Snoqualmie student does model U.N.
March 19, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Many middle school students have never heard of the Tamil Tigers, a guerrilla group seeking to establish an independent Tamil state in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka.
Before entering seventh-grade this year, Snoqualmie resident Emmet Williams knew nothing about them, either.
But, after learning his peers at Arbor Montessori Schools would be participating in the Montessori Model United Nations in New York, Williams buried himself in research about Sri Lanka and its cultural, religious and political past. He spent months familiarizing himself with Sri Lanka, the teardrop-shaped country south of India. Finally, from March 2-5, Williams felt prepared to represent the country as a student delegate at the model U.N. with 600 Montessori students from all around the world.
This is the first year Arbor Montessori Schools, a Montessori school in Sammamish, participated in the Montessori Model U.N. Montessori schools have a connection with the U.N. — Maria Montessori supported both the formation of the United Nations and teaching peace through education.
The Montessori Model U.N. program began in 2006, joining countless other model U.N. programs that annually involve 400,000 middle, high school and university students at the New York U.N. headquarters.
Once in New York, Williams and his classmates toured the city, met Montessori students representing other countries and heard from some honchos at the U.N.
“A real delegate from India came and asked us if anyone had ever heard of the Tamil Tigers,” Williams said. “We were the only ones that raised our hands.”
Lux commended the students for their dedication to the model U.N. program.
“They spent a long time studying the history of Sri Lanka and understanding the history of the war,” teacher Sharilyn Lux said.
Students from the junior high researched several problems facing Sri Lanka, including child soldiers. Upper-elementary students researched India’s issues, including food procurement, HIV and AIDS prevention and the anti-malaria and mosquito campaign called Nothing But Nets.
“It’s college level studying what they’re doing,” Lux said. “The demands for them are the same as it was for the junior high kids.”
Projects culminated in a position paper, a two-page document filled with recommendations for the country and its aid groups. Arbor Montessori student Hunter Black served as a delegate to the African country Burundi. For his position paper, he recommended the U.N. expand entrepreneurial and job-creating funds to all citizens, instead of just soldiers and veterans.
At the model U.N., student delegates shared their position papers with each other. At the end of the conference, they voted on whether or not to endorse the idea in a resolution.
The student-approved resolutions were not only shared with other student delegates, but also with the delegates themselves.
Kian Azadi, a student from Redmond, wondered aloud about the impact his recommendation could have on the U.N. and the world.
“What if it happened and then it worked?” he said, with the follow-up, “What if the effect on the world wasn’t positive?”
The staff at Arbor Montessori Schools plan to make the $2,000-$2,500 U.N. trip into an annual project. Williams said, if he returns next year, he will “not be afraid to stand up and call for a motion,” on the U.N. floor.
“It allows them a real opportunity to understand how the U.N. works so they can turn around and be motivated to be a voice of leadership,” Lux said.
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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