Since the mid-1950’s, Model U.N. organizations have developed in schools all over the world, in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. High school and middle school students participate in hundreds of conferences every year, win awards, and earn recommendation letters that are included in college application packets. They also engage with students from all over the world, broadening their circle of acquaintances and friends.
The Structure of a Conference
Conferences are announced through a variety of channels. Internet links with previous conference attendees are a first method of contact. In areas with frequent conferences, such as the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C., schedules are distributed at early conferences. There is also an instructional website and an international schedule sponsored directly by the United Nations.
Moderators are sent Background Guides upon registration. Background Guides contain the subjects offered for debate at the conference. Each issue offered is delineated, the history of the issue is presented, and possible solutions are listed. Each school is designated as a country or countries, and the particular subject area and organ of the United Nations for each part of the conference is selected.
Examples of beginner and intermediate sessions might include DISEC (Disarmament and International Security Committee) or SOCHUM (Social and Humanitarian Committee). These are organs of the General Assembly, committees of nations that develop resolutions concerning specific issues. Resolutions are not binding, but they provide a diplomatic framework that individual nations can use to develop trade and foreign policy. The resolutions can also influence the Security Council.
In these General Assembly Model UN simulations the students are in teams of two from each school. These delegates use the background guides to develop position papers. These position papers should reflect the policy of the country the delegates are representing. For instance, delegates representing Iraq in a DISEC simulation should develop positions and debate according to the policy of Iraq.
The Resolution
The delegates use their position papers to find coalitions through debates and caucuses. From these organizational tools, the delegates write resolutions. The delegations can sponsor or become signatories to the resolution, and leadership is scored by the chair. Awards for each committee are given at the end of the conference, with the best delegation receiving the gavel used by the chair. There are also best of conference awards.
The Model UN program is especially popular in the northern Virginia region, in the suburbs of Washington DC. Maryland schools are developing programs and sending delegates to the Virginia conferences, but the Montgomery and Prince Georges County public schools have been reluctant to participate in the program until recently. The New York/ New England and the original Philadelphia/ Wilmington Del. regions also have extensive programs.
The Model United Nations program is a very effective tool for developing the student’s awareness of the world, in both the political and cultural sense. Furthermore, the student develops a working knowledge of debate, parliamentary procedure, and negotiating skills. Students also have practical experience in the give and take of coalition building. These skills are vital in developing leaders for tomorrow in business, government, and in the non-profit world.

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The parents of American teenagers have been bombarded in recent years with images of students with spectacular academic qualifications who have been refused admission to the colleges of their first choice. The question resounds across the American landscape: “How can this happen to my child?” The answer, of course, is quite simple.
A High Stakes Moment
Acceptance to our nation’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning is awarded to those students who possess a wide range of academic skills in concert with a staggering set of extracurricular talents and phenomenal athletic ability. Given this scenario, the selection of a high school that prepares students for this overwhelming competition and allows them to create portfolios that distinguish them as attractive commodities on college campuses has become a crucial decision for would-be high school freshmen and their families. What are the most vital aspects to consider when making this pivotal choice?
What Will Happen in Four Years?
Students who are gifted academically will always have options when it comes to their destination for four years of secondary education. Private prep schools, parochial high schools with religious affiliations, and public high schools compete for the very best students. Parents must weight the benefits of private education against the financial sacrifice that comes in the form of tuition.
Can a public school be the best option? With the specter of college applications looming in the not too distant future, the most important factor to consider deals with opportunities that will be present for the student at the completion of the high school education. What types of schools are accepting the graduates of a particular high school?
Acceptances are far more important than actual matriculations, since many factors lead to the eventual decision as to where each individual will attend. Do students at the high school under consideration have access to the best liberal arts schools in the country, or are they merely attending state institutions? How many students in any given senior class are accepted to the school of their first choice, and how many have to settle for schools further down on their lists?
The answers to these questions provide parents and students with an idea of where high schools are “tiered” by colleges and universities. Some high schools may be able to place students in the second or third decile of rank into these high quality colleges. Other schools may not be able to find acceptances for their valedictorians and salutatorians at these schools.
Schools That Can Earn Money for Your Children
The answers to these questions often lead to the salient facts that should influence the decisions of the parents of future high achievers. What is the average SAT score of the most recent graduating classes? Some schools may produce honor rolls that fill pages of newspaper print, but those same honor students cannot break 1000 combined in their Math and Critical Reading SAT. This is a sign of grade inflation that is easily spotted by college admissions offices.
How many Advanced Placement courses are offered by the high school in question? These college-level courses are an indication of a rigorous course of studies that allows students to prepare themselves for the taxing curricula awaiting them at the next level. Finally, how much merit-based scholarship is awarded to graduating students on average? Colleges and universities do not merely throw money around. Those funds are used to attract the best students. High schools with significant per-student scholarship numbers have obviously proven their merits to admissions offices throughout the country.
Ask the Tough Questions
Generally speaking, excellent junior high school students will have access to public, private, and parochial high schools that will trumpet their achievements in the classroom, on the athletic fields, and in the community. Still, parents of the best students must consider that the college application process, along with acceptances and rejections, are only four short years away. Which high school can provide the broadest and most impressive set of opportunities for the graduating honor student? This is the question that must be researched and answered.

