Celebrating National Doctors' Day in Room 6

During the week before Spring Break, students in WMS's Middle School Program, along with sixth-graders from the 9-12 Program, traveled to New York City to participate in the Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) conference. Rooted in Maria Montessori’s strong belief in peace education, the MMUN program brings students from around the world together to learn about the United Nations and its role as the world’s largest international peacekeeping and humanitarian organization. 

The students' work began over the summer, as they researched the history of the United Nations and its role in today's world. In the fall, they selected delegation countries and began to research global topics from the perspective of those countries. After completing their research, each student - or “delegate” - wrote a paper proposing a solution for their topic. For example, if the topic was nuclear disarmament and the country’s stance was against nuclear proliferation, the proposal might address how countries can work together to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and encourage other countries not to pursue them. The students then summarized their position papers in opening speeches, which were presented to committees at the beginning of the conference. Following the speeches, the delegates spent hours in negotiations within their committees, learning about cooperation and the art of compromise. Delegates collaborated to reach acceptable solutions in line with the positions of the countries they represented. The goal for each committee was to arrive at a single solution for each of their topics, and for those solutions to be voted on by each member country in consensus.