In an effort to empower youth as informed peacebuilders, we reached out to Sarah  Johnston, CUHS English teacher, to ask whether she was interested in coordinating a  Peace Essay contest for her students. As the daughter of Rotarians, she embraced  the idea immediately but needed to figure out how to work it into the year’s course  work. A few ideas were sourced from Rotary’s website for Sarah’s consideration.
 
The following is a summary of the assignment the students received: 

Using your open-ended questions, your research and the power of inquiry, develop an  essay on the topic of “Peace”. Use the following excerpt to guide your answers.  “How can the power of peace help us channel our moral fury in constructive ways?”  Discuss this excerpt from The Art of Waging Peace: “When people tell us about a truly unjust problem they are having, the moral fury within us can erupt like a burning  flame. A flame is calm, but also intense. It is soothing, but also fierce. The flame of  moral fury can be calm and soothing to those treated unjustly, while intensely and  fiercely opposing the forces of injustice.”

Students were not required to submit an essay but 15 did take on the challenge. All 8  members of our Peace Committee read the 15 essays and submitted their selections  for first, second and third place. We are awarding $100 for first place, $75 for second  place and $50 for third place. The other 12 participants will receive certificates honoring their exploration of Peace.