Prairie School seventh-grader Kathryn Shoemaker already has the savvy of a seasoned diplomat.

“If kids are dying in the deserts we can use it,” she said, representing the country of Sudan.

Shoemaker was one of 22 rural northern Colorado students who got the chance to experience world politics Friday in the comfort of a classroom. Ten students from Platte Valley Middle School and 12 from Prairie School out of New Raymer gathered at the Kersey school to practice their debate and diplomatic skills by representing 20 different United Nations countries in the first Model UN conference at the school.

The idea for this meeting of delegates began with Katie Lucotch, a social studies teacher at Platte Valley, who wanted to get the students to think critically and become more aware of global issues. She turned her former college professor, Karen Adams, who teaches international relations and political science at the University of Montana, to plan the conference.

Platte Valley eighth-grader Logan Widick would become the catalyst that Lucotch needed to help her conference take off. He had approached Lucotch about wanting to start a debate club. Lucotch proposed the Model UN conference as an alternative.

The students chose a country and had to argue that country’s political stance on two issues: protecting and promoting the rights of children and deserts and desertification, which is the growing issue of arid areas losing wildlife and bodies of water due to climate change and human impact.

Shoemaker came up with the idea of using the funds provided by wealthier nations, which were dedicated to protecting children’s rights, to combat desertification. If children were being directly affected by the changing climate, and it’s ties to desertification then they could use the funds to also fight against desertification, she said.

Widick ended up representing North Korea, which was not his first choice.

“The most difficult thing is trying to say that North Korea is making things better when they’re actually getting worse,” Widick said. “They don’t really have deserts there, but it is better than arguing for children’s rights.”

Karen Newens, a language arts teacher at Platte Valley, helped Lucotch and the students with organizing the event, as well as writing papers during the conference. The students researched their country’s stance on the two issues and had to come up with resolutions during several unmoderated caucuses during the five-hour event.

Lucotch and Newens hope to hold other Model UN conferences in the future for other classes. They said the sessions help students learn more about the world around them and develop important social skills.

“More important than politics, I think it is more about the human skills of working together and compromising,” Newens said.


​*For original version published in the Greeley Tribune click HERE

Platte Valley Middle School hosts ever Model UN conference