Global Citizens in Training

Plainview, N.Y. —Recently, 41 students from Howard B. Mattlin Middle School in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District took a trip to the United Nations with their teachers, Mrs. Engel and Ms. Winick as a part of the 5th Grade Project Challenge Program. The goal of the visit was to learn about the work being done at the United Nations and how students can take action to help their mission. To get ready for their trip, students prepared by researching and learning about the history of the UN, the main organs in the organization, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals initiative (SDG.)

Arriving at the UN, students first saw over 193 country flags on permanent display in the UN’s plaza. Entering the UN’s breezeway, the students were greeted by art and sculpture, including an enormous sidewalk graphic explaining each of the 17 SDG; the famous Knotted Gun, a non-violence sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd; and the Sphere within a Sphere by Arnaldo Pomodoro, given to the UN by Italy.

When students were done exploring the outside grounds, they toured the building itself and other various exhibits in small groups. The tour guides were from different countries such as Germany, Turkey, Korea and China. Each of the tour guides, before beginning their tour, explained to the students their personal stories and discussed how they started working at the UN. Students learned about initiatives like UNICEF’s School in a Box Project and even saw the Declaration of Human Rights original artwork.

The last stop of the day was the General Assembly space--the only room large enough to hold all the diplomats from all 193 member countries. As a group, students and teachers took seats in the visitors section of the room, looked around and imagined what it would be like to work together with other countries to solve world problems. When the tour ended, the group participated in a UN briefing with a diplomat who spoke with them about the worldwide water scarcity crisis.

For all the students, the day was awe-inspiring, educational and a day to share a wonderful experience together. As one of the students noted, they all came away from the day feeling better prepared to be global citizens working to help make the world a better place for all of us.

For more information about the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District, please visit the District’s website at www.pobschools.org. Happenings in the District can also be followed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pobschools.