2009 Peace Essay Contest
Elementary School Winning Entries
First Place
Xander Johnson, 4th Grade, St. Michael's Epsicopal School:
Peace Starts Small
Peace is like a bud on a tree. It starts to grow. If some people are listening to you it gets bigger, then more people hear the message and it gets bigger and bigger. Soon the whole world is listening. That is when a bud turns into a flower. Everyone is listening. I wish that could really happen, people listening to you and agreeing that no one should fight. Unfortunately, that can't happen because everyone is allowed to have their own opinion and people disagree.
Creating a peaceful world starts at home. One non peaceful thing is often brothers and sisters fighting. Last night I was watching a show called, "Mighty Bee" and my brother Harrison walked up stairs and said," I was here first!" I told him he was wrong. Then he started to cry and whine, so I gave in. The cost to me is not being able to watch TV. The benefits are having a peaceful house and a happy family.
I think another thing that needs to be more peaceful is my school. I think school should be more peaceful because kids fight and yell at each other for silly things. I could make my school more peaceful by helping people solve their problems and giving them a friend to talk to.
I would offer to help with their problems and help them work it out. I would tell them to try and think about what they are saying to each other and how it makes them feel when someone says something mean to them. There would be no cost to me because everyone would benefit by getting along making every school day fun.
Another thing that is not very peaceful is the world. I could make the world more peaceful writing a blog for kids about peace and I could get kids from all over the world to join and we could all send letters or emails to our leaders asking for Peace. The cost to me is time and people disagreeing with me. The benefits are lots of voices and opinions are shared creating more peace.
Peace at home, school and the world takes a lot of time and work. Just like a flower starting from a bud, peace starts small and grows. If everyone works together, we can have a more peaceful world.
Second Place
Nikki Aldridge, 4th Grade, St. Michael's Epsicopal School:
"Peace is costly but worth the expense," says the African Proverb. I think this means that it could cost more than just money to make peace yet it would be worth it because the world could stop fighting and people would stop dying. We could all be happier if peace were increased.
I could make my home a more peaceful place by giving my brother the DS, the computer, the Wii controller, books, or pretty much anything else I might want to play with. It would be nice to be able to play whenever I want, but if I give it up, my brother will not get loud and wreck the peace.
To make a peaceful community, I could do things for my neighbors like find their animals when they get lost, bring in their recycling bins and trash cans, and help them with yard work. If I do some of these things, my neighborhood will be a better place to live and will be more peaceful.
Making peace in the world is a big job. I can do small things to help, like putting money in the Rice Bowl. The Rice Bowl is a box you put money in to help people in Africa. I've been saving money to help buy an HDTV for my Dad for Father's Day, but hungry people are more important than an HDTV. Also, in church we pray for all poor people and ask God to help us help them.
Sometimes it is hard to remember that I can help make the world more peaceful. Sometimes I remember but I don't feel peaceful. I need to practice keeping the peace and thinking of others more than myself.
Third Place
Katie Murphy, 5th Grade, Colonial Trail E. S.:
This African proverb is one that is very true to our world. It means that you have to work for peace and you can't just hope it will come. The work can be hard, and sometimes you have to be brave. But having peace is worth all the work. To understand this proverb you need to know the fable it comes from, what the fable means, and how to use the lesson everyday in today's world.
This Kenyan proverb is from the fable, "The Gentlemen of the Jungle ". In this story, a man living in the jungle builds a hut, but an elephant tricks him and steals his hut. They take their case to the court of the jungle, but the court was made of animals so the man did not win his case. He tried again and again, but every time an animal would steal his hut and he would lose in the animal court. One day he was so tired of building new huts that he built a huge hut and watched the animals try to take it over. While the animals quarreled over who would live there, the man trapped the animals and destroyed the hut. The man finally was alone in tranquil peace.
The tale is from a time long ago in Africa, when Kenya was a British colony. In real life the animals represented the British who ran the colonies. The man represented the Africans. Even though it was difficult, the Africans had to stand up to the British to get their land back. In the story, the man had to think up a plan, work hard building a hut, and be brave enough to carry out his plan in order to get peace. In real life, the Kenyans had to fight many battles to win freedom and to get peace. It was hard to get peace, but they accomplished it through patience and hard work.
Today, young people can bring peace to the world by standing up to bullies. Kids like me should be like the man in the story and to stand up for what they know is right so there can be peace in the world. For example, I had a friend that was always teasing other people and telling mean jokes about other people in the class. Even though she was my friend I had to stand up to her. It was during recess that I told her she needed to stop bullying others. She laughed and said "You think you can stand up to me?" I was worried about what she would do, so I left. The next day I tried to be courageous and strong as I went up to her. I told her that she was bothering other people who were my friends. I told her that I just couldn't stand for it, and I walked away. She ran up to me and said "You are right. I am sorry. Can we still be friends?" "Sure!" I said. Things were all cleared up and we are still friends today. But I learned that we can only get peace if we are willing to stand up and do the right thing.
In conclusion, this African proverb is powerful. This story teaches us that peace is always the right choice to make. The man had much courage to carry out his plan to accomplish peace and tranquility. My personal story tells us that even though people might bully other people it is always better to make peace with one another. We should always try to live a peaceful and tranquil life.
Honorable Mentions:
Jinan Aridi, 5th Grade, Colonial Trail E. S.:
"Peace is costly, but worth the expense." What do you think this means? This saying is an old African proverb that is a message about making peace. We will find out what this means, what are the costs of peace, and how peace affects our world.
Peace is such a wonderful thing. Peace brings people and nations together to live in harmony with one another. Peace is also good because it makes life easier and happier for everyone now and for future generations to come. It would be so nice for the whole world to live in peace.