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Poor Planning
Many high school students do not plan their futures well and are undecided long after graduation. Those that think they will probably not attend college complete minimum high school graduation requirements. Many students decide to attend college right before they graduate. It is now too late to take more math. Unfortunately, high school graduation requirements often fall short of what is necessary for college success. Many learn this the hard way.
Math Is A Weak Link
High schools require two years of math but do not usually state specific classes. This is often done to allow students with lower ability to graduate with peers. Not everyone is capable of Geometry. Schools are also under pressure to graduate more students and lower drop out rates. Math is often a problem area for students that struggle in school.
Misunderstanding Advanced Math
Students that plan on attending a two-year college instead of a four-year college don’t realize they still need good math skills. When a high school student takes Algebra as a freshman and Geometry as a sophomore, he or she often take no more math prior to college. This results in not doing well on college placement tests.
Play Catch-Up
How do students improve skills when they fall behind? Unfortunately, this is often done in college with remedial math classes. This throws the college student out of sequence and college bills rise. Students could also take college math the summer prior to entering college to raise scores.
Refresher Classes
Another option would be for high schools to offer refresher courses in the senior year. Many students do well in math but forget what they learned over two years. If high schools offered pre-college refresher courses, students could regain skills and score better on math assessments. If students reviewed major concepts before or after school for 3 weeks, the results would probably be amazing.
How Is Math Taught?
Many educators are looking into making math more interesting or more easily understood. The abstract concept can be confusing for students and bringing concrete examples into the classroom with manipulatives has been shown to help. Algebra8 is a supplemental math program that is becoming popular with students. It helps students visualize the abstract with concrete objects. Right-brained students are often more confused by abstract math than left-brained.
High school classrooms are often filled with more students than a teacher can effectively teach. Checking for understanding when you have 24 students in Geometry is not possible. Math classes should be smaller and high schools, in general, are found to be more effective when smaller. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding smaller schools in New York City.
Obsolete Sequence?
It has been traditional for high schools to offer Algebra I first, then Geometry and finally Algebra II. Some high schools are finding that students forget less material if they take math in a different sequence: Algebra I, Algebra II, then Geometry.
Three Math Credits
High schools are beginning to require three instead of two math credits. However, many are concerned that drop out rates will increase. Some high schools are teaching Algebra I over a longer period of time allowing struggling students to absorb the material. The pace is a mastery level and not moving on to new material when the students are still confused.
Math Opens Doors
Math can open doors or close them. Students find that careers in hydraulics, welding, heavy equipment, wind energy and other technical fields require math skills. The only way to be successful is to close the gap in math. College is not the best time to do this. The optimal time to take these classes is in high school. The challenge to teachers will be to successfully teach math to students that have convinced themselves that they are not good in math.

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Every teacher struggles, sooner or later, with the issue of setting up a reward system. It would be great if students were motivated by the intrinsic (psychological) value of gaining an education. The reality is that it takes a while for students to be motivated to learn for the sake of gaining knowledge. This is where the reward systems come into play. There are two main types of reward systems, exchange value, and positive behavior support. Let’s take a look at both and examine the benefits and drawbacks of using each system.

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Exchange Value
In the exchange value reward system, students are given a slip of paper, postcards, tokens etc. that symbolize the value of good behavior and/or participation. These objects serve as a symbol of what they are worth and really aren’t worth anything themselves. In a way, this is similar to a piece of paper that really isn’t worth much on its own, but society gives it value by calling it “money.” Usually, students take these objects to the teacher and exchange them for a prize, piece of candy, gift certificate etc.

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The benefits: This reward system is relatively low cost to establish since the goal is that students will want to accumulate more of the symbolic objects in order to receive a larger prize. The teacher establishes the value system, and so can make them worth as much or as little as he or she chooses. Also, a competition factor comes into play where students compete with each other to have the most and the best of the prizes offered.

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The drawbacks: Some students may get discouraged with how long it takes to earn enough of the objects to “buy” something of “value”. They also may not buy into the reward system if the prizes aren’t to their liking. One never wants to make the mistake of giving rewards in a predictable fashion because then, good behavior will only be present if a reward is given. These drawbacks can be conquered when one person gets a universally acknowledged “amazing” prize and spreads the news through word of mouth. Also, major prizes should only be given sporadically, such as once a quarter.

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Positive Behavior Support
The Positive Behavior Support reward system is based on supporting desirable behavior rather than punishing bad behavior. Usually, those that abide by the rules of the PBS system get some sort of monetary, verbal or exchange value prize for their good behavior.

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The benefits: PBS systems are established at the outset of a class or school year. They are only strong when bought into by a lot of people and established across the board. The students who thrive best within the PBS systems are those who value their place in the system and the positive opinion of authority figures.
The drawbacks: Rewards cannot be emphasized more than the validity of the system as a means of establishing a desirable and productive learning environment. Students will only buy into a system if they experience the negative aspects of not having the system in place.

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