NORTHAMPTON — At Northampton High School, students in Norman Coady’s modern Middle East history class don’t just learn about history and current affairs from a textbook — they live them.
Coady said the new course stands out both in terms of its subject matter as well as its popularity.
“It’s a first for NHS and not common in public high school,” he said of the modern Middle East course. “We’re running three sections this year — an unusually high turnout for a new elective, and it reflects our students desire to understand this part of the world.”
Coady’s class of sophomores, juniors and seniors discussed United States-Syria policy on Friday in a simulation of a National Security Council meeting.
The students, each assigned a specific role, were arranged in a half-circle around the room. They had been researching and preparing their arguments for three days prior to the simulation.
Coady, playing the role of a Republican president from Texas, left the room while a student playing chief of staff opened the meeting. When Coady returned, he was sporting cowboy boots and speaking with a Texan drawl.
The students rose as President Coady entered the room. After he was seated, students playing the vice president, secretary of state, Central Intelligence Agency director, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and secretary of the treasury presented their arguments.
The students debated on what, if any, actions should be taken by the U.S. in Syria, and discussed prominent issues, such as whether or not to implement military force or humanitarian aid. They referred to news headlines and to a large map of the Middle East while making their arguments.
“It helps us actually understand what’s going on a little bit,” said Lydia Morrison, who portrayed the secretary of state. “You’re not just reading the news, you’re participating in it.”
At the beginning of the mock meeting, each of the student speakers offered varying options to handle the conflict. As the debate progressed, though, they began to compromise with each other.
This is the second semester that Coady has run the simulation in his class, titled “History of the Islamic World-Modern Middle East.” The course was a new addition at the high school this year.
According to Coady, the course was created when the high school’s history department decided to expand outside of European and U.S. concentrations. Not many high schools offer a specific class to learn about Middle Eastern history, he said.
“What (the students) are interested in is trying to understand the news,” Coady said. “The next 10 years of their lives will be defined by this region.”
Thus, he said, it is important that the students become educated on topics surrounding the Middle East. “It’s not ancient and medieval history— it’s now,” he said. “The kids want to know what’s going on. They’re hungry for it.”