It is always inspiring to hear the different ways the World Peace Game has affected the many students that have participated. We recently received this beautiful message from a World Peace Game student from last year.

Dear Mr. Hunter,
              It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you in person, but I watch you talking about the World Peace Game on the Ted talkshow every week. I feel very fortunate to have met you, and I have never been so proud as a student. It’s because of you that being here in Hawaii is tolerable, knowing I have something to look back on. News of the World Peace Game has spread through our school, and I feel so blessed to be able to stand in front of my class and say: “I played the World Peace Game. I was was the General of Defense in the first game I played, and was the first Facilitator General to run the World Peace Game under Mr. Hunter. And if I could, I would relive those moments every day.” That is how proud I am to be one of your students, and when I come to visit, I’ll be sure to stop in and see you.

Your Student,
Heather

Thank you Heather!

John Hunter and Bill Gates will be the two keynote speakers at the National Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference beginning on February 29, 2012.  This year the conference is in Seattle, Washington and will be attended by over 3,500 teachers and school leaders from independent schools in the  U.S. and abroad.  The theme of the conference is Innovation:  Imagine, Invent, Inspire, Dream. It is easy to see how both Bill Gates and John Hunter are fitting representatives of the innovative spirit that education’s future is dependent on.

John will be speaking at 9:30am on Friday, March 2. Conference registration is required. In addition, John Hunter will be displaying his World Peace Game in an exhibit booth along with the Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence, an education foundation in Memphis, Tennessee, that is working with Hunter to bring learning experiences for teachers to cities around the country.

The mission of The World Peace Game has always been about empowering and supporting the creativity of all educators. When teachers share their own experience of using the World Peace Game in their classroom it always fills one with joy. Here’s how the World Peace Game and John’s work are affecting Hedi Beckwith, in her own words.

Over this past winter break I decided that the best way to incorporate the theme given to me by my district of ‘Perspectives’ was to create my own version of John Hunter’s World Peace Game.

I started by laying out problems for my students to solve, creating a reasonable amount of countries and jobs, and then playing with resource amounts to describe the problems. I recorded these into an spreadsheet for every country (and then copied for every class that I teach.) and a small booklet with descriptions of how to play the game, how to write checks, how to declare war and how to resolve problems with treaties. I used game pieces from other games (I still have a game graveyard in my workroom at home), and painted a 2″ by 2″ piece of plywood with acrylic paint. I printed problem cards and the instruction manual and started the new semester armed with my grandiose idea that I was going to play a game in Language Arts class instead of just read and write.

After two weeks of introduction about world problems, negotiation strategy, introduction to the game and problems and constant, ‘Are we going to play today?’ requests, we started playing. The first few days have resulted in a lot of cooperation, random bombings for no reason, and a lot of prodding from me for students who sit back and seem confused. I am grading them on 3 specific things (Speaking the target language, trying to negotiate, and how well they keep records, as that is a standard of Multiple literacy since they are using a spreadsheet program.)

After two days of playing I had the students write reflections of how things were going. Here are a few of the sentiments that my students have written so far.

- What is difficult about this game is handling money.

-What surprised me about the game is that it’s about real life problems.

-This game has been difficult to play.  It helps us resolve problems in real life.  You have to think a lot and use your brain a lot.

-This gives me the experience of being a president.

-I was surprised how much I would fight with my own friends.

“I’m sorry class, but we’re going to have fun today.” This is how teacher, musician, composer and game designer John Hunter starts his class in the 2010 documentary World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements, which tells the story of how he uses his World Peace Game to help students work to solve global issues. In an age of smartphones and tablets, Hunter has had much success bringing his multi-level board game to classrooms all over the world.

Tasked with using negotiation and problem-solving skills to get countries to work together instead of resorting to war, children spend hours going through the political simulation, working in “nation-teams” to do what diplomats with years of experience struggle with everyday.

Hunter developed the game in 1978 while creating curricula for gifted students at an urban high school in Richmond, Virginia.

“We were studying Africa, so I thought, ‘Why not put it on a game board?’ So I took the continent of Africa, divided it into countries, divided the kids into teams, and said, ‘Now what should we do with the continent? Well, there are a lot of great things, but let’s look at the problems and fix them, let’s solve things,’” Hunter said.

“So we gathered up all the problems we could find — socially, militarily, economically, politically — and challenged ourselves to actually solve them somehow. And that became the basis of our game.”

Hunter has since updated the game from a two-dimensional game to a four-tiered Plexiglas tower, adding modern-day factors such as drone warfare.

“The game is just a pretext, an excuse for us to develop compassion for others and to try and decrease suffering and increase the caring we have for each other,” Hunter said.

John Hunter is making history … with his revolutionary game during a time of global tension. Hunter presented his game at the TED2011 Conference and has done the same in Norway, Austrailia and other countries. During his presentation at the Pentagon last November, officials there were so impressed with the game that they invited Hunter back, along with his students, to discuss it in more detail.

What’s next for John?

Hunter had to quit his full-time position as a teacher at a Virginia school to travel and spread the word about the World Peace Game. He’s also working on a book about the game, which is scheduled for a 2013 release.

