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Geotrees.Com and Nightwolf Productions
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in conjunction with
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Pacifica's WPFW FM 89.3
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are pleased to present
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The 2003 STUDENTS' THANKSGIVING ESSAY CONTEST
Entries Due by Friday, November 28 ~ Awards Announced Sunday, November 30
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This Page Updated Thursday, November 20, 2003
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Welcome to the 2003 Students' Thanksgiving Essay Contest, presented by Geotrees.Com and Nightwolf Productions. This contest was created to encourage our US-resident young people of all nationalities, in grades 7 through 12, to consider what they are thankful for, and the responsibilities of living in the United States. It also gives them a place to present their conclusions in a cogent, quality way.
This document describes the contest, who is eligible, how it works, the prizes, publishing of the essays on line, and the possibilities for follow-through activities.
"WHAT ARE THE CONTEST DATES?"
Entries are accepted from now through the end of the day Friday, November 28. Winners will be announced on the Sunday evening, November 30 broadcast of The Nightwolf Show on WPFW FM at 8:00 PM, DC time. Winning essays will be read on the air at that time.
"WHAT IS THE ESSAY THEME?"
Gratitude and responsibility are the theme: "Just by living in this country, we benefit from the creativity, courage, and hard work - and also the dispossession, oppression, and deaths - of many people. What are our responsibilities as a nation, and what are my responsibilities personally, in living here?"
"ARE THERE PRIZES?"
Yes. There will be a total of nine prizes, gift certificates for bookstores of quality. We've already received donations for several prizes, and we're working to secure others for first, second and third place in each grade category. Prize donors will be thanked publicly at the broadcast, and on the web page.
We will also thank all contestants publicly on the web page.
"PLEASE DESCRIBE THE ESSAYS."
There will be three age groups, sorted by school grade: Grades 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12. Contestants will write essays upto 1000 words long - about two single-spaced typed pages. There is no minimum size.
Use correct Standard English. You may include brief quotations, but please identify your sources. Essays will be evaluated on, among other things, focus and attention to topic, moral and logical coherence, concreteness, and skill and accuracy of language. Express your personal thoughts and reflections. Avoid slang, jargon, and ideological or partisan advocacy. Write to an audience that includes adults.
"HOW IS THE CONTEST ORGANIZED?"
The concept, writing, and production are by the committee of Geotrees.Com and Nightwolf Productions. WPFW FM 98.3 provides airtime for The Nightwolf Show, as they have since spring 2002. The committee will name contributors of prizes and other support as this information becomes available.
"WHAT ARE THE CONTEST GOALS?"
This contest serves several purposes. It seeks to inspire and challenge our young people to think of their lives and their responsibilities in a time of great contrasts between ignorance and understanding, between abundance and want. It gives them a context for developing thinking and expressive skills, and for applying those skills to moral life private and public. It gives them an audience for their thoughts. Some will emerge with ideas for practical action in their schools or communities. And all will help bridge the gap between generations with communication, affirmation and respect.
"WHO IS ELIGIBLE?"
We expect most of our contestants to come from the DC-Baltimore region. But all students enrolled in full-time study, grades 7 through 12 and resident in the United States, within the broadcast or internet signal reach of WPFW, are eligible to participate.
This includes students in public, independent, charter, and religious schools; international schools in English or other languages; full-time homeschoolers; and special and correctional schools - indeed, US-resident students of any and all nationalities.
Student participation, award presentation, and other public exposure are subject to parental permission.
"I'M IN SCHOOL OVERSEAS. MAY I ENTER?"
Yes. US citizen students normally resident in the US, but currently based overseas and attending DOD or international schools full time, are welcome to enter. If the theme of the contest evokes a response from international students overseas, we will post their essays, as well.
NOTE: These schools must also be within the internet reach of WPFW.
"DO MENTORS IN SCHOOL OR COMMUNITY HAVE A ROLE?"
