By 1st Lt.
Steve Alvarez,
USA
Special to
American Forces
Press Service
WASHINGTON,
Dec. 2, 2003
– When posed the question of what freedom meant, a 10-year-old
student's
entry to essay contest gave a thoughtful response, uncharacteristic of
a mind that might ordinarily turn to skateboards, baseball and video
games.
Kevin Young
from San Diego
said he wakes each morning to the sound of chirping birds, while a
child
on the other side of the world probably wakes up to the sound of war.
(see
below for complete text)
Young's
response was indicative
of the challenge faced by judges for the Weekly Reader's Operation
Tribute
to Freedom contest. From more than 8,000 deeply creative and well-
written
essays sent in by students from across the country, they had to pick
only
a few winners.
And Young's
essay was
named the "best of the best," earning him the top prize, a trip to the
Pentagon to become a "kid correspondent" in July 2004. Young will file
stories for Weekly Reader from Washington.
The
students' works were
judged on clarity, creativity and language mechanics. First-place
winners in each grade will receive $50; second place, $25; and third
place,
a copy of the 2004 World Almanac and World Almanac for Kids. Weekly
Reader
judges said it was very difficult to choose winners, because they were
all so well written. "We consider all these essays winners. They
were really well done," said Weekly Reader editor Mia Toschi.
The Weekly
Reader Corp.,
a publisher of classroom periodicals that reach more than 10 million
students
each week, sponsored the patriotic essay contest by asking students to
submit essays that answered the question: What does freedom mean
to you?
"The essays
were wonderful,"
said Emily Swenson, president of Weekly Reader. "Children have very
strong
opinions about what freedom means and expressed their thoughts very
poignantly.
Some children discussed the events of 9/11; others spoke about their
parents
who are stationed overseas." she said.
"We are
fortunate to live
in a free country, but not all children have that privilege. I am glad
you are focused on one of our country's greatest values – freedom," Air
Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
expressed
to the children in a letter.
"With
everyone overseas,
it seemed like a good time to do this," Toschi said. "We have a lot of
veterans to thank for the freedoms we have in this country. It's a good
idea to have kids understand that. I think it's very important."
Toschi said
that most
essays came from children in nonmilitary families. The Weekly
Reader
plans to sponsor the essay contest again in the future and next year
will
sponsor a postcard contest asking kids to define freedom through art.
Winners in
the contest
are posted on the Weekly
Readers Web site. Their excerpts will be published at
DefendAmerica.mil.
(Army
Reservist 1st Lt.
Steve Alvarez was on active duty for DefendAmerica.mil in November.)
Text of Kevin
Young's
Winning Essay:
"Freedom"
"I
am a ten-year-old boy living in the United States of America — a
country
that stands for freedom.
Today,
I woke to the chirping of birds. On the other side of the world,
another
boy is waking up to the frightening sound of blasting bomb.
"It
was a time to go to school so I chose to wear a T-shirt and shorts
because
I could make that decision. On the other side of the world, a young
girl
had a choice, too. She could wear a veil or get whipped.
"Then
I went to school to learn about our world, including math, English,
history
and science and technology. I was learning how to make the world a
better
place. On the other side of the world, a boy was learning how to fight
in combat and survive or be killed. For the girl, school was not
allowed.
But she wanted to learn. So she went to school in secret, but was
taking
a big risk.
"After
school, I went to play soccer and visited with all of my friends. On
the
other side of the world, the boy and girl went and tried to earn some
money
or went to look for food and water for their family.
"At
night, as I slept in my nice, warm bed, I dreamed of a world filled
with
freedom for the little boy and girl on the other side of the world.".
