The Model United Nations club has an unconventional way of teaching it’s members useful skills and information.
Instead of students being taught weekly lessons by club officers, Model U.N. assigns each student a country to represent. The club then presents a current issue facing the real life United Nations and lets the students handle in ways they believe would benefit they’re assigned country.
Senior Ayesha Abbasi, Model United Nations Club President, said, “We allow our members to come up with solutions they think would best solve an issue. I think students learn more about the political process that way, as opposed to us just telling them what their country should do.”
The Model U.N.’s primary goal is to teach students about the international political process. What sets it apart from other clubs is that there are no lectures or presentations telling students what to think. Giving students the freedom to construct their own opinions may help them gain an understanding of how real United Nations representatives find solutions to major world issues.
Junior Nathan Klebanov, Model United Nations Club Co-President, said, “If we just tell people what they should do they’ll never be able to think for themselves in conferences or real world situations.”
The club regularly attends large conferences which are similar Model U.N’s club meetings only they involve several schools.
Abbasi said, “The most well known conference we’ve attended is the B.M.U.N.(Berkeley Model United Nations Conference) which had about 1500 people.”
The club officers are passionate about their club, and they believe that this method of allowing members to consider and interpret issues for themselves is a good way to give students real world skills.
Ms. McKee, Model United Nations Club Adviser, said, “Seeing these students debate, constructively argue and problem solve is something I wish you saw happen in class more often.”
The Model U.N. is a well established club that takes itself seriously and is an option for anyone who wants to learn more about world politics or problem solving.
