I'd Rather Teach Peace (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In 1982, popular Washington Post columnist McCarthy was asked to teach a course at Washington's School without Walls. Responding to the suggestion that he teach writing, McCarthy said, "I'd rather teach peace," and that's what he's been doing ever since in every kind of school all over the country. He teaches his students about the famous (Gandhi and King) and about those who should be famous (Dorothy Day and Jeanette Rankin). He tells them startling things (since the end of World War II, there has never been a democratically elected government as a result of U.S. military presence in a foreign country), and he encourages them to talk about what they're learning. Here he offers a kind of how-to manual, explaining how he gets kids to explore issues relating to peace and how he motivates them to think creatively. Instead of theory, he gives us practice --and a sense of the pleasure he takes from introducing his students to the joy of exploration. The book should be required reading for every educator in America. David Pitt
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Review

Should be required reading for every educator in America. --ALA Booklist --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 140 pages
• Publisher: Orbis Books (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570754306
• ISBN-13: 978-1570754302
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #614,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lessons from a master of peace education, July 16, 2002

By	David Blakeslee (Wyoming, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Longtime and now retired Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy was for many years one of the most prominent voices writing about peace and social justice issues in the mainstream press. In 1982, he was invited to teach a course on writing at a public high school in a poverty-stricken area of Washington D.C. But rather than teach about writing, he responded "I'd rather teach peace." This simple declaration set in motion a series of events that has now led to him teaching over 5000 students about the principles of nonviolence, pacifism and conflict management. This slim volume (140 pages, including an excellent, concise bibliography) recounts several of his experiences in a variety of settings. As word spread of McCarthy's resourceful and engaging teaching, and the positive responses of his students, many other schools and organizations saw an opportunity to have him come to share his insights. Here, McCarthy takes a representative sampling and weaves it together smoothly, demonstrating how practical and applicable a nonviolent ethic is in all walks of life.

The settings that McCarthy taught in run the gamut of contemporary society, and he shows no favoritism as his experiences are recounted with equal compassion and critique of the various audiences with whom he interacts. From prestigious graduate schools (like Georgetown Law) to youth detention centers, private religious academies, alternative high schools, and other settings, McCarthy recognizes that no matter what the circumstances his students may find themselves in, they (and we) all share a common humanity that puts whatever differences may exist among us in perspective. He blends humor, intriguing anecdotes of pacifism in action, and a more than infrequent use of confrontational questions to get students to, as he says, not merely ask questions, but question the answers that they and so many of us have been conditioned to receive about many of the social and cultural dilemmas facing us in today's world. McCarthy is truly a master at getting people to reconsider their old assumptions, and this may be among the most valuable contributions of this book. His confidence in the ultimate value and wisdom of a determinedly non-violent approach is unshakeable, event to the point that I sometimes wonder how he was able to put up with all the examples of people around us who not only are so quick to concede the "necessity" of violence but often seem to prefer it to anything resembling even a mildly pacifistic approach. In the current circumstances of the "war on terrorism" (which McCarthy alludes to in the book's introduction, written in November of 2001), we need voices like his to speak forth in the public arena, as well as to offer us encouragement when it seems like so many around us are all too ready to plunge further into a violent struggle aimed at somehow promoting "peace and security."

Anyone interested in getting some good tips on how to communicate principles of peace to an audience that isn't necessarily already committed to a lifestyle of non-violence will find plenty of helpful material here. But the appeal of the book doesn't stop there. McCarthy also addresses a range of significant socio-political issues including the death penalty and the criminal justice system, the effects of US foreign policy on other nations over the past 55 years, the benefits of a vegetarian diet, racism, substance abuse and its treatment, communication and cooperation skills, and a host of other topics, all delivered in the casual, easily readable style of one who has been studying and living out these values for decades. Never at a loss for an opinion on something, and able to produce the facts to back himself up, Colman McCarthy is a man committed to realizing a vision of a world where peace is taught as the first, best and only justifiable response for young and old alike. His book offers us a needed boost of encouragement that we who share his vision are indeed helping to create a more harmonious and sustainable world.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a book, April 30, 2002

By	Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Most of us know Colman McCarthy as a perceptive and sensitive journalist and religious commentator. But what we may not know is that he's also a devoted teacher of peace issues and peacemaking--so devoted, in fact, that he gave up his position at the "Washington Post" to devote himself full time to teaching. Moreover, he's taught in an amazing variety of contexts: university law schools, colleges, correctional institutions, inner city schools, suburb schools, alternative schools, public schools.

*I'd Rather Teach Peace* is a running account of some of McCarthy's experiences at the various places he's taught peace. Three features make the book especially worthwhile. The first is McCarthy's wonderfully flowing style. Reading his prose is like having a conversation with a person who loves words and people. The second is McCarthy's reflections on peace and peacemaking, and why so few folks in this country take either very seriously. But the third feature--and, for my money, the heart of the book--is the story of McCarthy's adventures in the classroom, chatting with kids about peace, overcoming their resistance, learning from their experiences, challenging them to think outside the box. McCarthy clearly teaches peacemaking as a way of life, not merely a cessation of war, and one of the first conditions is that his students begin to ask themselves some tough questions about how and why they value what they do. In reading his accounts, we find ourselves in the classroom with him and his students.

Professional teachers (and I'm one of them) will profit from the pedagogical strategies that McCarthy writes about. My favorite one, an exercise for encouraging students to reflect on the meaning of authority, is the "red car, green car game." Excellent!

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It changed my stance from hardcore military to peace seeker, July 17, 2003

By	Nosferatu (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

Get this book and absorb it! I have reviewed it for two publications and still marvel at its contents. This man changed my mind about the subject of peace, so give him a chance to reach you. Even if you are a diehard military person (I'm a former sergeant of the 101st Airborne) you will still see the common sense in what this man is teaching. His solutions will work, but only if enough of us heed his words and apply them. I wish every person in the world would read this book!