United Nations Summit
The United Nations (U.N.) Summit is an annual event at Mill Pond School in Westborough, MA involving a team of approximately 100 sixth graders. It is the culmination of the team’s year-long interdisciplinary study of world geography, service learning, and character education. At the U.N. Summit, students play the role of important historic or contemporary “persons of character.” These characters represent diverse cultures and viewpoints from around the world. For instance, past “guests” have included Mahatma Gandhi, Chico Mendes, and Eleanor Roosevelt. The centerpiece of the day involves students working in roundtable teams to craft U.N. style resolutions about a pressing world issues such as world hunger, global climate change, and women’s and children’s rights. In addition to the writing of resolutions, the day also includes a school-wide character parade and a press conference to share outcomes and celebrate service learning projects. The U.N. Summit contributes to character education efforts at Mill Pond School by helping students to engage as empathetic global citizens, to recognize the interconnectedness of world issues, to explore our basic human rights and responsibilities, to consider moral issues from various perspectives, and to empower themselves and others through direct action and service learning.