The Faculty Moderator has a challenge-swimming in a sea of extracurriculars and sports that are all vying for the attention and participation of students. Everyone of these activities is important, and whether or not the coaches and advisors accept this or not, faculty moderators are better served by doing so because of the uniqueness of their activity. Model UN is not on the top of everyone's list of popular activities, simply because in the great world of student life after school, it is not altogether common to find it in a school. This is changing. The number of model UN programs is increasing, and the honor and distinction they are bringing to schools is garnering more attention.
What follows are some general principles for Faculty Moderators when it comes to representing their program both inside and outside of school. It is by no means complete, and other principles are certainly welcome. Also, any of these principles should be question concerning how applicable it is to certain situations. I do not believe I am hedging my bets here-the attitudes towards extracurriculars across schools is so wide that approaches to dealing all the stakeholders has to be tailored to the setting.
That said, what follows here I think will help new Faculty moderators navigate their first years at the helm of their programs.
Principle # 1: Get Ahead, Stay Ahead
To be successful in any school, any extracurricular advisor builds good relations administration, school secretaries, and the custodial staff. It is a good move at the beginning of the school year to make an appointment principle to review your activities for the year, and solicit any advice they may have in ensuring that these activities run properly. This allows the administration to be in and the activities of your organization in a way that they can handle, and it allows you to gauge the kind of support they will provide you. It is a good idea to review any permission slips you might need for your activities in this meeting so you are made aware of any changes in policy that may have been decided upon by your school committee or the school Board of Trustees.
Make sure you have a similar meeting with any of secretaries need to sign off and process any requests for finances or transportation that need to be processed by the administration or requests for facilities use that you might need. This meeting will establish how much lead time these people need to process all your requests. The more lead time you can give them the better, unless they have a specific calendar they want you to follow. The same is true with the custodial staff- you want to talk to the custodial staff to go over very for any activity, and what type of lead times they will be to set things up for you.
In the case of all three of these groups, building a track record of delivering things the way they want them delivered does three things for you: first of all, it builds a reputation for you and your group based on a respect for what others in the school have to do in order to support your efforts. That respect can help you down the road when something comes up the more immediate action for your activities. Secondly, it allows you to "bird-dog" any requests for facilities funds and transportation that you need. Checking in to see how things are processed can be a source of annoyance for people were perceived as too aggressive about. However, when you're checking in based on system and steady relationship with these staff members, they are more likely than not perceive this as you simply caring about making sure things get done so you can support your students and what you want to do. Finally, you overcome any issues that exist with personalities. All kinds of different characters populated school staff, and some are noticeably easier to get along with others. When you get ahead and stay ahead all these critical of administration issues, make it easier for the tougher personalities to say yes harder for the nastiest personalities to say no.
Finally, involve the students in your organization as much as possible. If you want student to carry the bulk of the leadership, they should understand the responsibilities you have as an adult in the system. Students who appreciate what teachers have to do can become your best representatives in the school culture.
Principle # 2. Communication is the High Ground
Given the large number of extracurricular and athletic activities students participate in, every faculty moderator faces the issue of students who are overbooked bumping up against faculty and coaches to demand their time. The first thing you need to do with your model UN is impress upon them that they must make choices. When you do this, word gets ‘round that this is your attitude, and it removes any onus on you that you are trying to over monopolize the time of your students at the expense of other activities. Follow this up by announcing the staff by some way shape or form what your activities are going to be for the year, preferably setting up your activities on any school calendar for the year that exists online so students, parents, and staff can have access to it. This at least puts you and your students in a position where the school accepts what they are doing, and when the art doing it.
Such a calendar is not something that you drop anyone's head when a conflict arises over an activity. It is designed to show everyone your activity does not exist in a vacuum, or operation some kind of super secret organization within the school. The need for diplomacy arises when schedules such as practices and play rehearsals which are generally not posted at the beginning of school for all players in all seasons are announced. At the beginning of the year, talk to your students about what conflicts they believe might arise between their participation model UN and other activities. Then find the time the first part of the year to talk with the coaches and other extracurricular advisors about what conflicts might arise, and any ways these can conflicts can be resolved. Make no assumptions about who among this group is the toughest to deal with. Most people assume it is coaches, but this is not always the case. You can be assured every actuation to go your way. However, with each passing year, as you build the relationships long-term, you'll be surprised to find how many conflicts concerning student involvement that you can resolve.
Finally, it is good diplomacy to sit down with the school's athletic director go over your schedule activity of activities at the beginning of the year and determine where any conflicts might arise with this for schedule. One note: anytime you can schedule an activity between sports seasons, you increase the chances of participation enormously. You just have to be aware that everyone is probably to try to do the same thing!
Principle # 3: It’s All In How You Say It.
When it comes to the students you are dealing with, you must be very open about embracing principle that active pandemics and behavior come first. Concerns are raised about a certain student in your group by members of your staff, don't take it personally. Work with the staff member to figure out what the problem is and how it can be ameliorated. This further enhances the reputation of your model UN crew as it shows everyone that both you and its members have their priorities in place.
This carries over into any behavior situations you may encounter with a student at a model United Nations conference. If you have concerns about a student's behavior, is it best to approach the faculty moderator and let them know that you do. One of the best ways to do this is to introduce yourself if they don't know you personally, and tell them "I'm keeping an eye on the student because... If this person gives you any problems please let me know." Say this with the kind of assertiveness that shows that you are already are of the situation, and this will reduce everyone's stress level.
It goes without saying that you can have the same conversation with staff members who have concerns about adult behavior in their class. The same line you used with the faculty moderator conference can certainly be used with your staff members, and they will welcome your support.
Principle # 4. The Press is Not Evil
Saying that any time you can get the local newspaper report on your activities, you build better relations with both community here in the school. There are all kinds of opinions in the community about the United Nations, but rarely are there any -ones about stories that show students demonstrating success or stretching their academic activities outside the classroom. One of the great things about model UN is that many of its activities take place on the weekends. Whenever students represent their school in academic activities on a weekend, it brings honor and distinction to the entire school. This, over the long haul, can earn you greater support from the school as you achieve the goals you and your model UN students send themselves.
Principle # 5: Time is on Your Ally
If you keep working Principles 1-4 over a period years, you start to create more space and time for model UN at your school. You become part of the metabolism of the school, not an "add on" that last at the school only as long as you do. Longevity is always an issue with model UN programs, because they often only last as long as their faculty moderator is on staff. This issue aside, if you are at year 5 and you have consistently help to principles 1-4, you may find the school supporting you with flexibility and enthusiasm-and a desire to see your program continue regardless since you and your students have worked so hard to demonstrate its virtues.