Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/135412
Students celebrate civil rights heroes in writing and art Phyllis Horisk (left) is proud of her students at A.I. duPont M.S. in Red Clay, including Mirando Jones who placed first in the 5-8 Writing Contest with a poem about Suffragette Alice Paul. See below. Mara Vazquez placed first in the High School Writing Contest with an essay, "How Betty Friedan Helped Change the World." Vazquez is a senior at Lake Forest High School. T his contest was also an opportunity to motivate students who may have academic difficulties without hearing about a specific grade needed to pass a subject. I urge them to stay in life and go for all opportunities that may come their way. This has worked each time I've entered DSEA contests, and we always come out as winners. Students are then motivated to work harder because they truly believe that all things are possible. Claudia Martin Thurgood Marshall E.S. Christina School District 2nd Grade teacher Human & Civil Rights Celebration Task Force Phyllis Horisk English Language Arts A.I. duPont Middle School Red Clay E.A. Grade 8, A.I. duPont Middle School Subject: Alice Paul and The Right to Vote Michael Brown, Capital Paraprofessionals Assoc. For years, you men have been in control You are the ones with respect, power, and more You are the perfect, virtuous beings That all other creatures must cower before Joyce Morton-Elzie, Capital Educators Assoc. Elaine Norris, Milford Education Assoc. Maria Ruffin, Capital Paraprofessionals Assoc. Carol Zeisler, DSEA Program Assistant Mark McGuire, grade 8, accepts second place in the 5-8 Writing Contest with a free-form poem done in the first person, about Rosa Parks, "The Fight for Rights." Presenting is Linda Brown of Capital, member of the HCR Task Force. Miranda Jones Linda Brown, Capital Educators Assoc. Jocelynne Jones, DSEA Staff Liaison E ach year we do a unit on African-American authors and the fight for civil rights in the United States, and the DSEA contest is a perfect tie-in for students to express what they have learned creatively or take their interest a step further. 1st Place Middle School Writing Denise Waples, chair, Milford Education Assoc. Geraldine Thomas, Capital Paraprofessional Assoc. Also from A.I. duPont M.S. is Jasmin Garnett who places 3rd in the 5-8 writing contest. Her first-person essay is about Emmett Till, a 14-year old boy beaten to death in Mississippi. Laura Zimmerman (right) is a junior at Dickinson H.S. in Red Clay, placing second in the High School Writing Contest, with a poetic tribute to Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta. With her is Kristin Zerbe, creative writing teacher. I told my students that it is important to understand that throughout history, including today, certain cultures, races, religions and genders are discriminated against. Students need to learn why this happens, and what has been or is being done to ensure that it doesn't happen again. For this contest, I encouraged them to research events and people that were more uncommon. One student chose Amnesty International, and another chose a Chinese activist. Susan Kunzweiler, MA Spec. Education Grade 5 teacher W. Reily Brown E.S. Capital School District 14 May/June 2013 DSEA ACTION! But what about us women? Should we be cowering too? I'm sorry if you want us to be your property Because that is something I cannot do Lock me up if you want to I don't care for how many years I refuse to bow down to you I refuse to shed any tears And in prison, if I stop eating And you think I have gone insane Just force the food down my throat For rebellious women, it isn't too inhumane And when you finally release us And we just continue to protest at the president's door Just beat us bloody and unconscious Because you think that one beating is all we can endure And when you have done everything that you could And you think we are finally beginning to fall Just keep your eyes trained on me Because I will be there standing tall Because I will keep fighting for my rights Because I have a belief I must denote This belief is that all humans are equal And that even women have the right to vote www.dsea.org