Self-Assessment 1
1. What are you most proud of about this conference?
The part of the conference that I am the most proud of personally is the speech that I wrote and presented. I had missed the day that we just worked on our speeches and presenting them so I had to do the whole thing at home. I feel like my speech was strong, really explained a lot of the resolution that I was supporting, and was clear about my countries perspective on the issue. For how much class time I missed for writing this speech, I feel like I did pretty well in meeting the requirements for what this speech was supposed to include.
2. What did you connect with most in this project, and how did that affect your conference performance? (Skill or content)
The part of the project that I connected to the most was probably when we got to debate our countries perspective on the issue. I love debating issues and saying what I think, it seems to come easily to me, even if I am debating a countries issue and not my own. Finding evidence for what I am trying to find a conclusion for is always very interesting to me and really helps me connect with the project and what I am learning or trying to debate.
3. What was the most important thing you learned in this project? Why?
The most important thing I learned during this project was probably how different people and countries points of view can be on certain issues. When we first started this project and talked about the final conference we were going to do, I thought it would be a quick easy thing where one resolution was obvious and every country agreed. But after doing this first conference, I learned that it’s not like that at all. No country had the exact same idea in mind; everything was different whether that was in adding something else to the resolution that wasn’t there, or taking something that they did not like off. Everyone had a different point of view and of what they thought was right and wrong, so I spent all caucus and break time trying to make people see my point of view and vote for the resolution that I wanted. I succeeded with a few countries but a lot were stubborn in what they wanted and what their country wanted, and could not, or did not want to change to a different resolution than they were already voting for. This was the most important thing I learned during this because it really helped me to realize that some people just have different points of view, and have a right to their own point of view. I learned that people are different and you just really have to accept that about them, just like they have to accept that about me or whoever else it is. That was the most important(non-school type) thing I learned during this past conference.
4. If you were a teacher or observer, what would you say about your performance in conference? (Good AND Bad!)
If I were a parent or teacher watching m in this conference I would think that I gave some good points to keep the conference going and bring up new topics that hadn’t been discussed quite yet. I would also think that I used my time well bringing up new points and trying to get other countries to see my point of view. I would have thought I was pretty professional with how I said things and commented on speeches that were made. A few things that I would tell me to change next time would probably to give my countries opinion more often when the actual conference going on not just during break and caucus. All in all I would be fairly happy with what I did, all except that I could have made a few more comments or speeches, and shared what I know I the issue more, and my countries perspective on this particular issue.
5. For our next MUN conference, what would you most want to improve in your performance? How do you plan on doing this?
For the next MUN conference I think that the thing that I would like to improve on the most is talking more and saying my opinions or my countries opinions when I should and when I feel like something should be said. During this last conference there a few times where I wanted to say something but waited to too long to say that thing that I didn’t get the chance to state my countries opinion on the matter. Sometimes I could think of the right thing to say, or just thought too much of when I was going to stand up and actually say something that it got me all nervous and I couldn’t form thoughts to say. During this next conference, I am going to just say the thing that is on my mind as soon as it comes to mind, and not spend all this time just thinking of what or how I should say something. I am going to try to say more of what my country wants in this next issue, and say that whenever there is the need.
6. Did you have a resolution or amendment on the docket? Yes/No
No I did not have a resolution on that docket
7. Did any of your resolutions or amendments pass? Which ones?
I don’t know if my resolution passed because it was not on the docket packet that our conference used.
8. Estimate the total number of:
a. Speeches you made (during substantive debate and formal caucus)
I made one speech; the one we were required to give, before the speakers list was closed.
b. Comments/questions you had
I am not really sure how many comments or questions I had during this conference, it may have been about five or so, I didn’t have as much to say on this issue. I know that through all the unmoderated caucuses, I spent the whole time talking and trying to get countries over to my side, and succeeded in doing that with around five countries.
MUN Conference 2 Self-Assessment
1. How has your perspective changed (on the UN, the world, or the Middle East) based on this project?
Before we did this second MUN project, I didn’t really know anything about the nuclear issue with Iran. This project really helped me to become interested in world news and made me want to know everything going on with the U.S. and many other countries around the world including the UN. Another thing, I did not know what the ‘UN’ was before this project. I had heard the term before but never knew what it stood for and diffidently didn’t know what it was. This MUN project helped me to learn so much more about the UN and really learn what it is. But specifically this second MUN conference, taught me about how delicate the situation with Iran really is. While writing resolutions, I didn’t get that every single aspect of a resolution had to be equal and very well thought out. During the actual conference Iran wanted their rights as well as anyone else, they wanted amendments made to ensure they did have their rights, and Iran would not agree to any resolution that was bias against them. Every part of the resolution had to be carefully thought out so that no country was offended or felt not as important, because that can lead to war, or many other bad things if a country feels they are not getting the special attention they think they need. I just learned a lot about current events, and this project really helped me get interested in things happening around the world.
