Article one

July 10, 2010

Writing contest winners go to D.C.

THE JACKSON SUN

“Jackson-Madison County Schools students Peyton Tharpe, an eighth-grader from Tigrett Middle School, and Kentoriyas Verser, an eighth-grader from West Middle School, will travel to Washington, D.C., for national Do the Write Thing recognition week, today through Wednesday.

The Do the Write Thing Challenge is an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence, a nonprofit organization composed of business, community and government leaders who work to reduce youth violence, according to a new release.

An estimated 600,000 students have participated in the challenge over the years, and more than 250,000 of them have written about the causes of and solutions for youth violence and made a personal commitment not to engage in violence, the release says.

Tharpe and Verser were selected to go to Washington as the top two local finalists in the writing contest.

During national recognition week, students will meet with the secretary of the Department of Education, the U.S. attorney general and the secretary of the interior to discuss the problems of youth violence. The students will be honored at embassy receptions hosted by the ambassador to the United States from Kuwait, and a book of their writings will be placed in the Library of Congress.

Students also will visit the office of U.S. Rep. John Tanner, D-Union City, and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

Also traveling to Washington will be a parent of each student, their teachers and the chairman of the Jackson Do the Write Thing program, City Councilman Ernest Brooks II.”

Personal/teaching commentary:

By using a local newspaper such as The Jackson Sun, as a point of reference, students will be able to associate a local event to one that could impact their lives.

Further, the National Campaign to Stop Violence Initiative could have a great impact for our students who may be tempted to react to a situation violently or, in the extreme case, may be drawn in to a gang.

Unfortunately, we as educators will introduce a topic which is not demographically nor regionally connected to our students. For example, we introduce a story on the life of a ten growing up in Orange County California. While this is certainly fascinating information for the students who have never been to California, it is impossible for the students to make the connection to their own lives.

The article is of local students within our District who won a writing contest and got to make a trip to our Capital and meet with leaders of our Nation. This sends a strong message that our students are able to compete for the same contest and to make an interesting trip to meet the people who seem like just names in a social studies text.