COMMUNITY EDUCATION SEMINAR ON PEACE EDUCATION at Haverford College, January 26, 2012

For those in the Philly area, this press release about my upcoming program might be of interest.  Since the publication of my book, I have presented at several national and local conferences this fall: Peace and Justice Studies Association/Gandhi-King Conference in Memphis, National Council for the Social Studies in D.C., Philadelphia Area Multicultural Resource Center, and several teachers-teaching-teachers workshops.  I am hopeful that Haverford College students as well as members of the community-at-large will attend this program:

Susan Gelber Cannon, Episcopal Academy teacher and author, will speak about her book: Think, Care, Act: Teaching for a Peaceful Future on Thursday, January 26 at 7 P.M. at Haverford College.  Cannon will connect ideas from the classroom to the living room as she invites teachers, parents, and community members to consider varied and effective ways to empower children to think, care, and act for peace and justice.  The Community Education Seminar, sponsored by Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition, is free and open to the public, with free parking on campus.  The program will be held in the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship Café, located in Stokes Hall, Room 104, on Haverford College’s campus at 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA, 19041.  The College phone number is 610-896-1000.  Books will be available for sale and signing at the event.  More information about the book is available from the publisher at http://www.infoagepub.com/products/Think-Care-Act.

Committed to teaching for peace and justice, Narberth resident Susan Cannon brings to life a teaching approach that empowers youth:

·         to think critically and creatively about historical, current, and future issues,

·         to care about classmates and neighbors as well as the global community,

·         to act—locally and globally—for the greater good. 

Cannon is a peace and character educator with 30 years of experience in primary and secondary classrooms.  She has also trained pre-service and in-service teachers in China, Japan, Denmark, and the United States.  Her special fields of interest are character, global, multicultural, and peace education: developing teaching methods to help students think, care, and act honorably, locally and globally. Trained in moral development at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cannon teaches history and English, as well as Model UN, peacemaking, and debate at The Episcopal Academy, in Newtown Square.  With her artist husband J. Kadir Cannon, she has created art and peace education events in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.A.  Her book, Think, Care, Act: Teaching for a Peaceful Future, was published by Information Age Publishing in 2011, with cover art by her husband. 

Think, Care, Act depicts Cannon’s methods for encouraging students to envision peace and gain tools to build a culture of peace.  Cannon articulates three imperatives—think, care, act—to infuse required curricula with peace, character, and multicultural concepts in daily activities throughout the year.  Topics include critical and creative thinking; media and political literacy; compassionate classroom and school climate; explorations of racism, gender issues, civil discourse, global citizenship, war, and peace; and school, community, and global social-action projects.  Cannon will discuss rationales, lesson expectations, and classroom “play-by-play,” making connections between home, school, and community.   Cannon’s Think, Care, Act framework will inspire teachers and families to educate youth to build a peaceful future.    

Founded as the U.S. headed to war against Iraq over 10 years ago, the Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition conducts monthly peace vigils and coordinates Community Education Seminars on peace-related topics held at various locations on the Main Line.  Members participate in numerous activities in the Main Line area and throughout the U.S.  Membership is free and open to all.