2. Look at what you needed to improve on from your last reflection and discuss how you improved for this conference.
From my last reflection, I decided that I should comment more on speeches and everything that was said. Last time I felt like there were a lot of times that my countries opinion was left unstated because I waited too long to comment or couldn’t think of the right thing to say at the time. This time, I really made it a priority to fight for what my country wanted and really stay in the UK’s opinion. The result of that was, whenever Iran, or a country really in favor of Iran said something about how they should get to do whatever they wanted and shouldn’t have to listen to anyone. Or anything that would go against what my country was thinking on the issue, I would stand up and contradict what they were saying. For example one time Iran stood up and made the point that they didn’t want to spend money on getting other power sources, so I stood up and made the contradiction that if they stopped using nuclear energy, all the money they spend on power plants, could be spent on these new power sources and they would have enough money because they are already spending so much on the nuclear plants, so they would have enough money to pay for cheaper power sources. Just a lot of things like that, and in my countries perspective, just doing everything I can to keep Iran from getting their way, and constantly saying everything in support of France, China, UK, and many other countries of the UN, that were against what Iran thought.
3. If we did yet at third conference, what would you most need to improve on from this conference?
If we chose to do a third conference, I think that I would most like to improve on making more speeches. During this last conference I only made one speech, I think that speech was good and proved my point, but throughout the conference, other views and issues came up, and I commented on them to put In my countries opinion, but I feel like I could have gone up and made another speech summing everything I said up, and also just to reinstate everything that had been said. So that was probably the only thing that I could have done better, I was nervous when I stood up a few times so it was hard to get words out but I don’t think I could really fix that specifically, just practice and experience can help me with that.
4. Give yourself a grade for the following categories and explain why that is the grade you deserve:
· Overall diplomacy, professionalism, and engagement in the conference?
For overall diplomacy, professionalism, and engagement in this last conference, I would give myself an ‘A’ because I was engaged throughout the whole conference and never spaced out but was always listening and taking notes on what was being said. Whenever I stood up I always knew what I was going to say and I acted professionally throughout the whole conference. Afterwards, my dad came up to me and told me that a lot of parents had come up to him and told him that I did a very good job all throughout the conference and acted very professional throughout the conference as well. Also, diplomacy, as I said before, every time something was said that wasn’t what my country wanted, I would stand up and state my countries opinion and try to contradict Iran and any countries in favor of Iran, and them getting to do whatever they want.
· Speeches?
In my speech I would give myself a ‘B’ish. I feel like it was pretty good, but I could have covered a few more topics and maybe made it a bit more to the point. I liked it, but I just feel like it wasn’t to the best of my ability. I don’t feel like it was bad or anything, just that I could have done a bit better for how big of a conference it was and for what I was trying to prove, and make people agree and go for.
· Caucusing?
For caucusing, I think that I did a pretty good job so I would give myself a, ‘A-‘ I motioned for a caucus to happen and during a few I called all the security council members to talk just us and figure who was going to veto what so we could all come to an agreement. I was constantly saying the UK’s opinion and what we wanted. I think that I used good communication throughout most of the caucus time. I also spent a lot of the time convincing Iran and a lot of countries with Iran such as Syria, to vote for resolution 2E, which is the resolution that I, in the end, decided to vote for and try to get everyone else to do the same. However, I mostly stayed to one group of people trying to convince them to what my opinion was. There were, however, about eight to ten countries that were voting for Resolution 2B, I didn’t ever go over to them to try and get them to agree with the resolution I was voting for, and they were just kind of left there with each other and all decided to vote for 2B. Even though everyone voted for 2E in the end, I still feel like I could have gone over and really asked about what they were thinking, and maybe tried to get them to see my, France, China, and a lot of other countries points of view.
· Comments?
For overall comments I would give myself a ‘B+ to an A ‘or so. I made about 20 comments during the whole conference, but sometimes I had a hard time getting words out because I was so nervous. I feel like I could have proven a few more points if I had been able to say things a bit better and not stumbled around so many words. If I could have been a bit clearer, I could have been more convincing I think. But there were a lot of comments that I think I said clearly and made an impression because no one contradicted me after those, and looked like they were agreeing with what I had said. But as I said every time something was said that my country would not like, I would always step in and do my best to turn everyone back around to my point of view.
