Monthly Archives: February 2011

Pre- Model ASEAN Weekend Updates and FAQs

Posted by mbsperez on

A lot of questions have been asked and many clarifications have been made over the past week. This post summarizes a lot of the major points I need to reiterate to everyone before Model ASEAN begins on Monday. Moreover, I reveal exactly how I’ll be grading your resolutions at the end and what the basis of your failure or success as a class will be.

I’ll begin by saying a few things to each role.

FOR THE ASEAN MEMBERS (also called the ASEAN 10)

  • Never forget that you are at the center of the forum. Only you have speaking rights. Only you have voting rights. Only you can chair an official caucus. This forum exists to address the needs of the ASEAN member countries first and foremost.
  • Your objective is to come up with three major declarations for each of the three major issues. (Read on later to see what happened to resolutions.) Here is an example of a declaration relating to resource management – The ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks. It follows the standard UN format for resolutions.
  • In relating with dialogue partners (including China, Japan, SoKor), always remember that they are there to assist ASEAN. China, Japan, and South Korea specifically play a larger role due to their regional proximity.
  • Always remember that the ASEAN is founded on two principles: non-interference and consensus-building. Policies and resolutions that interfere in the affairs of individual states and was arrived at without consulting the ASEAN members should have zero chance of passing into a declaration (read on).

FOR CHINA, JAPAN, AND SOUTH KOREA (also called the Plus 3)

  • You are considered the plus three because of your geographic proximity to ASEAN. Due to this proximity, you share closer economic and political ties to Southeast Asia in comparison to other dialogue partners such as the United States and the European Union.
  • As good partners to ASEAN, you abide by their principles and purposes. You too believe in non-interference and consensus-building. Your involvement in Southeast Asia revolves primarily around trade; you’re there to help the Southeast Asian countries develop.
  • In terms of political interference, you know that ASEAN will never support you in waging war or inciting conflict. Nonetheless, ASEAN can serve as an excellent partner in maintaining peace throughout the region by promoting dialogue and diplomacy.
  • You are guests in the ASEAN forum. You do not have the same rights, responsibilities, and privileges accorded to the ten ASEAN member states. Nonetheless, you have one advantage over the other dialogue partners: you can be given a privilege speech anytime by the ASEAN Chairman. This will just have to be programmed in, most probably during the formal debates.
  • While you don’t have voting rights, you can influence the ASEAN countries in such a way that they will file a resolution or sign a declaration that serves your interests.

FOR THE DIALOGUE PARTNERS

  • Your primary goal is to develop closer ties with the ASEAN countries in order pursue your national interest. Hence, the major involvement of most dialogue partners will be through trade. (This is the default economic goal for many dialogue partners.)
  • At the onset of the forum, you don’t have speaking rights. Nonetheless, you can be given the right to speak by an ASEAN country who will host you in the forum. (Consult the protocol guide on how to do this.)
  • While you don’t have voting rights, you can influence the ASEAN countries in such a way that they will file a resolution or sign a declaration that serves your interests.
  • Some dialogue partners are in conflicts with other countries. In a lot of these cases, they’ll need either the ASEAN or a specific Southeast Asian countries to help mediate and help resolve the conflict. For example, Filipino diplomats have been so valuable in the peace talks between North and South Korea. We were counted on as an objective, uninvolved third party.

FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

  • You behave very similarly to the dialogue partners (see above), except you don’t have speaking rights at all.
  • While you don’t have voting rights, you can influence the ASEAN countries in such a way that they will file a resolution or sign a declaration that serves your interests.
  • While you don’t have speaking rights, you can influence an ASEAN country or a dialogue partner to say something on your behalf. For example, Freedom House can provide data to America and convince him to speak about corruption and democracy in Southeast Asia.
  • Your influence comes in most strongly during the caucuses. You will be the primary source of facts and resources which the ASEAN members will need when writing their resolutions and declarations.
  • It is expected that in preambalatory clauses, the ASEAN says something like “Recognizing that X number of children are malnourished according to data published by UNICEF…”
  • For the development banks, only entertain funding requests from the ASEAN members. This is not a UN forum. :)

FOR THE ASEAN SECRETARIAT (Sec-Gen, Deputy, Chairman)

  • I am putting my complete trust in you guys. Know the rules (as best you can) but feel free to improvise since you know your class best. The line we never cross is to violate the spirit of non-interference and consensus espoused in the ASEAN Charter.
  • Sec-Gen, I expect you to retain order and protocol at all times especially when we are in plenary (any session when everyone is just in one room and not moving around). Moreover, you are the chief negotiator and diplomat between the ASEAN and its various dialogue partners.
  • Deputy, I expect you to be meticulous and detailed when it comes to recording attendance, marking working papers, and numbering draft resolutions. While I did not elaborate on the last two items, I believe the objective is clear. I will leave you to develop your own system. Moreover, you are also the chief coordinator between the ASEAN, its different caucuses, and the international organizations. You are to make sure that everyone belongs in a caucus.
  • Chairman, I expect you to be able to bring the ASEAN members together and keep them focused on your priorities. (You’ll talk about this in the first day.) You will work together with the Sec-Gen to ensure that the objectives of the ASEAN are being met by the caucuses, the dialogue partners, and the plus three. You can also give privilege speech rights to China, Japan, and South Korea as you see fit. You may also appoint a Deputy Chairman to help you out.

