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Is there an annual writing prompt provided for students?
The Laws of Life Essay Contest does not use a specific annual prompt to catalyze student writing. We suggest to teachers that students discover their Laws of Life (Core ethical values) using context from literature, history, personal reflection, or quotes/maxims. We have examples of some prompts that teachers can use on the contest website here. Some of these prompts encourage teachers to help students learn to evaluate characters in literature, history, or life using their Laws of Life. By design, the Laws of Life Essay Contest is seeking positive essays that are inspirational examples of how core values have helped people in the past or present live productive lives. |
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Why can we only submit 1 essay for every 50 writers to the contest?
The contest welcomes participation of teachers with single classes and/or schools where an entire grade level of several hundred students might participate. As SEE does not have the capacity to judge all essays, a submission limiting protocol needed to be set in place. In order to seek fairness between large and small numbers of participates, SEE has used the 1 essay for every 50 writers standard. This acknowledges that teachers with individual classes of less than 50 students are still able to submit one essay to the contest. Thus, any school would be required to have 100 students writing before they could submit two essays to the contest and one additional essay submission for every 50 writers. Can essays focus on the values that have been detrimental to a productive life? Sorry, but the simple answer is no. By design, Connecticut’s Laws of Life Essay Contest is seeking positive and inspirational reflections on values that lead to productive lives. While the anthesis of the positive values dishonesty versus honesty, harmful versus care, disrespectful versus respect do have lessons to teach us, that is not the focus of this contest. This is not to minimize the value of conversations and discussion of the values that lead to damaged lives, but this is not the strategy sought in Connecticut’s Laws of Life Essay Contest. |
Who judges the essays sent to SEE?
SEE is grateful for the team of professionals who volunteer each year to participate as Laws of Life Essay judges. We recruit judges with writing experience from the media, higher education, State Department of Education, and others with professional writing experience. Each essay is read and scored by at least two judges using SEE’s Laws of Life judging rubric, which is posted on the website. The essays are only identified by their title and thus unless the student reveals their gender or school name in the essay, the judges are scoring the essay without reference to the student’s name or school.
What is the dress code for the winning essayists invited to the Character Celebration?
SEE hasn’t insisted on a specific dress code for the Celebration banquet, but pictures of the event posted on the website do note that men often wear jackets with ties while the ladies wear dresses.
SEE is grateful for the team of professionals who volunteer each year to participate as Laws of Life Essay judges. We recruit judges with writing experience from the media, higher education, State Department of Education, and others with professional writing experience. Each essay is read and scored by at least two judges using SEE’s Laws of Life judging rubric, which is posted on the website. The essays are only identified by their title and thus unless the student reveals their gender or school name in the essay, the judges are scoring the essay without reference to the student’s name or school.
What is the dress code for the winning essayists invited to the Character Celebration?
SEE hasn’t insisted on a specific dress code for the Celebration banquet, but pictures of the event posted on the website do note that men often wear jackets with ties while the ladies wear dresses.
Past Funders
SEE thanks the past funders who have sponsored the research and development of this program. They include: The John Templeton Foundation, Wright Investors’ Services and many private donors.
SEE thanks the past funders who have sponsored the research and development of this program. They include: The John Templeton Foundation, Wright Investors’ Services and many private donors.
Ethics in action creates character