Id Rather Teach Peace

An acclaimed writer takes up the challenge of teaching peace.

“Here is a dedicated teacher’s journal that will help all of us understand how we might live in a better world by trying to understand it, and by trying to make it more peaceful.” -Robert Coles

When acclaimed Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy was invited to teach a course on writing at an impoverished public school in Washington, D.C., he responded, “I’d rather teach peace.” Thus began the work he has passionately pursued for the past 25 years-teaching courses on nonviolence, conflict management, and peace studies. I’d Rather Teach Peace chronicles one semester in six of these schools, as students find themselves challenged and inspired by an unconventional course and by a man who believes that if we don’t teach our children peace someone else will teach them violence.