From Mini Model UN to Global Citizenship: 6th Graders Seek Solutions to Pressing Problems
The classroom is still, yet the air is thick with anticipation. The students are hushed at their desks.
Director of New Campus Design Josée BandHA is standing by the whiteboard. “Resolution two…” she begins. “All in favor, please raise your placards.”
A bunch of hands, holding papers with country names and flags, shoot up in the air.
“One, two, three…,” counts Ms. Band, who advises the Upper School Model UN. “Thirteen. Alright, the resolution passes!” The classroom fills with clapping and cheers. A gavel bangs on the desk.
Today is a big day: it’s the 6th grade Mini Model UN, complete with conference briefings, caucuses, and resolutions on some of the most pressing issues of the world. Although Upper School has had a Model UN club for many years, this is the first time Castilleja’s 6th graders—and Middle Schoolers in general—have participated in a Model UN experience. They are simulating a UN Assembly and joining hundreds of thousands of such students worldwide. (According to the UN website, many of today’s leaders in government, law, business, and the arts participated in Model UN as students.)
This project was championed by Middle School history teacher Chrislaine Miller, who facilitated Model UN at her previous school. Dr. Miller adapted preparation materials, typically written for high schoolers, to the middle school level; she also taught her 6th graders reading and annotation skills for tackling the research process and position paper writing.
“It’s really exciting because you can see they can do this work of coming up with solutions and negotiating with others. And they have great ideas,” says Dr. Miller. “They're going to be able to apply all these skills to other aspects of their education and career. These girls are so engaged, I get emotional about it,” Dr. Miller pauses. “They totally love this work. I can’t tell you how many kids have come up to me in these last three months and said, ‘Thank you so much for doing this.’”
Starting in December, the 6th graders worked in small groups and represented 59 countries, working on one of two committees. One committee, part of the UN Environment Assembly, looked for ways to promote developing economies while protecting marine environments. The other was part of UNESCO; those students sought solutions to offering affordable quality education in developing countries. With the help of Director of Library Services Jole SeroffHA, students researched their chosen countries and what’s been done to fix these issues in the past. They then wrote and presented position papers, debated, tried to get buy-in from other nations, and formed alliances.
Sixth grader Lali A. sought affordable quality education in Ghana. “We came up with a solution for transferring students to go abroad and learn in a better educational system and come back and teach generations of other students,” Lali says. She’s learned new skills, like “thinking on your feet and debating others and soft skills: you have to really listen to everyone to come up with solutions.”
The 6th graders were mentored by the members of the Upper School Model UN Club—Thea D. ’24, Natalie W. ’24, and Jillian A. ’24. “This was my way of giving back,” says Thea, the lead of Model UN Club. “If I were a 6th grader, I would have loved to have that opportunity myself, to build a pipeline and get more students interested in Model United Nations so that they can do that in high school.”
As the Mini Model UN day wraps up, it’s time for commendations and certificates. “France, will you please stand?” says Dr. Miller, as the room erupts in cheers and the stomping of feet. “For outstanding delegate in UNESCO…” she continues. “That would be The Bahamas!” Another explosion of clapping and whooping.
“I learned how to research and look for things online, and I also learned debate skills and how a UN conference works,” says Sahana S., who represented Fiji.
Her classmate Maya L. represented Papua New Guinea. “We created lots of buses and bikes to get to different places, transportation to get to school,” Maya says. Her favorite part was discussing and negotiating solutions with classmates.
Meanwhile, Kristen L., who represented South Korea, sought ways to fix polluted waterways and prevent trawling and dredging of fish with large nets.
“We had two ideas,” she says. “The first one was to have a trawling tax: give five percent of the proceeds to the government or dissolve their trawling and dredging within a year and a half,” explains Kristen, whose team worked with Vietnam and Germany. “Or other developed countries could donate money to research how to filter out toxic waste.” Kristen and her partner found workaround solutions when the other countries didn’t agree. “Usually we would try and just figure out what would either be easiest to work with or an idea that was more broad,” she says.
Next year, Castilleja will offer a Model UN club for 7th and 8th graders and facilitate Dr. Miller's Mini Model UN for 6th graders again. Ms. Band is excited about students getting into the trenches of Model UN at an early age. “It will be a really neat arc," Ms. Band says. "As they leave Middle School to go to high school, they’ll know a little bit more.”
With this new experience under their belts, the students will participate in the optional 14th annual Lyceum of Monterey County Middle School MUN Conference at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey at the end of April.
“I really like the idea of bringing girls from a girls’ school because often this is dominated by male students,” says Dr. Miller. “‘I just want to encourage you to let them hear your voice. Let’s not let the boys dominate the conversation,’” she advises her charges. “I see so much potential for them to be amazing in Model UN.”