1999-2000 ALTERNATE ESSAY CONTEST
and
SINGER ACTIVITY
OPEN TO HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS
EVERY SCHOOL ENTERING TEN OR MORE QUALIFYING PAPERS BECOMES AN AUTOMATIC WINNER
SUBJECT: Is It Time For Local Communities To Initiate A Rite Of Passage For American Youth?
First Prize = $ 75
Second Prize = $ 75
Third Prize = $ 25
The prizes will be awarded to three essays at every school that enters ten or more qualifying papers. The prizes will be awarded at the discretion of the Singer Foundation. The judging will be based on how well the rules were followed, thoughtfulness and a zeal for pursuing the subject as evidenced by the work submitted. Schools entering fewer than ten students, or papers that are too short or do not abide by other rules, will not qualify for prizes. Please consult the rules. All participants will receive certificates. Excerpts from qualifying essays, will be published in a book and offered to the 535 members of congress, the press and other officials around the country. Papers may be emailed to staff@singerfoundation.org anytime before February 15, 2000 to be assured the school is represented in the book which will be published in the spring of 2000. Later entries will be accepted, but without that assurance.
RULES
Submittals should have a cover page with the title of the essay, school name,
student's name, date, grade,
class, teacher, school phone and fax numbers.
If you received this information in the mail, please make copies for your students.
Excerpts from the essays will be posted on the Foundation web site as they are read.
Entries will not be returned, and upon submittal become the property of The Harry Singer Foundation.
If you have questions: email staff@singerfoundation.org. phone (831) 625-4223, fax (831) 624-7994 .Address surface mail correspondence to:
Essay Contest, The Harry Singer Foundation,
P.O. Box 223159, Carmel, CA 93922
Consider
In Samoa in the 1920's, Margaret Mead found that adolescence was not a time of stress as it was/is in America.
What was there in Samoa which is absent in America, what is here in America which was absent in Samoa which will account for this difference?
Could the strain our adolescents encounter be attributed to cultural rather than physiological changes? Is the stress inherent in our civilization?
In Samoa, children as young as four and five had definite tasks graded to their strength and intelligence; tasks that had a meaning in the structure of the whole society. "The necessary nature of the Samoan child's task is obvious [to everyone]." Margaret Mead
In the United States "our children are not made to feel that the time they do devote to supervised activity is functionally related to the world of adult activity." Margaret Mead
Even children know when they are being useful; engaged in something of value to the adult world.
In Samoa in the 1920's there was no differentiation between the adult world and the world of children.
In the United States, even seventy years ago, a child's attitude toward school was apathetic! School then, as now, bore no relation to life.
"The Samoan child measures every act of work or play in terms of [the] whole community; each item of conduct is dignified in terms of its relationship to the life of a Samoan village." Margaret Mead
"We will be hard put to devise ways of participation for [American] children, and means of articulating their school life with the rest of life which will give them the same dignity which Samoa affords her children." Margaret Mead
"The principal causes of our adolescents' difficulty are the presence of conflicting standards and the belief that every individual should make his or her own choices, coupled with a feeling that choice is an important matter." Margaret Mead
"To whom much is given, much is required." Freedom is demanding. Choice is stressful. Would we have it otherwise?
Potlatch-North American Indian tradition: "When all goes well and there is money in the house and neighbors think kindly of you, maybe it's proper for you to give it all away and start over. Maybe you must prove yourself again. Maybe you must not rise too high above your neighbors." (From James Michener's novel, Alaska 1988)
Culture and traditions are man-made. Children realize
our society values money above all. How might we infuse character and other values in our
communities?
What do you say to
the idea that there are no adolescents in 1999? There are children and then an abrupt
shift to the status of adult. A shift not sanctioned by society. It's a big jump and kids
are making the transition on their own without any help from their communities - we have
no rites of passage in our present American culture. A diploma and the graduation ceremony
no longer fill the role. Okay, some cultures have "coming out" parties
and religious ceremonies like first communions and bar/bat mitzvahs, but aside from an
orthodox bar mitzvah there is no real struggle to get through, no testing worthy of the
event, no proving yourself to yourself and the adult world. Instead we offer parties.
Where's the challenge?
Young American Indians used to prove they could survive alone in the wilderness; they endured hardships and danger. They convinced themselves and others of their bravery and felt worthy of the coveted title of adult. African tribes also tested bravery and self control. So did peoples all over the globe. Even in the early days in this country children proved themselves in the agriculture fields and as apprentices in small towns; they contributed to the social fabric; to the productivity of their farms and communities. They gained self-worth and everyone in the community applauded their energy and acknowledged their worth. Back then manual labor was valuable.
The Harry Singer Foundation is suggesting that our young people today need a rite of passage. They, like young people in all ages and in all regions, crave recognition of their new role in society; they crave acceptance into the adult world; the crave a challenge. If the cry of the X generation was "Show me the money," then we suggest that the cry of this new generation is
"Show me the challenge!"
The Foundation polled students in 21 states in 1997 and found from the two thousand responses that a large percentage of teens cared what adults think of them. We were amazed how high adult recognition was on their list of priorities. Right now teens are devising their own initiation rites, including body piercing, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, violence-all the things that are forbidden to children. Gang initiations are most visible. Kids are banding together, like the green hairs, or the trench coats or the goths, and tailoring their own rites. It seems to us that a lot of kids today figure if they participate in adult activities, they will be acknowledged as adults. We're talking now about indulging in pornography, gambling and the types of activity I just reiterated. Without providing a legitimate rite of passage for our children our culture is allowing ugly things to become symbols of adulthood. Is this what you want? Come on-give it some thought. It doesn't have to be this way. This is the place to share your most creative ideas
Please use your browser's BACK button or Click here to view required reading.