World Peace And Other 4th-Grade Achievements: A Visionary Educator's Blueprint for Teaching Conflict Resolution and Cooperation

by John Hunter

“At a time when school systems have completely lost focus on what really matters, John Hunter reminds us what we should be teaching our children. His ideas will help anyone who has the courage to understand that a real education must go beyond filling in circles on a standardized test form.” — Rafe Esquith, author of Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire

Can playing a game lead to world peace? If it’s John Hunter’s World Peace Game, it just might. In Hunter’s classroom, students take on the roles of presidents, tribal leaders, diplomats, and military commanders. Through battles and negotiations, standoffs and summits, they strive to resolve a sequence of many-layered, interconnected scenarios, from nuclear proliferation to tribal warfare.

Now, Hunter shares inspiring stories from over thirty years of teaching the World Peace Game, revealing the principles of successful collaboration that people of any age can apply. He offers not only a forward-thinking report from the frontlines of American education, but also a generous blueprint for a world that bends toward cooperation rather than conflict. In this deeply hopeful book, a visionary educator shows us what the future of education can be.

“Inspired, breath-of-fresh-air reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“With numerous reflections on the game’s impact on certain students and a resounding final chapter highlighting his class’s 2012 visit to the Pentagon, Hunter proves the value of ‘slow teaching’ in this important, fascinating, highly readable resource for educators and parents alike.” — Booklist

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, Memoir, Politics, Social Justice, Childrens

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Histteach24 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring. The school librarian gave me this book to read because I am doing a Cold War simulation with my honors classes. It sparked ideas on how to change and expand the game. I would love to do the World Peace Game.
I was disappointed that this book did not go into detail of how the game is actually played. As a teacher, I would have liked pictures of the board, samples of the crisis list, etc. I realized quickly this book was not a resource for teachers to actually incorporate the game into their classroom-I had to go online to research that. I can't wait to see the film and enjoyed his TED talk. Reading about the author's point of view of how the game affects children versus watching it play out are two very different things. I agree with another critic that I would like a follow up book that interviews the children later-did it affect their career choices, their relationships, etc?
I am giving this four stars because as an educator, this book was not about the game itself-but started my mind turning about all the possibilities of how I can incorporate his philosophies into activities and projects, even on a smaller scale. It got me thinking, plotting, creating, and for that I give him credit.
I also found his open honesty about his opinion of standardized testing and the path education is heading refreshing. I enjoyed the story of the principal who told him he had no time for the game during school. It is what is wrong with our educational system. It reminds me of Charlotte Danielson's story of a principal walking in while kids were experimenting creating boats to measure water volume etc, and the principal said he would come back to observe her "actually teaching". Educators are told all the time to be student centered, as Hunter's game is, yet when we are, we are then accused of not "teaching". Ironically, Danielson's teacher evaluation system is the one used by most school districts. Even she admits she fears it being used for the wrong reasons.
I read a book called Creative Thinking last summer. The premise is that businesses are looking for innovators. I find it funny that the state of NJ is pushing for a new test that emphasizes college and career readiness. Yet, the test itself measures nothing about creativity, innovation, how to solve problems,etc. We know we need thinkers, inventors, problem solvers, innovators-yet the government zaps every last resource we have to enhance those skills in the classroom. Today a teacher is given a number on an SGO- Student Growth Objective often measured by how well a student can take a test. And so, the pressure is to do what that principal said-get rid of the creative elements that students are actually being challenged by so we can drill them in memorizing facts.
Hunter moved around a bit in his career, or so it seemed. Is it because schools did not appreciate his teaching genius? I don't doubt it. They want educators to push students into being dynamic thinkers and doers, but there is no room for creative teaching.

[Iantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard John Hunter interviewed on the Diane Rehm show, and the interview made me want to read the book. Hunter's world peace game is brilliant, and many of the stories he tells about his students playing the game are touching. I respect Hunter's goals for the game and the points he makes in the book: namely, we ought to be more comfortable with and accepting of failure, sometimes it's necessary to take a step back in order to find a solution, and it is OK to flounder and feel overwhelmed. I can't recall whether Hunter states it outright, but the book highlights the necessity of humility AND confidence in problem solving--contradictory yet complimentary traits. World Peace is a good read for parents (especially of school-age children), teachers, overachievers, and anyone who wants to make a difference.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Hunter teaches 4th graders through an interactive game, how to save the world. He divides his class into four countries, and gives them 50 challenges. They must solve the problems, from ecological disasters, refugees, political tensions, etc in order to win. This is his story about teaching and playing the game for the past 30 years.