WHAT MY ROLE WILL BE

  • I’ll remain in the background most of the time (like the Middle East Summit). The less I interfere, the better your class is doing.
  • Nonetheless, I’ll keep myself available as a resource person in case there is a confusion over rules, or clarifications need to be made on how to write resolutions. I can help you write and phrase your documents well.
  • In the event the activity gets out of hand, I reserve the right to suspend the activity. This will penalize the class however, with a -10 in their quizzes for each time I suspend it.
  • On the last day, I will listen to your three declarations, grade the class, and provide my feedback.

HOW YOU WILL BE GRADED

  • You may have noticed that I’ve introduced the term declaration up above. I have decided to introduce this term to simulate ASEAN even more closely and distinguish between various kinds of resolutions.
  • A declaration is written the exact same way as a resolution. The key difference is that it passes with all ten (10) votes and is signed by the 10 ASEAN members. There will still be voting, but it is just ceremonial. Everyone should vote yes.
  • However, there are even more types now. Take a look at the table below:

That’s it for today’s update. If you have more questions, ask them now and I’ll see if I can write a part two of this.

Pre-ASEAN Papers EXTENDED until 12nn of Feb 26, Saturday!

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My dear students,

I hope this will be good news. :)

I know how tough this week is going to be for a lot of you. LT#2 wasn’t the easiest to prepare for, and now we have the Pre-ASEAN papers to submit within this week. I’ve thought about this announcement well, and I have decided to extend the deadline to Saturday, February 26, 12 noon. I do so for the primary reason:

A lot still want to consult and show me drafts. I want to welcome it. I’ll be entertaining your questions and consultations until the evening of Friday. The best mode is e-mail. Attach your draft already so I can see what you’re doing. If you’re online we can chat about it.

Just follow these instructions when you e-mail:

Other notes:

1. This extension applies to everyone: ASEAN+3, Dialog Partners, IOs, and ASEAN Secretariat.

2. To be fair to those who have been working towards Feb 24, I’ll be giving a +0.1 extra credit per day starting February 23 (Wednesday). But do make most of the new time frame to polish your work. (Credit is counted only once you turn in your FINAL paper.)

3. There will be a severe penalty for late submissions given the extension I’ve already given. It’s going to be one letter down per day late. (One letter down means an A+ will now just be a B+.) ‘One day late’ starts after 12nn of Saturday.

4. E-mail your paper to your Sec-Gen, Deputy, and ASEAN Chair as well. Put them in the CC field.

5. For IOs, it is understood that the paper you submit on Feb 26 is really just Draft 1. (Draft 2 will be after the Model ASEAN.)

4Q LT#1 Scores (Middle East Summit)

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These are the final scores for the Middle East Summit. 1A was the country profile, 1B was the post-summit paper. Each comprises 50% of LT#1. The column in orange is the grade that goes into the record. For all sections except Champaca, it includes the one-step up bonus from after the summits. As agreed with the class, I’ll implement Champaca’s after they impress me in their Model ASEAN. Good luck to everyone tomorrow!

Post-summit break down will be e-mailed to you within the week.

Notes from The Bunker

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Let’s see how many people pay attention to this blog without Facebook or Yahoo updates. It’s Sunday morning and I think I deserve a little sunshine. Here are some things running through my head at this point.

1. I’m amused with how students have described my handling of the Middle East Summit. One called me The Buddha leading his students to enlightenment. Another called me The Joker for conducting a nasty sociological experiment. But my favorite has to be the one who described me on that morning of Win As Much As You Can as the big bad from Saw (the slasher flick). Welcome kiddies to my house of horrors.

2. Average grade of the post-summits so far is 3.33 or B. Only one person has gotten an ‘S’ so far.

3. Almost everyone underestimated #2. It’s 2.4 point credits (compared to the 1.6 of #1) and thus required much more rigor and industry to answer. I’ve given zeros and 0.5s for #2.

4. You can’t fool me with a long #1. Entries that got too long, rambly and ‘livejournal-y’ wouldn’t get perfect unless they were deep, profound, and insightful too. I’ll respect rants, but if I don’t see a point to it then you don’t get the grade either. There’s a big difference between someone who just rants and someone who actually gets around to answering the question.

5. I’m more than halfway done! I’m currently finishing up one section, and I’ll have a quick Sunday weekend, work on the long test tomorrow, and wrap up the remaining papers.

What to expect with the LT next week

Posted by mbsperez on

The LT will be on the first meeting next week. That’s final.

Here’s what to expect:

  • Labeling and identifying Southeast Asian countries, capitals, cities and regions
  • Fill in the blanks for the ASEAN Charter (coverage: The Preamble, Articles 1-7, 11, 31-46)
  • Modified True or False for the Special Reading

CLOSED NOTES AND TEXTS. Good luck!

