Saturday @ HMUN

It is Saturday morning at 9:15a and the Sheraton lobby is buzzing with tourists dodging the 5 degree winter weather outside, but the HMUN “delegate’s” (the term used for the participants) are moving a bit slower after two nights of not sleeping in their own beds, and probably not sleeping that much in general.

Derryfield students, representing Austria, are now assigned to certain committees (“Security Council” or “World Health Organization,” for example) that meet in given rooms, so I have the freedom to walk around and listen to bits of conversation, both in the hallways and in the meeting rooms themselves.

Examples:

• “It has come to Sri Lanka’s attention that the working papers submitted by the Democratic Republic of Congo contain elements that are not in keeping with the tone of compromise needed to make progress in the area of creating sustainable refugee resettlement areas . . .”
• “Isn’t it true that NGO’s must have freedom to move about in country if we are to leverage all the improvements they are capable of bringing to Azerbaijian?”
• “Luxembourg, you are recognized for one minute.”
• “If we join together we have a better chance of hammering through a resolution, especially if we wait to the end of the caucus period, providing the US has already spoken.”
• “In exchange for North Korea introducing a motion to responsibly dispose of its nuclear waste the Security Council would entertain a motion from China that would include many of the elements of the working papers already introduced by Germany.”
• “Can we just slow down and read this new clause on indigenous rights together before introducing it in front of the entire committee?”
• “We are going to amend clause 12-D now and we are not going back in that room until everyone here agrees to how we construct boundaries in safe zones! If we can’t agree to a simple sub-clause amongst ourselves, how can we expect the entire committee to support our solution?”
• “Delegates, decorum!”

These last two words, which I heard from the podium in a few different committee rooms, seems to be the standard way that committee chairs reprimand the roomful of delegates when they get too loud. Each time I heard the phrase, the crowd instantly quieted down. Again, I depart with an appreciation for the sense of manners that these students have toward each other, and the respect they show for the institution of the HMUN.

The HMUN

Those who need hope should work in education. Educators who need hope should come to the Harvard Model UN (“HMUN”).

I am blogging from the Sheraton in Downtown Boston – really the first time I have written the way blogs were meant to be (note: the first time I witnessed such behavior was during John McCane’s visit to The Derryfield School Auditorium, and the entire back row was occupied by bloggers with laptops reporting live) – and the scene needs to be described to be believed.

Imagine 2500 high school students dressed in the 2010 version of what Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers wore, and that is a start. Don’t let that opening image take away from the seriousness of purpose – it actually adds considerably to creating an atmosphere of formal, proper, interaction. The boys are in dark suits and ties, the girls in a variety of elegant quasi-evening wear that would not be out of place in a board room. In an age of diminishing decorum captured by “You lie!” this fact alone is uplifting.

Last night’s Opening Ceremonies were in The Hynes Convention Center Auditorium at 5p, and the keynote address was delivered by The Honorable Joseph H. Melrose, United States Mission to the United Nations on the General Assembly. He set the right tone – global thinking, serious purpose, but enjoy yourself. One sour note for me (see my previous column) – about one in five students around me were staring onto their cell phones while he was talking. Perhaps I should be pleased with that ratio!

Today, Friday, is the first full day of a gathering that started Thursday afternoon and will end Sunday afternoon, with the majority of the participants staying in the cavernous Sheraton and simply coming downstairs to gather in committees in their dozen large seminar rooms. The organization of the entire event thoroughly seems safe, well run, and completely engaging for the students. As well it should be, since the front of the program announces “Welcome to the Fifty-Seventh Session.”

The HMUN is a well oiled machine, and it is really impressive.

Snapshot: A student just hurried by and handed me a xeroxed invitation to come to a seminar at 2p today titled “Global Issues in Medicine and Medical Training, a Presentation by Dr. Colleen Kigin, Chief of Staff at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.” High school students are not only interested in these topics, but will show up, ask great questions, and leave you with a sense of optimism. They see the concerns, recognize the obstacles, and still – no cynicism.

Stay tuned.

On the Eve of the iPad

Tomorrow Apple announces a new product, widely expected to be a tablet of some kind, and I’ll confess that I want it already – clearly for all the wrong reasons, because I don’t even know what it does. Since purchasing a 128K Macintosh, the first Apple digital camera, the first laser printer, and a variety of other Steve Jobs inspired gems (yes, including the iPhone), the latent consumer in me tends to fall in love with the shovel while I am supposed to concentrate on digging a ditch. I obtain the newest offering, and within days I cannot imagine life without it. The point is how can the tool make one’s life better, make you a better teacher or a more compassionate person. Agreed. But I seem to keep falling for that new shovel.

When I think about thinking about technology in our school, I am aware of three distinct stages I have moved through. Summary: Etiquette, Engage, Empower.

Of late, I find Clayton Christensen’s work (including Disrupting Class) amongst the most visionary and practical in this field.

I describe my first stage as an awareness of the etiquette, or lack thereof, around how we use technology. The most dramatic example happened three years ago after helping a school principal in Thailand prepare for days for an important meeting of a dozen of his colleagues. Throughout the 90 minute gathering, at least three people were talking loudly on their cell phones, while three others were checking e-mail or listening to voicemail. My friend said nothing, but felt completely rejected by his colleagues – a message I was certain no one wanted to send. Cell phones had swept so quickly into the culture, that a common understanding of what was appropriate did not have time to emerge. Time and time again, I saw cell phones keeping people apart and disrupting communication.

My next stage is an ongoing inquiry around how students and faculty engage with technology. In a world where digital immigrants teach digital natives, adults-in-charge routinely need help simply operating devices from those who grew up in a world of iPods and internet. Teachers and parents can easily feel we are competing, and losing, for attention with any number of digital devices. At the same time, the adults can’t fully understand the social implications to a teenager of being connected 24/7/365. And the following story illustrates the way adults are still understanding the academic implications: recently a teacher began to reprimand a student he found using a cellphone in class, but first asked “what are you doing?” The student explained s/he was researching a question that the teacher had mentioned a moment earlier, and the teacher moved instantly from the possibility of anger to admiration for the student’s ingenuity and motivation. The teacher felt the student had become unengaged, but the truth was exactly the opposite.

For the last few years we have spent considerable time thinking about how to use technology to empower our community. This question is bold, clear, and ultimately packed with exciting questions and answers – exactly like the best teaching and learning. How can we empower our students to ask great questions and follow-up with even better answers using distance learning techniques or Google docs? How can we use social media to empower our alumni and keep them connected to our school? What are the most effective ways to empower parents and faculty to work together on behalf our children?

We have to continually clarify our community’s etiquette around the use of technology. We have to continually engage our students in best practices around the use of technology. And we must continually seek to the distribute the “power” of electronic technology to our community.

I see very exciting developments in our school in these areas, and I look forward to sharing them with you as they evolve. Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing the first iPad in our school.