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Marie
Fitzsimmons
08
Project
Summary
Watkins Glen
Central School District
Marie Fitzsimmons
Watkins Glen High School
History Department
Model United Nations and Global Issues
“MUNAGI”
Project:
Watkins Glen High School will embrace a United
Nations Curriculum that will culminate in the participation of
Cornell University’s four day Model UN. The students will study the
United Nations’ many roles and research the roles of each of its
committees. The students will examine the role of the UN in
determining U.S policy and the influence of the United Nations on
the policies of the United States. As a culminating activity, the
students will participate in a four day Model United Nations at
Cornell University.
2. Clear Purpose and Objective:
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students will learn about the role of the
United Nations in determining global policies
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students will identify the successes and
shortcomings of the UN
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students will examine the role of the
United States in developing United Nations Policy
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Students will take on the role of United
Nations representatives
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Students will investigate issues and
determine solutions
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Students will build alliances and write
proposals
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Students will debate policy
3. Stakeholders: grade level, who will
benefit, who will participate in this project.
Students will be 11th and 12th
grade students who are studying American History or Government and
Economics
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U.S. History Content Area-
Government, International Relations,
Economics, World Issues, War and Peace,
Citizenship -All five of the NYS Social
Studies Standards
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Outline Describing Content
I.
Examine the history of the UN and the reasons behind its
creation
II.
Examine the setup of the UN and the work of each of the
committees
III.
Examine the membership of the UN and the voting structure
IV.
Examine the past successes and failures of the UN
V.
Examine current issues of the United Nations
VI.
Participate in the Cornell Model United Nations
VII.
Research assigned countries and positions on issues facing
the UN
VIII.
Compare assigned countries’ Point of View with that of the
United States
IX.
Participate in Four Day Model United Nations
X.
Critique participation in the Model United Nations and
evaluate proposals
XI.
Follow the United Nations’ progress with special attention to
the role of the US. Consider the influence of the US on the UN and
the influence of the UN on the United States
Summary of Experience
The development of this course at WGHS has
been one of the most significant intellectual, social, and political
endeavors that the students have engaged in. The course has been
wildly successful and the evaluations of students have been
poignantly positive.
Students raved about the experience at Cornell
and rated it as one of the highlights of their education. They were
fairly intoxicated by the level of intellectual conversation, heady
debate, independence, cultural experience, and social satisfaction.
At the same time, they are critical: desirous of more organization,
more knowledge, more understanding, and more practice. While highly
appreciative of the opportunity to engage in such an experience,
they wanted to be at a higher level engagement than we were. They
wanted to be experts in regional knowledge, United Nations
procedures, debate skills, and competitive techniques. They wanted
all the Cornell Committee Chairs to be outstanding. They wanted to
be brilliant and well-spoken at all times. They wanted to win. We
can’t wait for next year.
The class of twenty-four was divided into two
sections: fifteen intro students and nine advanced students. Last
year, the nine advanced students had the good fortune of attending
the Cornell Model UN and four of those students went on to
participate at the Model United Nations at Cape Town. The
experience of the advanced students at this year’s Model UN was
exceptional. Their evaluations of their experiences and the critique
of their committee chairs reflect their deep knowledge, confidence
and sophisticated engagement. How deeply satisfying to observe
their growth.
It had been my intention to pair each advanced
student with an intro student. However, the Cornell set-up was such
that advanced students were able to participate in the smaller, more
intense committees while the intro students were assigned to larger
general assemblies. On one hand, the new students would have
benefited from the pairing; on the other, the advanced students were
truly ready to fly and it would not have suited them to share a
role. I am reflecting on how I will adjust this for the coming
year.
The class began at the end of January and had
two months to prepare for the conference at Cornell. We spent our
first weeks learning about the United Nations, the committees, the
issues, the procedures, the successes, the failures. We utilized the
United Nations and CMUNC websites almost daily and became
connoisseurs of NPR, the BBC, the Nation, Time Magazine, etc. Our
global awareness improved significantly. When we finally received
our committee assignments from Cornell, it was with jubilation that
the students reacted to the news that we would be representing South
Africa as well as Zimbabwe, Bulgaria, Palestine Authority, and Saudi
Arabia. We felt the urgency of limited time and big work. Our
research was intense! Zimbabwe’s elections dominated the news and
our classroom conversation. We were most fortunate to have an
exchange student from South Africa and his regional knowledge and
perspective was priceless. The four students who had competed in
Cape Town offered insight and information that proved powerful and
important in debate.
As well as formal preparation for the
conference, the class held an International Night to engage the
community and to raise money for meals during our stay at Cornell.
What an evening! We invited a former exchange student from Malawi, a
young woman from China who had emigrated to Brazil , a student from
the Philippines, our own exchange student from South Africa , a
neighboring exchange student from Kazakhstan, yet another from
Senegal…… the presentations were outstanding and the students put on
a feast that was the rave of the community. What an evening.
At the Cornell conference, we were more than
delighted to see our old friends from South Africa. The winning
delegation and top performers from each region at the Cape Town
conference were rewarded with a trip to the USA. South Africa
devotes incredible resources to the Model UN experience and
fervently believes the experience will develop the future leaders
of the young democracy. Five hundred students attend this
Conference. From as far away as China and South Africa to
neighboring schools in Ithaca, a global community was formed.
The relationships built at Cornell-they will
go a long way in building understanding and world peace. Our
students have the imprint of every debate, conversation, every
informal interaction upon their intellectual and social beings.
They have considered issues that concern health, safety, and peace.
They have read hundreds of pages, listened to hours of news
programs, challenged others and challenged themselves. They have
grown exponentially and will carry this new knowledge wherever they
go. Now that is education. We have opened the boundaries of the
school walls and embraced learning on a global level. How very
brave. How very important.
The class continues as a global issues forum.
The students miss the intensity of the UN preparation, the
anticipation of something so much bigger than themselves. They
hunger for more of what they experienced and the classroom feels
small and limiting. They want the outside world. They want
conversations with students from other places with other ideas.
They want more independence; midnight conversations with
representatives of Russia and Venezuela, hotel rooms with working
documents spread out on the bed, passionate debates with students
from South Africa, college atmospheres, and the notion that
something big is out there and they can be a part of it. This
hunger is good. These kids are going places.
Fitzsimmons Reflection in Word
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