific examples. What are some other ways to respond to the questions asked?
   
5. Summary and Closing (2 minutes)
   Emphasize the importance of keeping these resources for future review. Encourage those interested in more information to talk with you at the end of the session. You may find specific Resources from the top of this page that are of interest to the Friend.
   
   Thank “applicants” again for their willingness to participate. Announce that the next lesson will revisit these questions and give everyone a chance to discuss them in more depth. End with a brief period of worship.

Lesson 3: Responding in More Depth to CO Questions

Reviewing Procedures for Registering a CO Claim

Answering the sample questions and responding to the Mock Draft Board questions can be both intimidating and soul-searching. The prior lesson introduced many issues. This lesson gives more time, especially in a group, to consider these questions in greater depth.

1. Introduction (2.5 minutes)
   Begin with a brief period of worship.Welcome and introduce everyone.
   
   Offer an overview and purpose:
   Discuss, as a group, views about war and being a CO.Respond in written form to questions on a typical CO application.
   Review some procedures to follow when registering with Selective Service.
   
2. Exercise: Filling Out a Claim for CO Exemption (20 minutes)
   Share or display the Sample Letter from a Conscientious Objector to a Meeting.
   Review the three main bulleted points in the sample letter. Point out that these are the three basic criteria for a CO claim.
   
   Take 10 minutes to list on paper, from the full group, responses to the following questions. Brainstorm as many responses as possible:
   
   What forms your convictions against war?
   What ethics or beliefs cause you to oppose war?
   
   Explain that we will next be writing responses to these questions in a way that’s more personal. You can write one individually or be inside of a group. Ask people to move to different parts of the room depending on what they prefer. Assist in creating groups if necessary. Using personal views, ask people to write a response that is true for you.
   
3. Discussion (10 minutes)
   Have each group / individual share back their letter. They might choose a favorite line, a paragraph, or the entire letter.
   Then, as a full group, try to write a collective response. What are the common themes? What stands out as important?
   
4. Procedures for Claiming a CO When Registering with Selective Service (10 min.)
   Share the Suggestions to Register for Conscientious Objector Status. Ask people which steps look the most difficult to them.
   
   If you have time, share the Letter to High School Aged Member/Attender of Our Meeting and discuss. Verify with your meeting if they have a readiness to support a young person in registering as a CO. If so, then explain to the class that any male-bodied person who wishes to file as a CO will receive help from the meeting. Describe what forms this help might take.
   
   Refer back to the Mock Draft Board.
   Ask people: In what ways was this helpful? When, if ever, did it get frustrating?
   
   Optional: If you’d like a visual aid, share this sample of a Selective Service Registration Form, which is completed fictitiously, It uses space available to affirm CO status:

Lesson 4: Visit to a Military Base or Military Museum

(Dependent upon Locality and Availability)

If possible, arrange a trip to a military base or military museum. See if you can create an opportunity to talk with some military personnel who can speak either to the advantages or disadvantages of military service. A list of military museums in the United States is here. Military bases near your area can be searched using Google Maps.

At the end of the visits, consider these questions:

1. In what ways was violence glorified?
2. Did the museum/base reflect or display casualty figures, destruction to individual soldiers and their families or the devastation to civilian homes or lives?
3. What is the effect of the military culture on new recruits or veteran soldiers?
4. What effect does the base have on the town in which it is located?
5. In what ways did your own bias and past focus on COs affect your perspective of this visit?

One place to visit is Quaker House, Fayetteville, NC home of Fort Bragg and the 82nd Airborne and Special Operations Museum. There may be other military museums near you.

Lesson 5: A Mock Draft Board for Youth

This is a Combined 1-Hour Session with Adults and High School Aged Youth

This lesson resembles Lesson 2 in that a Mock Draft Board is established and potential Conscientious Objectors come before it. The difference in this lesson is that roles are reversed: the adults are now the COs and Mock Draft Board consists of the young people.

This is an important lesson. It gives the young people the opportunity to hear the answers of older, seasoned Friends to these difficult questions as well as giving the adult Friends a clear picture of the pressures and emotional impact of this process on the young people. Consider doing this lesson during an Adult Forum or First Day School rather than during the High School First Day class.

1. Introduction (5 minutes)
   Begin with a brief period of worship.Welcome and introduce participants.
   
   Explain the context of this lesson to the adult members. Say, for example, that previous lessons for the students centered around defining conscientious objection, providing panel discussions of past COs, reviewing various resources on interpretations and procedures, and (if done) sponsoring a trip to a local military base or military museum. Be willing to review the “Context and Disclaimer” in the introduction.
   
   Give the adult community an overview of the current Selective Service System registration process and the methods (or absence thereof) for claiming a CO status. Impress upon the adult community the complexity and difficulty of expressing personal views to substantiate a CO claim.
   
   Start together, split into small groups, then gather again as a full group for the simulation and discussion.
   
2. Introductory Material (5 minutes)
   Pass out or display the Overview of Selective Service and Conscientious Objectors. Come up with a discussion question that relates to the text.
   
3. Exercise 1: Filling Out a Claim for CO Exemption (15 minutes)
   Pass out or display questions from the following resource: Filling Out A Claim for Conscientious Objector Status. Midway down the page, on Part II, there are three questions to consider. Explain that we will be preparing for a Mock Draft Board for the students.
   