Why I started this book: Coolest title ever.

Why I finished it: I wish that I had Mr. Hunter as a teacher. It was fascinating to hear his philosphy and to be reminded that complexity and failure are something that we need to teach our children how to handle. Here's a link to the TED talk that Mr. Hunter gave to explain his game: TED Talk - World Peace

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically this teacher runs a World Peace game for his elementary school classes. It's supposedly a pretty awesome game. There's war. And negotiations. And diplomacy. And conflicts. And sabotours. Like real life. But with kids running the show. The book consisisted of some lessons that individual kids took away from it. Kids that were shy or troublemakers or the whatnot and then got an early dose of adulthoodiness through this game. It was neat, and cute. Nothing spectacular. Although I want to play a similar game. I imagine it's like the game Civilization but more modern, dimplomacy, and with specific obstacles that require teaming up.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If history were taught this way when I was in grade school it would have been so much more acceptable. Hunter takes real time global issues and poses scenarios to students to solve. Students in turn debate, question and collaborate to create solutions to world issues. Let’s teach our student to be brave and have a voice!

[Creyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting concept...I have to admire what he has done with students and how he pushes them....it's a great way to teach real world concepts and problems and challenge people to think!

[Debi Krulak · Rating 3 out of 5]

TFF - Might be something worth exploring further for BL and RDL!

[Kevin Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic inside look at how John Hunter began and used World Peace Game to spark learning ...

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have heard of Hunter's TED talk and the documentary based on his World Peace Game, but I have not watched it yet. I added this book to my TBR almost a decade ago, though, because his premise for the class sounded in intriguing and I love to learn about educators who like to try new things. Hunter spends the first few sections of the book, explaining his background and childhood, where the World Peace Game came from, and some basics about how to play and what patterns emerge each time. Over the course of the rest of the book, Hunter focuses on lessons he's learned from the game and his students, which people can apply to their own lives, whether in politics or not. He wraps up with a chapter about one class's visit to the Pentagon.

Hunter is a strong writer, and I think he gives enough detail in the book to satisfy the curious, without so much detail that you could use this book to start your own World Peace Game. (For that, I suspect you need to go through the trainings World Peace Game Foundation offers.) But if you're not reading to build your own curriculum, you can sit back and enjoy the book. I found the parts about the students and their challenges more interesting and engaging than the parts where Hunter is explaining the lessons and waxing philosophical or psychological. Frankly, those extemporaneous parts seemed repetitive and, in my opinion, could have used some editing and a bit more precision.

But the book was enough to pique my interest about the game and make we want to learn more - I'll probably watch the TED talk or the documentary next.

[Elianna James · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can only read one book this year make it this one

The World Peace Game comes alive in the extraordinary narrative. You enter a world that is all absorbing as John Hunter, master teacher walks through the Game and its many lessons.

As amazing as it is to hear that World Peace is achieved over and over by 4th graders Mr. Hunter's most revealing insights are the depth of thought and experiences that the students have. Bullies, shy kids, kids who showed no particular leadership quality are all examined. A trip to the Pentagon with one of his classes is discussed along with his own thoughts and emotions about being in a place that wages war.

I found myself so envious of the students that have played this game. The book describes a sacred experience that transforms lives. We need the kind of open, "empty space" thinking built into this game in our everyday world. Immerse in the book and leave transformed!

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember being totally blown away by John Hunter's TED Talk about the World Peace game that he plays with his 4th-grade classes, and I've thought back on it a number of times over the years. I was very happy to see that he'd written a whole book about it. I did enjoy the book - it doesn't have much about the technical aspects of how to play the game (though there is a whole website dedicated to that, with the World Peace Game Foundation). This book is more about what he and the students (and others) have learned from playing the game, and that too is quite insightful. A book I would definitely recommend, though I would also recommend you watch the 2011 TED Talk and/or the movie first before reading this book, to provide the context that will help you understand the insights.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard of John Hunter and The World Peace Game because of his Ted Talk. I loved the Ted Talk and it stuck with me for a few years. Last summer, I decided to take his book with me to Greece and I could not put it down. I underlined, took notes, and got so energized about my own teaching while reading his book. The book is really about educational philosophy. I found myself agreeing so much with what he wrote, with how he views education. The many stories about The World Peace Game are discoveries that he made as a teacher and what he learned about students, himself, teachings and the world. It's about systems thinking, sustainability, self-reflection, and more. I loved it as a teacher, but I think it's a good read for anyone.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I really liked about this book was how John Hunter is very self-reflective on his teaching and questions the choices HE makes and not just what his students do. He also shows that not all administrations support their teachers and if you give students structure and guidance they always surprise you (in a good way). This book is more about lessons learned than how to implement.

