When Ginny Roper penned an essay on citizenship last fall, she had no idea it would become so significant.
The essay - which asks people to love one another despite their differences - won the Tennessee Family and Community Education Clubs' citizenship essay and artwork contest. Roper, a Finley Elementary School fourth-grader, received a $100 U.S. Savings Bond and a certificate from the state competition; a $25 check for winning the West Tennessee district competition and a $50 check that she rolled over into a $100 U.S. Savings Bond for winning the local competition last fall.
Her essay and accompanying drawing have not advanced to the national competition. The national winner should be announced by the end of August. Regardless of whether her essay and drawing win the national competition, her artwork will be included in the national "Character Counts" coloring book next year, Dyer County Extension Agent Beth Bell said.
The contest is tied to the "Character Counts" curriculum for children ages 11-13 that the national FCE organization developed about seven years ago. Copies of the curriculum were distributed to local schools. The program focuses on six "pillars of character" that include: caring, trustworthiness, fairness, responsibility, decision-making and citizenship. Activities are provided to help children learn about each pillar. Bell said Roper's essay and drawing are especially important now, considering the Persian Gulf War started last week.
"That's something we need to keep close to our hearts today as we pray for peace," Bell told the Finely third-, fourth- and fifth-graders who assembled Thursday afternoon. The students watched as Roper read her essay and as she accepted the awards from Marion Buchannon, chairman of the local citizenship contest. Roper said her teacher, Susan Dunahoo, asked her and four other students to prepare essays and artwork for the contest last fall. She said she spent two days working on her essay and another two days on her drawing. "I hope to be an author one day," she said. Roper is the daughter of Paula and Tommy Roper of the Burgies Chapel area.
