In a time of unprecedented social and economic crisis, this book represents a challenge to the orthodoxy that shapes the vision of educational purpose. It argues that now, more than ever, there is a moral imperative for educators to assume responsibility for helping to bring about a culture of peace and non-violence in both the nation and throughout the world as a whole. Shapiro has situated his vision of education in a broader quest for social and moral change. His framework is one rooted in the critical pedagogic tradition which sees education's primary purpose as nurturing democratic values, civic involvement, and a commitment to a more just and compassionate culture. The following chapters are included: (1) Giving Peace a Chance; (2) Truth and Violence; (3) The Violence of Invisibility; (4) Undoing the Narrative of Competition; (5) Justice then Peace; (6) Violence and the Crisis of Meaning; (7) Critical Citizenship; and (8) A Pedagogy of Peace.