[Jennifer]

Read this for grad school. Was thankful I had an “easier” (made me think but didn’t require mental gymnastics) read for the end of the semester. I want to pull excepts for my future teacher ed tech class next semester. Highly recommend this for the pedagogy ideas. I’d love to participate in a game, but I’m at least going to try to watch the movie over winter break.

[Jordan Lanfair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fundamental Read

The World Peace game is no secret by now. This book has moments that seem a bit self aggrandizing, but Hunter has definitely created something that speaks to how we can move ourselves forward. The wisdom of his students, of all of our students, may save us all one day if we give them the time and space.

[CS Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT book on teaching. Hopeful.

[Teo Ekstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cool premise, but the book tended to be repetitive. He does sound like a great teacher!

[Kristen]

OK, i didn't finish it. But I wanted to.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

World Peace in Action

This was a great insight into the development & process of the game. It makes me want to play it for my students even more.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

TAKEAWAYS

[Candace Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the premise and longevity of this social experiment. The stories of individual children and games was informative and at times inspirational. However, I did not feel drawn into the story, so finished it wanting.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The World Peace Game is a pretty elaborate board game that John Hunter's entire class plays. There are four levels to the board, including below ground (oil), land and seas, the sky, and space. There are several countries, ethnic minorities, a weather deity, and a saboteur whose purpose is to secretly and covertly disrupt peace. Victory is achieved only if the students can achieve peace, solve all conflicts, and increase prosperity for all.

I was skeptical at first of John Hunter's World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements. I worried that the "other achievements" would just be a bunch of fluff that Hunter and his editors added on to make an essay into a book. I also felt that the game was too contrived.

And then I started to pay more attention.

The biggest achievements here really are the "other achievements." My favorite moment may have been when one student, a saboteur, realized that he was about to be found out and put on trial. The saboteur can be put on trial, though if the accuser chooses the wrong person, he or she is fined. This student knew he was about to be blown, as I imagine spies would say, and so he assigned another student to take over his job of compromising the peace process because he felt the saboteur was too important to the integrity of the game.

I also enjoyed when one student appeared to be on the verge of managing world peace through conquest. The results of battles are determined using dice, and this dictator was incredibly lucky. Like Alexander, he incorporated conquered territories into his empire and made former leaders members of his cabinet. He was on the verge of taking over the entire world when the members of his cabinet began staging coups. In the game, members of the coup can enter a vote of no confidence in their leadership and roll the dice against their leader. Eventually, the rebels defeated the charismatic bully and a more democratic system returned.

The lessons that students learn here seem very worthwhile, especially considering that it's a fourth grade classroom. Unfortunately, Hunter was forced to remove the game from the classroom to make room to teach to standardized tests. So he continued the game as an after school program. Hopefully it won't be cut to make additional room for test preparation.

Though I would prefer to see him describe fewer things as "exciting," Hunter's writing is smooth and enjoyable, in part because he has a knack for describing his students. The description of Gunther stood out to me. Hunter writes that

Gunther was one of those children who looked like a little old man. He always wore baggy pants that hung down over his shoes and long baggy sleeves that kept sliding down over his hands, and his walk was like a shuffle. He was a bright, creative child, but you had to look closely to discern the intelligence and innovative thinking. Otherwise, you'd just see an odd fellow who was easy to disregard.

Gunther may not look very much like JFK, but he hatches the idea that manages to save the world.

It's hard to believe that anyone but a teacher will seek out this text, but I would recommend it to those outside the profession. For what it's worth, I found Hunter's discussions open space and the way that it allows for opportunity applicable to other parts of my life.

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author John Hunter is a teacher and educational consultant who, in 1978, created a class activity called The World Peace Game. The students are assigned varied roles such as prime minister, arms dealers, United Nations members, and weather god/goddess; and then given 50 interrelated crises, ranging from ethnic and minority tensions to nuclear proliferation, oil spills, and climate change, to solve. Victory is defined as satisfactorily solving all of the crises as well as increasing every country's asset value beyond its starting point. In conjunction with game play, Hunter reads passages from Chinese military general Sun Tzu's The Art of War to broaden the students' understanding of strategy.