1. What are you most proud of about this conference?
The part of the conference that I am the most proud of personally is the speech that I wrote and presented. I had missed the day that we just worked on our speeches and presenting them so I had to do the whole thing at home. I feel like my speech was strong, really explained a lot of the resolution that I was supporting, and was clear about my countries perspective on the issue. For how much class time I missed for writing this speech, I feel like I did pretty well in meeting the requirements for what this speech was supposed to include.
2. What did you connect with most in this project, and how did that affect your conference performance? (Skill or content)
The part of the project that I connected to the most was probably when we got to debate our countries perspective on the issue. I love debating issues and saying what I think, it seems to come easily to me, even if I am debating a countries issue and not my own. Finding evidence for what I am trying to find a conclusion for is always very interesting to me and really helps me connect with the project and what I am learning or trying to debate.
3. What was the most important thing you learned in this project? Why?
The most important thing I learned during this project was probably how different people and countries points of view can be on certain issues. When we first started this project and talked about the final conference we were going to do, I thought it would be a quick easy thing where one resolution was obvious and every country agreed. But after doing this first conference, I learned that it’s not like that at all. No country had the exact same idea in mind; everything was different whether that was in adding something else to the resolution that wasn’t there, or taking something that they did not like off. Everyone had a different point of view and of what they thought was right and wrong, so I spent all caucus and break time trying to make people see my point of view and vote for the resolution that I wanted. I succeeded with a few countries but a lot were stubborn in what they wanted and what their country wanted, and could not, or did not want to change to a different resolution than they were already voting for. This was the most important thing I learned during this because it really helped me to realize that some people just have different points of view, and have a right to their own point of view. I learned that people are different and you just really have to accept that about them, just like they have to accept that about me or whoever else it is. That was the most important(non-school type) thing I learned during this past conference.
4. If you were a teacher or observer, what would you say about your performance in conference? (Good AND Bad!)
If I were a parent or teacher watching m in this conference I would think that I gave some good points to keep the conference going and bring up new topics that hadn’t been discussed quite yet. I would also think that I used my time well bringing up new points and trying to get other countries to see my point of view. I would have thought I was pretty professional with how I said things and commented on speeches that were made. A few things that I would tell me to change next time would probably to give my countries opinion more often when the actual conference going on not just during break and caucus. All in all I would be fairly happy with what I did, all except that I could have made a few more comments or speeches, and shared what I know I the issue more, and my countries perspective on this particular issue.
5. For our next MUN conference, what would you most want to improve in your performance? How do you plan on doing this?
For the next MUN conference I think that the thing that I would like to improve on the most is talking more and saying my opinions or my countries opinions when I should and when I feel like something should be said. During this last conference there a few times where I wanted to say something but waited to too long to say that thing that I didn’t get the chance to state my countries opinion on the matter. Sometimes I could think of the right thing to say, or just thought too much of when I was going to stand up and actually say something that it got me all nervous and I couldn’t form thoughts to say. During this next conference, I am going to just say the thing that is on my mind as soon as it comes to mind, and not spend all this time just thinking of what or how I should say something. I am going to try to say more of what my country wants in this next issue, and say that whenever there is the need.
6. Did you have a resolution or amendment on the docket? Yes/No
No I did not have a resolution on that docket
7. Did any of your resolutions or amendments pass? Which ones?
I don’t know if my resolution passed because it was not on the docket packet that our conference used.
8. Estimate the total number of:
a. Speeches you made (during substantive debate and formal caucus)
I made one speech; the one we were required to give, before the speakers list was closed.
b. Comments/questions you had
I am not really sure how many comments or questions I had during this conference, it may have been about five or so, I didn’t have as much to say on this issue. I know that through all the unmoderated caucuses, I spent the whole time talking and trying to get countries over to my side, and succeeded in doing that with around five countries.
MUN Conference 2 Self-Assessment
1. How has your perspective changed (on the UN, the world, or the Middle East) based on this project?
Before we did this second MUN project, I didn’t really know anything about the nuclear issue with Iran. This project really helped me to become interested in world news and made me want to know everything going on with the U.S. and many other countries around the world including the UN. Another thing, I did not know what the ‘UN’ was before this project. I had heard the term before but never knew what it stood for and diffidently didn’t know what it was. This MUN project helped me to learn so much more about the UN and really learn what it is. But specifically this second MUN conference, taught me about how delicate the situation with Iran really is. While writing resolutions, I didn’t get that every single aspect of a resolution had to be equal and very well thought out. During the actual conference Iran wanted their rights as well as anyone else, they wanted amendments made to ensure they did have their rights, and Iran would not agree to any resolution that was bias against them. Every part of the resolution had to be carefully thought out so that no country was offended or felt not as important, because that can lead to war, or many other bad things if a country feels they are not getting the special attention they think they need. I just learned a lot about current events, and this project really helped me get interested in things happening around the world.