In his own words …

“The fundamental level of all good curricula is based on the relationship between the teacher and the student,” Hunter said. “That is the essence of everything that occurs that is good for the student, that helps the student develop. You have somebody who understands them and can build a curriculum towards them and for them, and facilitates their mastering it in a way that a pre-prepared script cannot.”

On black history…

“The full spectrum of human experiences is in black history. We all hope that we take from it the best of everything that there is. We all hope that we learn from it all the things to avoid. We look to history to help guide our steps so we don’t make the same mistakes — and we do take the best from the past forward.”

[Read More Here]

List includes 100 individuals from across 10 professional fields that are making a difference in their communities and across the country

NEW YORK, NY– January 31, 2012– theGrio.com announced today the third-annual theGrio’s 100 list, honoring Charlottesville’s John Hunter. This exclusive list honors Black History Month by highlighting the next generation of African-American history makers and industry leaders who have the potential to make a difference in the lives of all Americans. Hunter joins 99 other individuals from across 10 professional fields, including business, education, sports, science and the environment, media, service and activism, politics, health, pop culture and the arts. “TheGrio’s 100” was officially unveiled by theGrio Executive Editor David A. Wilson earlier today. Individuals from “TheGrio’s 100” will continue to be profiled on all platforms of NBC News including “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC, CNBC, and msnbc.com through the end of February. “This year’s list celebrates 100 honorees that possess a unique set of characteristics that separate them from the rest,” said Wilson. “theGrio’s 100 gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on individuals that are making a difference today, with the potential to make history in the future.” Visit www.thegrio.com/black-history to learn more about [honoree name] and all other individuals on theGrio’s 100 list.

About TheGrio.com
TheGrio.com, a division of NBC News, is a daily online news and opinion platform devoted to delivering stories and perspectives that reflect and affect African-American audiences. The video-centric interactive community is populated with both aggregated and original content on topics ranging from breaking news and politics to health, business, and entertainment

Exciting news from the students of The World Peace Game this week!

Doing well today. –DMC

Ices just lost 2 universities to rebels !!! –JB

Only one more crisis to solve! Sooooooo exciting!!  I hope we solve it soon! The last crisis is about cyber hacking. Bye! –SG

Awesome!!! –MB

We beat the game!! — JT

Won the game! Sandia bought a firewall to stop cyber hacking and gave it to Ices to protect their computer networks for FREE!!!!! That was the last crisis!! –BT

WE WON THE GAME!!!!!!!!! YAHHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! -Unkown

I almost cried, I was so happy!!!! –KG

WE WON THE GAME AT THE LAST SECOND!!!! — SCS

SANDIA GOT $245 TRILLION –Unkown

Another game day brings about mixed feelings of relief and anxiety. Student bloggers talk about their anticipations for the final days.

I think we have about 5 more game days! Yayy!!! –DMC

That’s a relief… WHEW! Only 2 crises left! –The ONLY Arms Dealer

Krell Tribe, get ready you’re moving!! Action is full on! This is realllly confusing! I have got to go. –SG

Religious tensions almost solved, but 3,000 NIN troops captured by rogue mercenaries. –Unknown

Golden Country has to negotiate for their release! –Unknown

Oil spill cleaned up. The UN bought more farmland. Ices money asset is growing. –BT

Small problems could get us, if we are not careful!! –E.B.

I am having small problems with the Nins. –Nin Leader/Secretary of State in Golden Country

We can’t relax even though we solved the big global warming problem, or the small crisis may mount up like a seed and turn into a tall oak! I hope we’ll be VERY careful! –S.G.

4 more crises! Woopieee!!!! –D.M.C.

14 problems down! –M.M.

We did 14 crises! Yay 8 more to go!! I love this game it’s awesome!! A lot of sub crisis adds up to 50, maybe more!! –N.G.

We only have 3 crises left. –The ONLY arms dealer

Student bloggers share their excitement as they continue through their struggles in the World Peace Game and manage to solve Global Warming.

Crises, prepare to be solved! –MP

Global melt go away, go away!!!! –JB

Coin toss for global melt did not go well. Hopefully it will the next three turns! –”Weather Goddess” AIB

Wish us luck! Trying to solve global warming. (PLEASE wish us luck?) –Unknown

The Technology is in every country, but will it work?? The coin toss odds are not good!! –Unknown

SOLVED GLOBAL WARMING, YAY!  WOOO HOOOOOOO!! –DMC

This game is tiring but I have to admit it’s awesome!!! We SOLVED GLOBAL WARMING!! WAAAHOOOOOO! Even the Krell people tried. They did not have any land or money but they tried too! –Unknown

Napaj gets fined 60 million for losing documents. World Bank fined 50 million for bumping the board. –”Weather Goddess” AIB

Napaj solved #2 crisis! United Nations started a fine for anyone going near sunken city, and put down a threat to fire on any one who ignores it! We also bought four farms for the land they own now. –(UN) SG

The country of Ices has a new member ! Maybe! Who is it??? –AC

There are still the NIN troops in Napaj, but the Prime Minister of Napaj offered them the land for 2 billion dollars. Then they can protect their ancestor bones.  –Unknown

Napaj also solved the aquifer water problem between Sandia and Napaj. They will ration the water so everybody can have enough. –YF