   Split adults into groups, depending on numbers. Take 10–15 minutes to answer questions from the page. Focus on reasons for claiming conscientious objection and how you acquired those beliefs. If time, ask people to explain what most clearly shows that their beliefs are deeply held.
   
   Have each subgroup select a person who will represent them before the Mock Draft Board.
   
4. Exercise 2: Mock Draft Board Simulation (30 minutes, along with discussion)
   
   Choose the first person who will play the role of a Conscientious Objector applicant.
   
   Place in a single, isolated seat before the Mock Draft Board. The board should sit in a single facing bench.
   
   Explain the intent of the exercise: It is a simulation and not intended to offend or embarrass anyone.While the applicant is responding to the board’s questions, members of the audience should take note of the dynamics that emerge, including both content and emotional reactions.The young people then “drill” applicants regarding their beliefs. They can start with the questions on Part II, and then use others the list of sample questions.
   
   The intent of the board is to be offensive; they may cut off applicant responses, ask obnoxious questions, interrupt, get emotional, etc. The simulation is meant to highlight the challenge before an applicant and for the young people to hear how members of the meeting respond. Debrief each simulation. Use the discussion questions below for guidance.
   
5. Discussion Questions (do after each simulation above)
   After each simulation, ask the applicant: What did it feel like to be “put on the hot seat?”
   
   After debriefing the applicant, ask the full group:
   What did the applicant do well? Give specific examples.
   What are some other ways to respond to the questions asked?
   
   As a full group, ask: What common themes does this suggest to you? What must the meeting do to prepare those who wish to seek CO status?
   
6. Summary and Closing (5 minutes)
   In what ways was this helpful? Where do you think the meeting could go from here?
   End with a brief period of worship.

Lesson 6: Special Sessions for 18-Year-Olds Who Wish to Declare CO Status

This is optional, depending upon interest

If you have used the lessons on this page, then most of the young people are probably saturated with information on and about COs, with one exception—those young men who are approaching their 18th birthday. An additional, private session might be set aside to talk just with them. They may need individual guidance on how to register for Selective Service and, if they decide to declare themselves as COs, how to do this.

This lesson is designed to give them that support, provide an opportunity for them to discuss their views and give them specific steps to gain the meeting’s support during this process. A Clearness Committee might be set up to carry out this function. This lesson usually takes about 1.5 hours. As an optional format, consider having it over a dinner (pizza and plenty of soda) as an optional format.

1. Introduction (5 minutes)
   Welcome Friends in. Explain purpose of this special session: to hear people’s thoughts and concerns; to help each male-born Friend with decision-making; and to accompany people through the registration process. Provide dinner as an optional format.
   
2. Opening Exercise: A Mock Lottery and Induction Notice (10 minutes)
   Prior to the session, make up several cards each with a random number between 1 and 120. (The lottery goes through 366, but for this exercise, “safe” numbers were omitted.) Hand out lottery cards.
   
   Point out that a draft could use a lottery assignment system where each birth date corresponded to a random number. About a third (numbers 1 through 120) would probably be called for induction.
   
   Ask who received a number between 1 and 120 (That would be everyone.)
   Print out the Induction Notice from FGC’s website, or refer to it on a screen.
   
   Have each person read one of the following paragraphs from the notice. Choose paragraphs that stand out to you.
   After that, ask for people’s reactions, impressions and comments.
   
3. Discussion (15 minutes)
   Ask people for their individual thoughts, concerns, or things that they noticed.
   
   Ask people: What is your position on Selective Service, the draft, and conscientious objection? Keep the discussion on-topic. Instead of accepting general comments about war or politics, ask people more about their personal participation in war. What reservations do you have? What do you want to get out of this session?
   
   If it seems appropriate, talk about how drones and remote warfare make it harder to see the impact on the people one is killing.
   
   Sample statement of the facilitators/adults position:
   “We want to help you through the Selective Service registration process, to encourage you to give thought about your classification (especially as a CO) and if you have any leaning toward being a CO, to help you through that process. We do not want you to register for CO unless you have some inclination to do so. Indicating status as CO at registration time does not mean you cannot change your mind at a later date. However, by not so indicating at this time, it may make a future claim as CO more difficult.”
   
4. What Is Selective Service and Conscientious Objection? (45 minutes)
   
   If not done in prior sessions, review and discuss the following pages:
   Overview of Selective Service and Conscientious Objectors
   Supreme Court rulings that relate to pacifism
   Filling Out a Claim for Conscientious Objector Status: Take 5 minutes to answer Parts I and II.
   
   Share and discuss responses. Write additional comments if needed.
   
   Now, take a look at Building Documentation for Conscientious Objector Status. This resource offers specific tips. Have you already completed some of these suggestions?
   
   Return to the list of sample questions. Point out that some of the questions are neither legal nor appropriate. They are designed to raise issues a draft board might address.
   
   Action Steps (10 minutes)
   If you haven’t already, show this resource to the class: Suggestions to Register for Conscientious Objector Status. Ask how these steps relate to other social justice causes that the youth may be focused on at this time.
   
   If you haven’t already, review the Sample Letter to a Meeting
   
   Wrap-up and Closing (5 minutes)
   Ask each person: What was most helpful to you during this lesson? What else do you need or want?
   End with closing worship.