Peace and Nuclear War. The increasing concern in the United States about nuclear weapons is paralleled by the interest of educators in providing peace and nuclear war education in the public schools. Nuclear war education focuses on content beginning with the Manhattan Project and the first testing of a successful nuclear weapon. Included in a nuclear war unit would be such topics as the workings of nuclear weapons, historical information on the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan, national security decision making since World War II, current developments in weapons technology, and efforts to achieve arms control. The issues related to nuclear war weapons are too weighty to allow students to avoid in-depth investigation and careful thought.
Peace education is a broader field than nuclear war education.
Not exhaustive, this list illustrates the broad scope of a peace education program. Problem solving, conflict resolution, and other integrative skills are developed in a peace education program. Additionally, peace education focuses on broadening students' understanding of opposing viewpoints. Thus, the elimination of polarized thinking is an important goal of peace education. Any content area must work from a basic rationale if it is to have a place in the school curriculum.