Educating for a Culture of Peace

by Ron Miller (Editor), Riane Eisler (Editor)

What could be more timely than a book that advocates we teach the skills and knowledge students need to both live peacefully in the world and promote peace through their actions? After all, children are exposed to violence dozens of times daily, whether in programming targeted to their age groups, evening news carrying the latest casualties of war and murder, or video games that trivialize cruelty.

That's why Riane Eisler and Ron Miller have joined with thirteen other proponents for peace education, including famed children's troubadour Raffi, to present a crucial collection of essays that will help you create instructional practices and lessons that model the tools students need to turn aside culturally conditioned predilections toward domination and violence and, instead, embrace ideals that enable them to transform their relationships through a belief in compassion, caring, respect, and diversity. This vitally important book includes not only a strong rationale for why teaching for peace is utterly necessary, but also specific chapters dealing with issues that teachers encounter every day, including: using peaceful instead of violent language emphasizing social justice developing students' vision of peace through their own sense of integrity. Grounded in today's cultural realities, "Educating for a Culture of Peace" asks you to think globally, act locally, and fine-tune your practice by instilling every lesson you teach with the basic humane values that lead to greater interpersonal and intercultural understanding. Read "Educating for a Culture of Peace" and make a concrete contribution to a better world, one peaceful classroom at a time.

Genres: Education

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2004

About the author

Ron Miller spent nearly thirty years as an educational scholar and activist, known internationally as a founder of the holistic education movement. He authored or edited nine books, established two journals, co-founded an alternative school, and was on the faculty of the progressive Education program at Goddard College. In 2011 he retired to run an independent bookstore in Woodstock, Vermont. He has served on the Vermont Commons editorial board since 2007.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book with high hopes that were not fulfilled. Most of the essays, written by people teaching at colleges/universities, seemed to focus on minutiae. The only essay I enjoyed was written by a career classroom teacher--the basic premise is that teachers and parents try to cram too much too fast into student's minds--everyone is rushing from one thing to another without properly focusing their attention or digesting new information and experiences. Of course, he advocates that we need to slow down (and I totally agree with him), which reminds me of the book Slow Time that I haven't read yet...
I did love Riane Eisler's classic the Chalice and the Blade, and I will try to read some of her other books.

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I felt this book was a little idealist. But overall, it was really an amazing read. There was one section that left me scratching my head. I even re-read it twice. Since this is a series of essays, don't let that scare you off, there's a lot of good discussion in this book. I would recommend everyone read it, really.

[Gea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book from a variety of authors (essay form) on different aspects of Partnership in practice. Ron Miller and Riane Eisler are the editors. Good book.