Character Matters Essay Content
Grades 4-12
2008 Winners
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
What is the Character Matters Essay Contest?
The Character Matters Essay Contest provides a platform for insightful discussions and reflections on experiences that call for honesty, respect, responsibility, courage, self-discipline, and many other virtues. All students have encountered various experiences in their lives where their character has been tested, inspired, and strengthened. This essay contest provides students an opportunity for conscious reflection on these experiences.
How does the contest work?
For all schools in San Diego and Imperial Valley Counties.
Contest divisions: elementary school, grades 4 & 5; middle school, grades 6,7,8; and high schools, grade 9 to 12.
Essay: Students should write a 2 to 3 page essay on the topic why character matters (see prompts below) which may be word-processed or handwritten.
How is the Character Matters Essay Contest related to the California Standards, and other writing requirements?
The University of California's requirements for college preparatory English classes mandate that students write at least two pieces each of narrative, expository, descriptive, and persuasive essays that are 600-800 words in length, and that students also write one of each of these types of essays that is 1300-1500 words in length. Among these essays, several should be reflective compositions in which students both describe individual incidents and relate these incidents to more general and abstract ideas. This essay contest helps fulfill this requirement.
How do I help students decide their topics?
- Have a discussion with your class on what character is and why it matters. Visit the following website for resources on character education -> http://midgefrazel.net/character.html.
- Before students write their essays, use warm-up activities to generate ideas or topics. Teachers often use journal entries, famous quotations, short inspirational essays and questionnaires.
- Encourage students to use their personal experiences (either positive or negative) to generate ideas.
- Role models and historical or literary figures are also frequently used by students as supporting examples of character.
What writing prompts have been used successfully?
- Who has been the most important person in your life in helping you establish your values? Describe how that person influenced your character.
- Describe a personal experience that helped you show some character traits/values such as respect, responsibility, courage, honesty, or self-discipline.
- How has a figure in history or a famous person helped you better understand the importance of character in your life?
- How has a book, poem, film, or piece of art or music helped you appreciate how values influence your actions and behavior?
- How have values such as respect, responsibility, courage, honesty, or self-discipline influenced what you do and decisions you have made?
