Kathy Beckwith

Concerned citizen, Educator/Teacher, Global soul, Idea generator, Parent, Writer/Editor

I grew up as an Oregon (USA) farm girl. A few years after college, my husband and I went to India as Peace Corps Volunteers, working on kitchen gardening. We still raise a garden and have returned to India to work, volunteer, and visit. I'm author of several books for children and teens, and at work on more. I am a mediator and a trainer in school mediation and conflict resolution. I believe that it's time to abandon war, an idea explained more fully in my most recent book, A MIGHTY CASE AGAINST WAR: What America Missed in U.S. History Class and What We (All) Can Do Now. I love to walk on our country road (and along the beach when I can), pick wild blackberries in the summer and turn them into pie, and read picture books with my grandkids. I also believe in the gift we all receive through sharing stories and learning the stories of others.

Doing all I can to help my homeland and my world choose to abandon war, equipping youth with problem-solving skills (especially peer mediation, especially in our schools), writing stories that need told, celebrating with family and friends (winding the ribbons on our May pole, for example), growing and eating fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden.

Be nice first.

Peer mediation training/coaching, Student of U.S. history, Writing, when a story needs told

I first heard of TED talks from a friend at Kodaikanal International School (S. India), when he told me of Chris Anderson's challenge to Woodstock graduates (N. India) to cherish and nurture their good fortune to have had experiences there that let them become global souls. But TED and TEDx became most personal for me in January 2019 when McMinnville, Oregon, had its first TEDx event and I applied to speak about my big idea: "It's time to abandon war. There are alternatives."

- Wanting to play the piano; loving to clog; collecting awesome picture books.