Live Early Wednesday, April 18th - World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements

Join me early than usual on Wednesday, April 18th, for live and interactive FutureofEducation.com conversation with John Hunter and Chris Farina on their upcoming film, "World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements," being broadcast on American Public Television starting in May. The film interweaves the story of John, a teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his students’ participation in an exercise called the World Peace Game. The game triggers an eight-week transformation of the children from students of a neighborhood public school to citizens of the world. The film, directed by Chris, reveals how a wise, loving teacher can unleash students’ full potential.

Date: Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Time: 10:30am Pacific / 1:30 pm Eastern (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate). Log in at http://futureofed.info. The Blackboard Collaborate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Blackboard Collaborate, please visit the support and configuration page.
Recordings: The full Blackboard Collaborate recording is at https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2012-04-18.0822.M.9E9FE58134BE68C3B413F24B3586CF.vcr&sid=2008350 and a portable .mp3 audio recording is at http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/worldpeace.mp3.

The film traces how John Hunter’s unique teaching career emerges from his own diverse background. An African-American educated in the segregated schools of rural Virginia, where his mother was his 4th grade teacher, he was selected by his community to be one of seven students to integrate a previously all-white middle school. After graduation, he traveled extensively to China, Japan, and India, and his exposure to the Ghandian principles of non-violence led him to ask what he could do as a teacher to work toward a more peaceful world.

Hunter teaches the concept of peace not as a utopian dream but as an attainable goal to strive for, and he provides his students with the tools for this effort. The children learn to collaborate and communicate with each other as they work to resolve the Game’s conflicts. They learn how to compromise while accommodating different perspectives and interests. Most importantly, the students discover that they share a deep and abiding interest in taking care of each other. World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements will inspire others by documenting the unheralded work of a true peacemaker.

Chris Farina is a graduate of the University of Virginia (B.A., American Government) and American University (M.A, Communication – Producing for Film and Video). His first two films, Route 40 and West Main Street, were collaborations with Charlottesville filmmaker Reid Oechslin, and both films are guided by the principle of respect for the individuals portrayed, allowing them to tell the story of their lives and their community. Each film portrays people living and working in familiar American settings that typically receive little media attention. He has also worked with fellow Charlottesville filmmaker and Academy Award winner Paul Wagner on two films, The James River and Angels.

More at http://www.worldpeacegame.org. John Hunter photo by Theresa White. Chris Farina photo by Will May.