A very busy and exciting time for the film and for advancing John’s work and the World Peace Game.
Visit to Google Headquarters- Mountain View California
Here’s a link to our presentation at Google’s Mountain View campus last May. This includes our 8-minute trailer, and then a Q&A with John and Chris regarding John’s work, the film, and our hopes for creating educational impact with John’s work in the future.
John was brought to Belgium for yet another TEDx presentation held at the historic Flemish Opera House in Antwerp.
John was invited as a main speaker at the 2nd annual Education Nation Summit “Teacher Town Hall” held by NBC/MSNBC at it Rockefeller Plaza tent studio on September. John was on nation television for almost twenty minutes interviewed by media anchors Brian Williams and Peter Alexander. The broadcast and Internet reach was said to have drawn 52 million viewers.
ELearning Expo – Conference Anaheim California
Chris and John attended the E-Learning Conference and Expo in Anaheim California on September 29th. The film was screened and John joined Sal Khan of the Khan Academy as a keynote speaker for this business technology–oriented conference attend by 850 executives and another 1500 online attendees. Following John’s address he was presented the Crystal Apple Teaching Excellence Teacher of the Year Award by the ELearning Business community.
Buzzine Interview – Los Angeles California
John was interviewed by Buzzine, a hip, trend setting online culture magazine. Clare Elfsman, former teacher, activist, writer, and actress asked deep and probing questions of John about the game and his life.
Legacy Award – Charlottesville Virginia
On October 28th, John received the first John E. Baker Legacy Award for contributions to education presented by the African-American Teaching Fellows at a formal dinner at the Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville Virginia. ()
We traveled to Boston on November 1st for a TEDx event with John giving the closing session talk and the film being screened that evening in the WGBH-Public Television Studios. Special thanks to Stephen Baker of the Baker Design Group for making this happen.
Harvard Law School Presentation
The next night John and Chris presented the film at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation, (PON) at Langdell Hall. Not only were Law School grad students in attendance, but also a number of Harvard’s Education School students showed up for a lively and intense discussion after the talk!
The United States Defense Department, The Pentagon
On November 4th, at the invitation of the Assistant to The Undersecretary of Defense Flournoy, we visited the Pentagon for a private screening with the Secretary’s policy group. A fascinating and deep discussion ensued afterwards, with questions from the staff about how our children interpret Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and how they tackle the concept of emptiness in the World Peace Game!
Virginia Commonwealth University – Richmond Virginia
On Sunday November 6th John and Chris visited Virginia Commonwealth University (John’s alma mater) in Richmond Virginia for a screening and post-film discussion at the request of the VCU School of World Studies—Religious Studies Program and The Dialogue Forum at VCU. A highlight for John was the attendance of Tracy Brower, a former student of John’s from the first ever generation to play the world Peace Game in 1978!! Special thanks to Dr. David Bromley and Jacqueline Pogue for making this event possible.
Memphis Independent Schools – Memphis Tennessee (via Skype)
The same day as the VCU visit, the film is being seen by a group of private school administrators in Memphis, with Chris and John participating in a post-film discussion via a skype video interview.
American Public Television Marketplace Presentation
The following week, the film was introduced to public television programmers from around the country at American Public Television’s Marketplace in Memphis on November 12. A warm standing ovation after John’s closing keynote address.
Immediately following his address John and Chris dashed to a citywide screening of the film in Memphis at Malco’s Ridgeway 4 Theater. The film was actually screened with staggered start times, in two adjoining theaters for an overflow crowd of educators, so John and Chris ran from one theater to the other to engage in post-film discussions! The Martin Institute of Memphis sponsored the event. Special thanks to Jamie Baker for setting this up.
The Film – World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements
In other news the work on writing the study guide to accompany the film for its eventual usage by educators is underway. We hope to have this completed by the end of 2011, and then have the DVD available for educational institutions by early 2012. This is very exciting in that the guide will focus on using John’s work as portrayed in the film as a vehicle for training, influencing and inspiring both in-service and pre-service teachers. A key component of our mission has always been to extend John’s influence, particularly to young and future educators, and this study guide will play an integral role through which the film can assist this work for years to come.