2. Look at what you needed to improve on from your last reflection and discuss how you improved for this conference.
From my last reflection, I decided that I should comment more on speeches and everything that was said. Last time I felt like there were a lot of times that my countries opinion was left unstated because I waited too long to comment or couldn’t think of the right thing to say at the time. This time, I really made it a priority to fight for what my country wanted and really stay in the UK’s opinion. The result of that was, whenever Iran, or a country really in favor of Iran said something about how they should get to do whatever they wanted and shouldn’t have to listen to anyone. Or anything that would go against what my country was thinking on the issue, I would stand up and contradict what they were saying. For example one time Iran stood up and made the point that they didn’t want to spend money on getting other power sources, so I stood up and made the contradiction that if they stopped using nuclear energy, all the money they spend on power plants, could be spent on these new power sources and they would have enough money because they are already spending so much on the nuclear plants, so they would have enough money to pay for cheaper power sources. Just a lot of things like that, and in my countries perspective, just doing everything I can to keep Iran from getting their way, and constantly saying everything in support of France, China, UK, and many other countries of the UN, that were against what Iran thought.
3. If we did yet at third conference, what would you most need to improve on from this conference?
If we chose to do a third conference, I think that I would most like to improve on making more speeches. During this last conference I only made one speech, I think that speech was good and proved my point, but throughout the conference, other views and issues came up, and I commented on them to put In my countries opinion, but I feel like I could have gone up and made another speech summing everything I said up, and also just to reinstate everything that had been said. So that was probably the only thing that I could have done better, I was nervous when I stood up a few times so it was hard to get words out but I don’t think I could really fix that specifically, just practice and experience can help me with that.
4. Give yourself a grade for the following categories and explain why that is the grade you deserve:
· Overall diplomacy, professionalism, and engagement in the conference?
For overall diplomacy, professionalism, and engagement in this last conference, I would give myself an ‘A’ because I was engaged throughout the whole conference and never spaced out but was always listening and taking notes on what was being said. Whenever I stood up I always knew what I was going to say and I acted professionally throughout the whole conference. Afterwards, my dad came up to me and told me that a lot of parents had come up to him and told him that I did a very good job all throughout the conference and acted very professional throughout the conference as well. Also, diplomacy, as I said before, every time something was said that wasn’t what my country wanted, I would stand up and state my countries opinion and try to contradict Iran and any countries in favor of Iran, and them getting to do whatever they want.
· Speeches?
In my speech I would give myself a ‘B’ish. I feel like it was pretty good, but I could have covered a few more topics and maybe made it a bit more to the point. I liked it, but I just feel like it wasn’t to the best of my ability. I don’t feel like it was bad or anything, just that I could have done a bit better for how big of a conference it was and for what I was trying to prove, and make people agree and go for.
· Caucusing?
For caucusing, I think that I did a pretty good job so I would give myself a, ‘A-‘ I motioned for a caucus to happen and during a few I called all the security council members to talk just us and figure who was going to veto what so we could all come to an agreement. I was constantly saying the UK’s opinion and what we wanted. I think that I used good communication throughout most of the caucus time. I also spent a lot of the time convincing Iran and a lot of countries with Iran such as Syria, to vote for resolution 2E, which is the resolution that I, in the end, decided to vote for and try to get everyone else to do the same. However, I mostly stayed to one group of people trying to convince them to what my opinion was. There were, however, about eight to ten countries that were voting for Resolution 2B, I didn’t ever go over to them to try and get them to agree with the resolution I was voting for, and they were just kind of left there with each other and all decided to vote for 2B. Even though everyone voted for 2E in the end, I still feel like I could have gone over and really asked about what they were thinking, and maybe tried to get them to see my, France, China, and a lot of other countries points of view.
· Comments?
For overall comments I would give myself a ‘B+ to an A ‘or so. I made about 20 comments during the whole conference, but sometimes I had a hard time getting words out because I was so nervous. I feel like I could have proven a few more points if I had been able to say things a bit better and not stumbled around so many words. If I could have been a bit clearer, I could have been more convincing I think. But there were a lot of comments that I think I said clearly and made an impression because no one contradicted me after those, and looked like they were agreeing with what I had said. But as I said every time something was said that my country would not like, I would always step in and do my best to turn everyone back around to my point of view.