DVD. It is available to universities, libraries and other educational
institutions. The Christchurch viewing is possible via TEDx ChCh.
Here are the notes.
THE FILM
World Peace...and other 4th-grade achievements interweaves the story of
John Hunter, a teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his students'
participation in an exercise called the World Peace Game. The game
triggers an eight-week transformation of the children from students of a
neighborhood public school to citizens of the world. The film reveals
how a wise, loving teacher can unleash students' full potential.
The film traces how Hunter's unique teaching career emerges from his own
diverse background. An African-American educated in the segregated
schools of rural Virginia, where his mother was his 4th grade teacher,
he was selected by his community to be one of seven students to
integrate a previously all-white middle school. After graduation, he
traveled extensively to China, Japan, and India, and his exposure to the
Ghandian principles of non-violence led him to ask what he could do as a
teacher to work toward a more peaceful world.
Hunter teaches the concept of peace not as a utopian dream but as an
attainable goal to strive for, and he provides his students with the
tools for this effort. The children learn to collaborate and communicate
with each other as they work to resolve the Game's conflicts. They learn
how to compromise while accommodating different perspectives and
interests. Most importantly, the students discover that they share a
deep and abiding interest in taking care of each other. World
Peace....and other 4th-grade achievements will inspire others by
documenting the unheralded work of a true peacemaker.
THE GAME
The World Peace Game is a hands-on political simulation that gives
players the opportunity to explore the connectedness of the global
community through the lens of the economic, social, and environmental
crises and the imminent threat of war. The goal of the game is to
extricate each country from dangerous circumstances and achieve global
prosperity with the least amount of military intervention. As "nation
teams," students will gain greater understanding of the critical impact
of information and how it is used.
As their teams venture further into this interactive social setting
laced with highly charged philosophical issues, the skills needed to
identify ambiguity and bias in the information they receive will be
enhanced and more specifically they will rapidly perceive that reactive
behavior not only provokes antagonism, it can leave them alone and
isolated in the face of powerful enemies. Beliefs and values will evolve
or completely unravel as they begin to experience the positive impact
and windows of opportunity that emerge through effective collaboration
and refined communication.
In essence, as meaning is constructed out of chaos and new creative
solutions are proposed, the World Peace Game players will learn to live
and work comfortably at the frontiers of the unknown.