The book is a good read but misleading and disappointing in the sense that it does not actually offer any real insight or useful approaches to solving the world's problems. I suppose that was a pretty high expectation to go into a book with, but I thought it would address the topic at least on a small or even theoretical level. Instead, the book covers anecdotes of children learning cooperation, confidence, humility, foresight, assertiveness, compassion, and patience. In this regard the game is a shining success, but only superficially serves as a tool for familiarizing children with the arduous nature of negotiations, budgets, or any other political operations. The feasibility of actions can be scrutinized and factors such as duration of environmental disasters and cost of implementing a tactic are required to be backed up with research, but beyond that the game is not very realistic. Pooling a global donation, one nation conveniently developing hydrogen fuel-cell technology, or planting 10 trillion trees on every continent are nice ideas, but not remotely practical.

Hunter fully owns up to the limitations of his creation though, admitting, "the benefit of the World Peace Game is not the real-life applicability of the solutions that students devise. I don't expect nine-year-olds to come up with workable approaches to eliminating poverty or creating peace." Rather, the book serves more as a opponent for standardized testing and "teaching up to the test" practices that have basically taken over the educational system now. And in this regard, I believe the game is an even brighter shining success. Hunter breaks down education into three essential components: knowledge, creativity, and wisdom; and aims to instill these abilities in his students. Essentially, the game is a series of complexity that allows students to explore problems, adjust spontaneously, and arrive at solutions in ways that multiple choice tests will never manage to. The problem with this, as Hunter addresses, is "it is nearly impossible to quantify."

As strong of a proponent for these more intangible forms of learning as I may be, the book still does not present much evidence in support of it outside of anecdotes. The book is also extremely repetitive, and reads too much like a "how to write an essay" blueprint: introduction, conclusion, and topic sentences (e.g. "As we saw in the last chapter and shall see even more clearly in this one...") for every chapter. Still, I would consider it a worthwhile read, especially if you are in the education field, if for no other reason than just to study teaching techniques in a more independent learning setting.

[Simsim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. Kids are just awesome!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was AWESOME!!! So much AMAZINGNESS!!!

It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was still a wonderful and encouraging read. I think I was expecting a lot of fully fleshed out stories about how they get through the different sessions of the game and the different people and how they deal with it. Instead, it is a much more thematic approach to the idea, which also works. Hunter mentions studying various philosophies around the world and a lot of the Buddhist ideas really come through in his writing style. He breaks the game play down into seven stages and then explains some specific examples of how kids made it through these stages throughout the years. But I was still left wanting more!!! I have so many questions to ask John Hunter. I want to play this game with my kids!!! Send me the lesson plan and list of crises!!! I wish that he would market what people need to play the game and not just the overview and stories.

One thing about his game play that surprises and astounds me is how he works the wisdom of Sun Tzu's Art of War into everything. I would think this to be far too advanced for 4th and 5th grades, but he has so many stories of how the kids were able to incorporate this into their ideology that I must be mistaken. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to get this going in a classroom! I would also share Hunter's struggle in letting them initially flounder and feel the overwhelming defeat that seems so imminent. I think every teacher would struggle with that, as it goes against our innate desire to nurture and protect them. But there is great wisdom in the idea that you have to overthrow everything you THINK you know in order to be able to devise new ways of thinking with which to take on such all encompassing turmoil.

I also can't wait to see and experience their 'click'. I want to watch as it rolls into a giant snowball of understanding and comprehension and share in their genius. This game and its format is able to achieve so much! It is truly a work of genius. Not only do you have kids engaging in world issues and suddenly caring about what goes on in the world around them, but they are simultaneously picking up teamwork and negotiation skills that will carry over into all walks of life. I coach Speech and Debate and this is the theory behind that as well, that we are supporting you in a short sighted competition that will ultimately leave you with a valuable set of life skills. But it seems like the thrill associated with S&D is short-lived, while the lasting engagement and involvement in global issues fostered by the Game becomes a new life-long habit.

I truly cannot explain the transformative impact that this book had on me. It's one of those that I want to buy and reads 100x and then pass on to ALL my friends and then constantly pester them about how far they are. Did this happen yet? Has Brennan saved the world?

Many teaching books I've read were insightful, either because they have such great ideas, or such horrible ones that they provide a great lesson in what not to do. Few have had the ability to truly set me on fire like this one. It was a great recharge and has me all ready to jump back into things. I would definitely recommend this to everyone, especially teachers!!

