“My Future, My Choice” Essay Contest Winners

“My Future, My Choice” Essay Contest

In an effort to engage students in the conversation around school choice, CEAM hosted middle school and high school essay contests. These essays amplify the voices of those that are most impacted by school choice – the children. Many times, we overlook the voices of those most affected by education policy decisions. This contest was focused on giving students in the St. Louis area a voice and an opportunity to express their opinions on education.  Congratulations to all the winners and participants!

What would the ideal high school for you look like and why?

3^rd Place – Rachel Mueller, 9^th grade

“Luckily, in 7th grade I started to attend an arts school. My creativity began to burst out again and my grades began to rise. Because of this experience, my ideal high school would be a place where they don’t cut the arts but bring it into everyday classes–where you don’t just sit and take notes, you sit and think.”

2^nd Place – Rei-zhana Adams, 12^th grade

“My ideal high school’s motto would be ‘Learning to Love Learning.’ It’s very structure would first foster the social, physical and emotional well-being before academics because students learn better when they are not being bullied, tired, hungry, and under stress.”

1^st Place – Patrick O’Brien, 9th grade

“I am learning things like Advanced Geometry and Advanced Physics that I now thoroughly enjoy. But without my parents help, I may have never have gotten to do this and thus been slowed intellectually by far too easy classes. There are many kids like me, but with no parental support to help them skip a grade. My plan to fix this? The ideal high school has no age-based grades, but allows those who excel to rise through the low-level classes and secure their own future.”

How do you think your education will help you achieve your dreams?

3^rd Place – Maya Dickinson, 6^th grade

“Do you ever see people on television working with wild animals that you can only imagine touching or getting close to? I do all the time, and that is why my dream is to be a zoologist and experience the beauty of wildlife just like the people on television.”

2^nd Place – JC Nguyen, 6^th grade

“My dream is to become an orthopedic surgeon, which takes a lot of strength, time, training, and education. The reason why a good education is important to me is because if you want a job, it has to come with those hardworking years of effort you put in school.”

1^st Place – Kiari Ellison, 6^th grade

“See, my mom says that school is my job, so each day I go to school, it’s like another day of work. My teachers are my bosses and my paycheck will be the knowledge that I get to keep forever. I know that I have to put forth a good effort and master as many skills as I can daily, in order to prepare myself for the career of my dreams – a scientist/inventor. “