Perhaps the most important work to generate significant attention to John’s work is preparing the film for the public television broadcast next May. Crucial to a successful broadcast is our success in attracting underwriting support enabling us to pay for both the significant expenses involved in preparing the film for the broadcast, as well as for the creation and implementation of a publicity campaign leading up to the broadcast, ensuring that as many people as possible are made aware of the broadcast. We expect that we will attract well over one million viewers. If anyone is interested in receiving information regarding potential underwriting options, please contact us atchris.farina@rosaliafilms.com“>chris.farina@rosaliafilms.com.
The World Peace Game Book Publication
It appears that John has reached an agreement to publish the story of the World Peace Game with a Manhattan publishing house (with Mr. Eamon Dolan’s imprint at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) through the efforts of the Cynthia Cannell Literary Agency also in New York City. This will be great for extending the legacy of the Game and John’s teaching methods. More details as they emerge.
Seeking Reflections from Former Players
The World Peace Game Foundation and Mr. Hunter are seeking to connect with former World Peace Game players for the upcoming book publication. To have insights, reflections from those who have played would truly deepen the experience of reading about the Game. You may send your stories, reflections, etc. to john@worldpeacegame.org” href=”mailto:john@worldpeacegame.org“>john@worldpeacegame.org if interested. Please use the questions below to guide your response.
- Can you remember an incident in the World Peace Game that affected the way you behaved or the way you felt about a situation in your adult life? What was the incident and how did it affect you?
- Can you think of an incident in your adult life that was affected by your playing the World Peace Game? What was that incident? How did you handle it? How did you feel? How were your actions and feelings shaped by your World Peace Game experience?
- I’ve identified 7 stages that students tend to go through as they confront the World Peace Game experience—or any complex group experience. Do any of these stages ring any bells or set off any memories…either from your World Peace Game experience or your current life? Can you tell us about what stories, ideas, thoughts, memories come to mind as a result?
Stages:
- Confusion/feeling overwhelmed: too much going on, too complex, can’t process it
- Feeling like a failure: individual efforts have fallen flat, nothing seems to work
- Personal understanding: you see something you can do, but you’re still acting as an individual
- Collaboration: you start to get the idea that there is something greater than yourself
- Flow: you’re living in the moment, feeling at-one with your experience and with the world
- Click: you “get it,” your awareness moves to a higher or deeper level; sudden wonder, lightning & thunder of “this moment”—the aha!
- Application of understanding: You see how to take action to apply what you have learned; you feel the interrelatedness of all things; you feel the power of the group
Sharing The Game
Talks continue with several parties on the feasibility of replicating the game, both physically and virtually and considerations about the training of facilitators. This past summer at the World Peace Game Academy held at the Darden Business School on the campus of the University of Virginia, John employed several former Game players to begin training in how to administer the exercise in the future. These six trainee facilitators are some of the best strategists, tacticians and creative thinkers ever to play the game. It may be a bit of time before they can facilitate the game for they are just 11-12 years-old! Possibilities for adults to apprentice are being explored.
Here On Earth – Wisconsin Public Radio
Wednesday, December 7, 3pm Central
John and Chris will be live with Wisconsin’s Public Radio – Here on Earth. Friends, current, and former students are invited to call in at 1-877-GLOBE-07 during the show. A podcast of the program will be available following the broadcast.
Additional Upcoming Events
March 2012 – Keynote to the US Independent Schools Association conference in Seattle
February 2012 – Tentative 2nd International World Peace game, Oslo Norway
Spring 2012 – Screening at the UN, date TBD
Robin Klingler
Sienna Wright
John N. Hunter Jr.
Jenny Knight
Madeline Hunter
Stephanie Gruner Buckley