John Hunter's World Peace Game


John Hunter is the kind of teacher every parent wants for their child. He works with gifted students at a public school in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thirty-five years ago, John created the World Peace Game, a political science simulation in which his fourth-grade class has to solve some 50 global crises. He is still working with them in the classroom to teach critical thinking skills, the balance between conflict and cooperation, and geo-political lessons that many adults never learn.

On my America Weekend show, John explained how the game works, whether he can ever predict what the students will do, whether they fall into gender stereotypes, and whether there's such a thing as "winning." He also shared a story about one girl who had remarkable vision and problem-solving skills. His amazing learning experience has been documented in both a book and film called "World Peace and Other Fourth-Grade Achievements."

Listen, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes!

Labels: