Students in Bobbie Serensky’s AP English Language class at Chagrin Falls High School entered The Hope and Stanley Adelstein Free Speech Essay Contest sponsored by The City Club of Cleveland. Claire Stinson won a second-place prize of $750, Wren Opperman won a third-place prize of $500, and Aleeta Cowan won an Honorable Mention award of $250. Overall, Chagrin Falls students won three of the four possible prizes.
All Northeast Ohio high school students could participate in the contest. The topic stemmed from the insurrection of the United States Capitol Building. Students wrote in response to the following prompt: “Freedom of speech is a bedrock of American democracy. But the proliferation of misinformation, conspiracy theories, extremist views, and violence now being spread on social media platforms threatens the balance of free speech and democracy. If you were given the opportunity to testify before the Senate, what would you recommend be done?”
Students worked on multiple drafts of their essays, including working with writing interns from The Write Place. Shannon Beach, director of The Write Place, believes that “students helping students with writing serves as a powerful tool not only for collaboration but also for opportunities to excel outside of the classroom. The Write Place interns are proud to help other students achieve success …. Especially monetary success!”
All three writers reflected on their experiences in writing the essay and winning the contest. “The contest prompt really struck a chord with me, especially after the events of the past year,” said Stinson. “Writing this essay helped me find hope in potential solutions instead of getting stuck in the past. It was super encouraging to see that my thoughts of hope were recognized by people who are in the position to implement change.”
“I had a great time writing this essay. It forced me to come up with real, feasible solutions to a pressing and difficult issue,” said Opperman. “Being recognized for that work is certainly gratifying.”
“While writing the essay, I reflected on school and how it is a privilege to be able to have a voice,” said Cowan. “I used this idea to drive my paper, as I focused on the importance of teaching kindness and critical thinking.”
After watching her students’ ideas blossom and their essays come into excellent shape with the help of The Write Place, Serensky wants to emphasize that, “All three of these students excel as writers, readers and thinkers. I love it when good things happen to good people.”