[Ana Marlatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The World Peace Game is the story of a brilliant game created for gifted elementary and middle schoolers some 35 years ago. The game was developed by John Hunter, the author, and it has evolved over the years. Now the game is played as a summer camp and educators can join in as observers while students play, and learn strategies from Hunter afterwards. The game is sheer genius. It is very involved, starting with the game "board" made of a 4-layer plexiglass tower and many plastic pieces that students move as they play. Students are divided into 4 imaginary worlds, and are given roles and 50 tasks to solve. You win the game when all tasks are solved and world peace is obtained. The game allows for students to think, create theories, collaborate, solve math problems, decide budgetary problems in grand scale, research real global problems and much more. The results do not necessarily translate into higher scores on standardized tests, but that's not what the game was created for. The book shares many different stories of students learning,growing and becoming better citizens and thinkers by the opportunities provided by playing the game. As a teacher, I see great implications of this game for the thinking classroom. I see the need to create an "empty space" for students to think, research and come up with their own theories for things. I see the need to allow students to try different theories, make mistakes and learn from them without teacher interference. I also see how high-level vocabulary and complicated world economic norms can be easily learned in context and effortlessly put into practice by kids as young as third graders. This calls for teachers to allow higher rigor, more autonomy and more connections for the students. As a book, the author does repeat himself a lot, but I think it is his way of filling in the details that would be too extreme to be told in a linear fashion. If you enjoyed the book, look up John Hunter's Ted Talk and also his World Peace 1-hour documentary. Both are worthy compliments to his book.

[Vasilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the more inspiring books on teaching I've read - it opens your mind to a new style of teaching through allowing the students to take control of their learning through gameplay (and not in a slight unrelated manner, but through real-world, meaningful, incredible achievements.) I loved the emphasis on teamwork, and the care that Hunter put into making sure that peace was an ecosystem, not an objective to be won by one team, one player, one solution. Only if everybody won, could the game be won.

There are a lot of inspiring anecdotes in here about how children were changed through playing the game. I teared up when reading about Pablo, for instance, and felt my heart wring for Amy.

Like other reviewers, I only have one complaint - I would have LOVED some advice on how to implement this game into my own classroom. Some examples of crises, how to set a board up, etc. When I looked at Hunter's website for the World Peace Game, it seemed as though you could only get this kind of thing in America by going to one of his classes/master classes. Since I don't live anywhere near America, this is not helpful ... and this is where the book could really have come in handy.

However, it did inspire me to start thinking about how games and role-play could be used in class, and how to engage disengaged students in meaningful discourse about the world. I can see this having a real impact on my kids - it's just the matter of having enough courage and carving out enough time in term to do it!

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Hunter is truly a dedicated and thoughtful educator. What shines through each page and chapter is his confidence and love for his students. He looks for the individual strengths and unique characteristics that each of his students possess and bring to the game. We would all benefit from the active teaching of compassion, listening, true critical thinking and problem solving. In a time when there are powerful forces trying to quantify learning and there is an unnatural emphasis on student performance on test scores, and how to get them up; Mr. Hunter offers an alternative that values active student learning, real engagement, and giving kids the time, and space, (and a complex play-based format!), to have the best possible experience that public education has to offer. This doesn't have to be a one-off. This is what is possible when we, as a society, put our faith in the creative abilities of teachers, let them develop their own curriculum, support portfolio assessments, and focus on what is most important: our children developing the skills to become compassionate, thoughtful, critical human beings.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The way came from a proud understanding that often merged in failure's wake:I am not the center of the story but only a very small part of the whole. And yet, when I apply my effort to the collective action, so much change is possible."

My rating is less a reflection of the story and it's morals and more of the writing of the actual book.

While the Peace Game is confusing at first there's a lot of repeating of rules and phrases throughout the book including some of the lessons presented from the game. I would have been more interested to hear about gameplay and anecdotes about what kids learned and if more retained these lessons into adulthood.

That's not to say that the game its self isn't interesting. A lot of concepts on teaching and how kids learn and the importance of problem solving are presented in this book. But it also doesn't seem like something that could be applied to just any school, especially as the author emphasizes how he chose each student based on personality and other factors this seems like a small class with personal relationships.

I think this book is a good supplement to the Ted Talk but the book could have been fleshed out more on its own.

[Frank Hintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is a teacher who's been using one particular item in his classrooms for 30+ now, which has started to earn him some notoriety, including doing a TED talk. That item? a board game of his own design which presents his students with real world problems and then sets them free to discover their own methods to solve those problems. Using board games as a teaching aid is something I can very much get beyond, and the author does a wonderful job illustrating the various ways it can be successful just by relating examples of how his game played out. This is a welcome breath of fresh air as education seems to be sinking into an abyss of standardized tests. I hope this book and the idea behind it find a large audience and help to bring more open ended learning into classrooms.