Model United Nations is one of the most powerful educational experiences a student can have in high school. Standards for high school academic excellence keep changing, but Model UN continues to fulfill nearly every Language Arts, Social Sciences, Technology, and Leadership objective defined. In addition, Model UN offers powerful skill training in areas not defined by legislation, including political literacy and personal efficacy.
University of Michigan Dissertation on Royal Oak Model United Nations: Conducted by Brett Levy in 2010 and focusing on Royal Oak Model UN with the Royal Oak National Honor Society as a control group, the study reveals significant and measurable changes in students in political efficacy, personal efficacy, and interest in international politics. The study is the first known peer-reviewed academic study of the educational impact of Model United Nations. We include a brief paper of Levy's findings here. Contact us for a copy of the full dissertation. IB/MYP: Model United Nations is a significant recommendation in the curriculum for students in the MYP/IB program because of its cross-content focus, critical thinking on global issues, and high demands on problem-solving. (More on this soon!) Common Core: Our team is conducting an analysis of Common Core requirements now and will post our findings here. Needless to say, like so many other standards, the work Model UN does will fulfill major portions of Common Core standards for excellence. SCANS 2000: The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) was appointed by the Secretary of Labor to determine the critical skills youth require in “a high-performance economy characterized by high-skill, high-wage employment.” Its primary message to schools: look beyond the classroom to the roles students will adopt as workers and citizens. Model UN satisfies 100% of the Foundation Skills and 90% of the Workplace Competencies. In addition, Model UN satisfies 100% of the ten qualities employers seek in their new hires:
High School Content Expectations (HSCE): Two years on the Model UN team fulfills 66% of the Language Arts standards and 34% of Social Studies standards. The Model UN class fulfills 84% of the Language Arts standards and 51% of Social Studies standards. The class emphasizes research and critical inquiry in Language Arts but does not teach literary language. It does not teach history prior to the Cold War, US History and government specifically, or personal economics. |
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