10 John Hunter-Teaching the World Peace Game

John Hunter is a 4th Grade teacher that has given his students the best opportunity in the world. He has cleared a space for his students so they can make meaning from their own understanding. I watched the video clip of John Hunter explaining this project that he created for his students in the 1970s. It began as a 4X5 plywood board, and has now turned into a 4X4X4 Plexiglas structure. It contains for levels at which his students must solve worldly issues. There is a space layer, an air and space level, a ground and sea level, and an under sea level.  There are 4 countries that the children create, with one prime minister and a cabinet. The students at this point are in control and Mr. Hunter is just the facilitator. The students are given a problem out of the 13 pg. crisis document and they are to solve it together. The students also read Sanzu's: The Art of War, from which the students learn to think in a long term more consequential manner. They learn from this book how not to follow the path of war. This project hands control over to the students and makes them think on a deeper level. This also allows creativity and ingenuity to come alive and provides a risk taking environment in the classroom.

I loved this video. It was inspiring to me to see fourth graders take on such a big challenge and really get into it. The students who spoke were enthusiastic about the project and really seemed to have a deep understanding of the situations they were given. Not only are students learning on their own, they are learning from each other while participating in this project. I like how this project goes further than classroom lectures and is interactive, involving students in deep thinking and cooperative learning.