Yes. The theme is a good one for discussion in classroom, club, youth ministries, and other places where young people are gathered together. These are good places for adult mentors to help students develop, organize, and refine their thoughts, and perhaps launch continuing projects based on this theme. Mentors may also help guide students in correcting their written language as needed, thus deepening their learning. We encourage such activity. At the same time, we ask that adult mentors not assist their students with the actual writing.
We will acknowledge all mentors and schools by name on the website.
"HOW DO I SUBMIT MY ESSAY?"
When your essay is ready, simply send it by email to the committee at essays@geotrees.com. Be sure to include the following information:
- The submitting student's name;
- The student's grade, school, location, and mentor's name, if any;
- Permission from parent or guardian for the student to submit, and for the contest to broadcast the student's essay and name (name and initial may be preferred by some parents);
- Contact information for the student, parent or guardian. The committee will make notifications by email. (NOTE: Addresses will be kept strictly confidential, and restricted to those sening the actual awards.)
The contest is accepting entries at this time. Deadline for submissions is the end of the day Friday, Eastern time, November 28. Send entries in the body of an email, or as an email attachment. HTML files or links will not be accepted. Entries must be readable using a current word processor.
We will post essays on the web page once the contest has concluded.
"HOW DOES THE JUDGING WORK?"
A group of judges will evaluate the essays, with each essay being reviewed by at least two judges.
Judges will score each entry in four areas: (1) strength of basic concept and values; (2) soundness of logic; (3) practicality; and (4) skill and accuracy in language.
Judging will be impartial, "without fear or favor" regarding the ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, faith, gender, ideology, or partisanship of judges and students alike. The committee will present judges with "blind" essays; that is, with administrative and identifying information removed. Students who choose to include such information in their essays should also draw logical, supporting connections between it and their main points.
"HOW WILL THE AWARDS BROADCAST WORK?"
The concluding awards broadcast will be on Sunday evening, November 30, under the auspices of The Nightwolf Show. It will be hosted by personnel from Nightwolf Productions and Geotrees.Com, and perhaps one or more of the judges. We may have an esteemed public figure introduce the program and the winning contestants. Winners and their parents will be invited to attend, and read their essays over the air.
We plan to broadcast from the WPFW studios, but we're seeking a local school from which to hold the broadcast as a "remote." If physical room permits, we would like to have an audience of students, teachers, parents and members of the public.
"HOW ELSE WILL WPFW FM SUPPORT THE CONTEST?"
One of the committee members will be "live" on the air Friday, November 21, on the Metro Connection show at 9:40 AM. He will briefly discuss the contest, and the larger need for people to learn about history and its resonances in the present.
"HOW ABOUT THE WEB PAGE?"
This web page will carry a variety of information, including text of the winning essays; the names, schools, and mentoring teachers of all contestants (subject to privacy considerations); judges' names; and credits for all those who help bring the contest to the air. This, of course, includes the names and businesses of those donating prizes.
"WILL THERE BE ANY FOLLOW-THROUGH ACTIVITIES?
We certainly hope so! This is more up to the students than to the contest committee.
Some contestants, or noncontestant young people and adults, may undertake change and transformation in their own lives. Others may become inspired to some active role in their community. Yet others may be inspired to additional study, research, or writing; we may see original film, music, and plays. We hope that this contest will stimulate people to bring new wholeness into the world.
We would be pleased to post news of such activities on the website during the year following the original contest, and perhaps broadcast this information at Thanksgiving 2004.
"HOW ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS?"
Student authors, parents, and guardians grant the committee the right to post submissions as part of the contest. Each submitted essay remains the property of its student author, subject only the constraints of privacy, and of the parents or guardians. This web page, and other publications of the contest committee, are copyrighted to protect the student authors, as well as the committee's publications.
"WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED MORE INFORMATION?
This page will be updated with more information constantly, with version dates posted at the top. You may also send your questions and comments to the committee at essays@geotrees.com.
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