13ATCH NIGHT coming on March 11-12

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Dear Batch 2013,

Your second year in high school is almost over. You’ve done pretty good work through these past nine months and I’m glad to see how far everyone has gone! It is because of this, initially, that the plan was to reward everyone with the SophNight. But plans change, and for you guys I want to have something a bit bigger.

Hence, the Batch Night on March 11 to 12 here on the PSHS grounds. It’s not exactly the party some of you may have been thinking (there will be time for parties in the future), but what we have in store for you is something more.

It’s about each and everyone of you. Over the past months, your teachers and I have grown impressed with how strong the individual sections have become. It has also been endearing to see how you’ve held on to your first year friends as you expanded your circle with your classmates this year. But we really haven’t had the time to reach across classrooms and get to know each other. There are so many awesome people in the batch who don’t know each other just yet. And so for our finale, we will fix exactly that.

The Batch Night is going to be an EPIC night. You’ll get to do things you’ve never done before while meeting people you’ve only glimpsed at while walking across the hall. From 6pm, we’ll have a series of activities for everyone to enjoy. At midnight, we’ll have the Batch Bonfire which is sure to spark a new tradition. From then until early morning, we’ll have a Movie Marathon for those who don’t want to sleep (complete with popcorn and cotton candy). And in the morning we’ll have The Batchies, an awards special where you’ll get to nominate your friends for one-of-a-kind awards like Crammer of the Year, The Zuckerburg Cup, Most-Likely-to-Blow-Up-the-Middle-East, and many, many more. As I said, epic awesome.

So clearly we have something special. Moreover, it’s going to be something meaningful. Over the past weeks I’ve spoken to some of you who told me in confidence that they really wouldn’t go to the SophNight if it wasn’t required. That bummed me out, and I started thinking that I think we’ve got it the other way around. As a batch we should have an activity everyone will go to, and something I can meaningfully require.

Yes, attendance to this activity will be a clearance requirement from me, the Batch Adviser. If you will not be able to go for some reason or another, explain to me in person. In exchange for missing out on this activity, expect that I’ll require you to help out in a fun run activity that the Executive PTA is organizing for the morning of March 19 and a major AKSIS project I have on the evening of that same day. And though I’ll require this activity, we’ll remain true to the biggest promise we’ve made since the start — you won’t have to pay a single peso to join. Just support the Batch Baller we’re having soon, and we’ll be fine.

I hope this announcement surprised you. It wasn’t in the cards, but I too have been very excited in the past few days as things quickly came together. This project will happen thanks to everyone: your Batch Council, your teachers, your parents, your administrators, your guidance counselors, and even some of your schoolmates from the upper years who’ll help me out. All I ask is that we see you there, come with an open mind, and above all, have a good time.

The formal letter of invitation, list of things to bring, and other logistical stuff will all follow soon. But begin your countdown now. Once March comes around, just remember: 11, 12, for 2013. See you all!

Sincerely, your Batch Adviser,

Sir Martin Perez

The Model ASEAN Re-focused

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Tomorrow, we resume work and begin our final three weeks of class. It’s going to be a wild ride, so I’d love it if we all just hunker down to business and make the most of the little time we have left. The end is near!

Some have told me that the Model ASEAN is leaving them a little overwhelmed. They don’t know where to start. Or that the Achievement Test week has ruined the momentum and people feel like they’re starting over again. Not too worry. I said at the beginning that all you need to focus on are the three things you have to do for your country. But of course, many can’t help thinking how the Model ASEAN itself works. I’m sure a good number of you are worried about how your role will impact the rest of the forum.

Well, just think back to the Middle East Summit. The activity also relied on each one (then a team) doing their job of studying their country and making sense of the goals. During the actual summit, everything just gelled together (of course with some trial and error). The Model ASEAN is like that. You’ll all just gel together given your different dharmas and the format we’re using. Although I have to admit, there will be more pressure on how well you prepare.

So for tonight, I’d like to refocus everyone a bit on what the Model ASEAN is all about. I’ll repeat these three points tomorrow, and then some. But here’s what I want to say.

THE MODEL ASEAN IS ABOUT THE WORLD TODAY

I want you to tackle current events and issues in the Model ASEAN. I want you to do your job well because the activity will give you good insight into how and why countries work together (or not). I’ve added the dynamic of having dialogue partners and international organizations influencing events to create an even more intense experience. This is our grand finale, and our primary way of meeting the bigger world head on.

THE MODEL ASEAN IS YOUR FINAL STAGE TO SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO

We’ve done some pretty intense things through our one year in SS2. This is the last one. I’ve done my best to give everyone a chance to shine. But if you feel that I haven’t, then this is it. I’ve always told you that the more you give in my class, the more the rewards will be. The Model ASEAN has the potential to pay that off in a big way, but you got to work for it one more time. I’d also love to see you bring issues you care about to Model ASEAN. I’d like to see how you use the rules of ASEAN to do what you have to do.

AND ABOVE ALL, THE MODEL ASEAN IS ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER

Our course isn’t called social science for a reason. If there is one thing that ran through our lessons about religion, empires, imperialism, and nationalism, it’s about how people cooperate, overcome adversity, and achieve great things together. Think about that for a moment. Mind blast. And good luck!

See you all tomorrow!