UN Day- Blog Reflection

1. Give a brief description of UN Day and the activities you undertook.

RLA: In RLA we had these two amazing poets come in and share with us some of their knowledge. They taught us quite a lot about themselves as writers and taught us some tips and advice when writing poetry. Then they taught us about P.I.P.E.S. which stands for projection, inflection, practice, eye contact, and stance. The next day we had a large poetry reading in the library. In this poetry reading we got to put our names into a ballot box where the poets would call out our names and then we would be able to recite one piece of poetry that we wrote to all our peers, teachers, and our guest poets.

Math: In math we did a lot of logical and debatable reasoning and discussing. So one thing that we did was playing the role of hospital in a country where liver transplants were needed and were very rare to get, so we had to pick out of 10 people which 4 we would save. To decide which people to save we had to think of the important factors such as age, importance, role, money, etc. The next thing we did was model people in the UN who represent different countries. Based on our countries per family monthly income we would debate over food, shelter, and medical care. The country that debated for the most money would win the basic needs debated on, but we soon came to the decision that this was unfair. It was unfair because some countries weren’t as fortunate so they weren’t getting anything, so then we came up with an agreement that suited most of the countries.

PE: With a partner or alone we carried different sizes of buckets around the track for two laps. This was to stimulate how people in poor countries who didn’t have access to clean water nearby had to walk long and tiring journeys just so that they would be able to survive. They needed to take 10 mile walks at the most just to get something that we all take for granted- water. This was a very tiring experience and it made my arm, back, and legs hurt. It was also very hard to walk without spilling any water under the hot sun.

Science: In science we the most interesting game which actually had a lot of meaning hidden behind it. In this game we were split up by sides and needed to get a source of food, water, and medical aid. We had a box that needed to be filled with rice grains to symbolize food, another box that needed to be filled with water to symbolize water, and a box that needed to be filled with 20 ribbon to symbolize medical aid. We had to in pairs had to run into science rooms to get these supplies and the quickest team to get them won. But what we realized was that the game was also unfair. A side was closer than any side to all the facilities, the teachers were helping them, and they had bigger spoons and cups to get water and food with. This conveyed what different countries were going through and how sometimes things can be unjust. In developing countries things are harder to get and sometimes resources are limited, but in more developed countries they have more advantages and they can get their basic needs.

Food Festival: All of the students brought in food that was connected with a country that they felt was important to them. Then they brought it to the cafeteria where we had 3 tables of a variety of food. Then for lunch we got to experience different kinds of food from around the world.

2. Choose two questions from the list below to answer thoroughly, using descriptions and detail.

• Did you learn a new skill or discover an interest during UN Day?

A new interest that I have discovered was debating with reasoning and learning about how the UN works. We participated in this activity in Math class and I really enjoyed it. I loved how we got to debate with other students in the class over who to give a liver transplant to so that they could survive. I like understanding about the individuals could and have affected the country and their contributions to the development of the country. I also liked the idea of being a country in the UN and having a certain amount of money and coming up with solutions to fix the unjust. This stimulation was very real because we even learnt that the countries who have seemed to won world war II had more power over voting and the decisions that were made.

• During UN Day, did you hear, smell, or feel anything that surprised you?

I felt a lot of unjust, unfairness, and sorrow during UN Day. When we were stimulating the game in science of getting our basic needs I felt as if we were being cheated. As if something wasn’t right and some countries (sides) were being treated differently because of different circumstances. I also felt really fortunate and sad for the people who carry these huge buckets of water for long distances underneath the hot sun. This taught me not to take water and my life for granted. Also in math I felt kind of bad for the groups who were poor countries and didn’t have a lot of money. They really didn’t have any choice and they couldn’t do anything about their situation. This got me to thinking about how the UN has a very important purpose to make things as fair as possible.

• How was your UN Day experience different from what you expected?

I thought that the UN day was like what we did in elementary school. I thought that we would learn about all the different cultures in the world and do activities based on those cultures. But actually this experience was actually much funner and more engaging. It taught us something different about the world and gave us a new perspective on life. This was a very engaging day as it was something new. Most of us who have been at SAS for a long time are used to the normal UN day but this was different and funner. I also really liked how the activities that we did were not only entertaining but also taught us a lot through them.  

• What do you view differently now because of your experiences during UN Day?

I view the difference between developing, almost developed, and developed countries differently and how important the UN is. I already knew that there was a difference between the amount of money the countries made and the difference between the qualities of life. I already know that the UN helps countries with their issues and solves problems. But now I realize that the countries maybe just needed some help, maybe they felt as if they weren’t being treated fairly. Maybe they just needed that little boost that advantage. If that wasn’t possible then maybe they just needed an agreement something that sets them the same as other countries something that makes them equal. And that’s why they have the UN, to solve problems, come up with solutions, make things fair and right.

3. Choose 1 question from the list below to answer thoroughly, using descriptions and detail.

• If you could do UN Day again, what would you do the same or differently?

If I were to change anything about UN day I would change the RLA and PE activities. I’m not sure if the RLA activity was because of the authors or if it had to do with UN day for a reason. Maybe we could have a more related activity which helps teach us about the UN and the countries around the world. Maybe the activity was connected through public speaking in the UN, I’m not sure, so maybe they could have explained that. Also in PE some people were spilling 3/4 of the water out of their buckets so that the bucket would be lighter and easier for them to run around the track with twice. I thought that this was very bad and it just defeated the whole purpose of doing the activity. If the people weren’t giving it their all then why even bother, they wouldn’t have really understood what the less fortunate people were going through.