6-John Hunter and The World Peace Game

John Hunter speaks of his idea of a world peace game. He got a job teaching gifted education when there were little to no standards so he got to teach what he wanted and rely on the students' own abilities and interests. He speaks of all of the people who inspired him throughout the years. His world peace game which consists of different layers that include outer space, space, ground levels and oceans. The ground level has 4 countries that the students have made up. Some are rich, some are poor. He gave the students a list of complex problems and crises and wanted to see how they would solve them. He also has one student disagree with things to make the others think more deeply. He just watches and the students run the game. The students have really good ideas and are able to make connections with readings they have done and real world experiences. They figure out what is right by themselves and are able to run successful and peaceful nations.

I think that this is very inspiring. A group of fourth graders got together and ruled their imaginary nations while working through and solving real world problems. I think that children should be encouraged to do things like this. John's class was a gifted class so they were able to easily make connections that others might not be able to make, but I see no reason why children that are not in a gifted program shouldn't be assigned with a task like this and modifications can be made to the game to make it appealing and accessible to all children. I also think that it could be done with students in other states and they may be able to make different insights depending on their demographics. I think that, if given the opportunity, I would be willing to do a project like this in my classroom in Mississippi, even working in critical needs areas, as these students deserve just as good of an education as everyone else. However I am not sure if something like this would be possible with the Common Core, as I am not completely certain of the Common Core fine print or even some of the standards.