Model UN week

My focus going into Monday was AP exam review. In class, my students did brief presentations in which they analyzed the successes and failures of each Presidential administration in foreign and domestic policy from 1952 to 2000. We also did a matching activity matching important events to the decade in which they occurred. This is really helpful in keeping cause and effect straight. After school on Monday and Tuesday I hosted extra review sessions and both were well attended. On Wednesday, my students took their exams and I hope they did well! Now its all over, which is a relief for everyone, but I always feel a little sad. In less than a month every class will be done and I can't help but feel sad. We just start to get to know each other and for many I won't have them in class again. Its even harder for Psychology and Ethics because for those seniors almost all of them I had 2 years in a row. But I still have a month to torture them!

In Ethics we debriefed what we learned from guest speaker James Lawley's visit last week and started working on the Final presentation. Their Final is to pick a current ethical dilemma facing society and suggest possible ways to resolve it and analyze those resolutions principles. I was out on Friday at the Model UN Conference and so most of their class was spent working on this.

In Psychology we discussed hypnosis, meditation and biofeedback. We also analyzed the effect certain drugs can have on the brain. We watched this interesting documentary about hypnosis, and students worked on their Final projects. In Psychology their Final is to pick a Psychological Disorder and in a presentation, tell us about treatments and new breakthroughs in understanding the Disorder.

In U.S. History students worked on their Civil Rights multimedia show for next Monday. We had no class one day this week as all the Juniors were on a Field Trip connected to their Physics classes. They went to Funtown and rode on the rides and had physics problems to analyze using the rides.

Wednesday was an early release day. In the morning we had short classes, and then professional development in the afternoon. This is important time we devote in May to transitioning from one grade level to the next as advisors. The most important grade levels for this are 11th and 12th, because Senior year and Freshmen year have the most important things happening in terms of the Advisor program. I am a 9th grade advisor, and so after 2 years of stressful transitions to think about I really have very little to think about going into Sophomore year relative to the 11th and 12th grade advisors. However, it is still valuable time to plan for fundraising and the first advisee day out next Fall. We started things off with an ice breaker type activity in the Gym. I am not a fan of these activities. I intellectually appreciate using these techniques to help build bonds, but I am never comfortable with them and at times question the time they take away from planning when we already have little time as it is. I appreciate the folks who planned it and I understand the intentions, I just find them personally uncomfortable.

The end of the week was one of my favorite events! The annual Model United Nations Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA is something I always look forward to. For the last 4 months a group of 22 students have spent extra time researching issues and compiling evidence for a paper. they receive no grade for any of this work, but it is important in order to be able to participate appropriately at the Conference. For two days, Friday and Saturday, these 22 students are in committee sessions that mimic the real United Nations. Each group of 2 represent a delegation from an assigned country. This year our students represented China, Belgium, and Zambia. We had students from grades 9-11 involved and 3 other staff members from my school. We had to leave school at 5 am and we stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn in Saugus, MA. The cost for the Conference is about $250 per student and they pay their own costs. The amount of learning that happens is almost unquantifiable, but its so authentic, and obvious to anyone who works with these students. Its this level of real learning that we see happening year after year that keep us coming back. Students get to meet other students from inner city Boston, the suburbs of Boston, The American School in the Bahamas, and more. Some students are from diverse backgrounds, recent immigrants to the US in some cases. Our students also get a chance to "compete" with students their same age on a College campus. In addition, they get a little independence being away form their families for a night. For some of the students, it is the first time they have been to Boston, and that is also a big experience for them. In the end they learn so many things, not the least of which is that they aren't any less smart than these kids from the Boston area! Believe me, that level of confidence is a big thing for them!

(This is the list of participating schools in the Model UN and where they are from)

Friday morning we arrived at Northeastern about 9:30, and just missed the guest speaker at the Opening Ceremonies. That was not really a big deal, and after getting registered each delegation of 2 students went to their committee rooms. All of the committee rooms are located inside Shillman Hall spread out over 4 floors. We teachers spend a good deal of time rotating through the rooms and seeing all of our students in action. Lunch was pizza provided by the Conference organizers. At 4 we were done for the day. We all walked to Ruggles station next door and took the subway out to Bunker Hill. We walked around the Monument and then followed the Freedom Trail over to the U.S.S. Constitution. From there we took the Ferry across the Harbor by the Aquarium. We walked form there to the Boston Massacre site and then over to Fanueil Hall. Students had a couple of hours to get food and walk around Quincy Market. It started raining around 8:30, but we were able to stay mostly dry. The bus picked us up at 9 and took us to our Hotel in Saugus. We arranged for 6 am wake up calls, and all went to sleep. At 6:15 we knocked on doors to make sure the kids were awake and then we had breakfast in the lobby. By 8 we were on the road headed back to Northeastern for the last day of the Conference. Most of our students were actively involved in the deliberations and its always amazing to see them shine!

(Model UN happens here)

My Model UN students pose in front of Fanueil Hall

This is what it is like in each of the committee rooms during the Model UN

Lunch on Day 2 was hosted in a Dining Hall on campus which was very nice. This provided a nice amount of food and much diversity of food options. The students raved about lunch today! At 3:30 we all met in the auditorium for the Awards and Closing Ceremonies. We were proud to witness four of our students who were given Awards by the Conference organizers. Our students worked very hard and learned a lot over these 2 days. Students were engaged in discussion around topics such as what to do about North Korea, the conflict over the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, Cultural Extinction, the use of Drones, empowering girls through education, Pandemic response, Cyber Crime, a historical simulation of a response to South African Apartheid, and more. It was a lot of work in preparation and we are all now exhausted, but it was well worth it!

(Of course we had to stop at Karl's Sausage Kitchen on the way home and get some German candy)

Next week will finally feel like the end of the year is starting to wind down. My VHS class has ended, Model UN is over, and Memorial Day is next weekend. There will be a lot of work next week on Final projects and a mock trial over the war in Vietnam.