As good as peace is, it sometimes comes with a cost. Some costs are spending time away from family, risking your life, or, even sacrificing your life for the sake of a greater good. Believe it or not, people do these and many other sacrifices because they think peace is definitely worth achieving.
Many people have tried to bring peace to their lives and to others. One of these people was my great-grandfather. He was a general in the Syrian Revolutionary war against French rule in the early 1900's. He was willing to leave his family, home, and even risking his life to fight for freedom and peace for his people. During the war, he was fatally shot and killed, but this showed his belief and willingness to achieve freedom and peace no matter what the cost.
To achieve peace, one doesn't have to die. One can achieve it by the little things he or she does each day. Some ways this can be done is by making friends of enemies, by bringing angry friends back together, or by bringing harmony and kindness to friends and strangers one meets every day.
Reflecting back on the proverb "Peace is costly, but worth the expense", this means that one has to sacrifice for peace, but in the end it is worthwhile. In conclusion, peace is such an important part of life. We are very lucky to be living in a land where peace exists, and it makes me . think how important it is to help bring peace to other nations so others will have chances to make better lives for themselves and future generations. If we work together, we can make peace now and for the future.
Tanner Bullock, 5th Grade, Colonial Trail E. S.:
"Peace is costly but it is worth the expense." There could be many meanings for this proverb, but I would like to share what I think it means. Peace is about compromise. It is about helping and teaching others in need. It is about respecting and appreciating the differences in each other.
Compromise is a key component of making a peaceful community. Compromise is when you sacrifice something and someone else sacrifices something to gain something else. It is important, because if the whole community has a compromise then everybody gets what they want and everyone is happy about what they got.
Helping and teaching others in need is very important to make a peaceful world. It is important because once someone has a useful knowledge, they should share it with others. Sharing this knowledge will empower others to have better lives and give them the opportunity to pass this gift on as well. Helping and teaching others in need is about giving, even when you might not get anything back expect the good feeling that comes from sharing with others.
Something really important to having a peaceful life is respecting and appreciating the differences in yourself and others. Respecting and appreciating the differences in each other can be as easy as agreeing to disagree, although some people find it hard to accomplish. When people are compromising, sharing, and getting along, the violence in the world decreases so there are lass deaths. In conclusion, we should all work for peace. It may be hard, but it is worth it.
Allison Frantz, 5th Grade, Colonial Trail E. S.:
Peace Essay
The costs of building a peaceful life are expensive, but not just in money. It is expensive in time and effort too! "Peace is costly, but is worth the expense". To create more peace, everyone must try harder to resolve conflicts without going to war, build a more peaceful community, and respect others.
One thing that can create a more peaceful life is resolving conflicts without going to war. To prevent war, it might help if people come together and solve their problems without fighting. People should start listening to what others have to say, instead of trying to make their own rules too. In addition, it will help if everyone would start providing resources for other countries, so they will provide more resources for us.
Another way to create more peace is by helping to make a peaceful community. If you help create a safer environment, like teaching the public how to prevent crimes, everything will be more peaceful! Next, you can also volunteer to help your community by being role models for young children, and teaching them how to be good citizens. Then, if you help establish more rules, and have group discussions about them to make sure that they are fair, more peace will spread around the world.
Finally, a way to make peace less costly is to be respectful to others. If someone has different cultures and traditions, you should respect them even though they are different than you. Also, people should honor good deeds that others do. The last thing is everyone should help share with others to make peace less costly!
In conclusion, "Peace is costly, but it is worth the expense". Peace costs a lot, whether it is in dollars, time, or effort. In the end, it makes the world a better place to live.
Rachel Trevillian, 5th Grade, Colonial Trail E. S.:
What is the cost of peace? The African Proverb, "Peace is costly but it is worth the expense", means that everything you have comes with a cost, including feelings of peace. Some events have destroyed our country's feeling of safety. On September 11, 2001, two planes flew into the World Trade Center buildings in New York. The planes had been hijacked by terrorists who wanted to hurt our feelings of safety.
The U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks led to the war in Iraq. After the bombings stopped in Iraq, the soldiers tried to help the Iraqi people by helping them to rebuild their country. An important step in the rebuilding was to help rebuild the schools so children could learn. In Iraq, schools had been there to teach the rich males. The United States wanted every child to be able to go to school to learn. Our military men and women, with many others' help have helped complete a total of six thousand schools. Now children are learning how to read and write. In Dahuk, Iraq, a new school opened with thirty-six teachers and 825 students. Making sure there are schools for the children to go to is one way we can help make a bad situation more peaceful.
Another thing that needed improvement was their medical buildings and medicines. Hospitals in Richmond are much more sophisticated than hospitals in Iraq. In Sadr City, Baghdad, is a major hospital that had a death rate of one out of four since there were no proper medicines. About eighty percent of people get infections from germs they didn't have when they came to the hospital. Now, with the help of the United States, the death rate has gone down ninety percent. Plus, in Iraq there is little blood supply for patients. Physicians donate their blood to help their patients. By helping with medical care, our country has shown that the health of Iraq's people is important to us and shows that we want them to be healthy and peaceful.
In Iraq, there had been no clean water or waste treatment plants. The United States helped them get ten new water treatment plants. Now, they have clean water and proper sewage. Now, the clean water protects the environment and it saves people's lives. The water treatment plants have improved sanitation,,' making Iraq's people feel safe.
In conclusion, you can gain peace by doing many things. Working in a country that has a lot of wars shows us that we can bring peace. If we help them rebuild their schools, get new tools and supplies for hospitals, and
make sure they have plenty of safe water to drink and cook with, then we are doing what we can to help. In the United States of America, peace has always been a wish and dream for the world. I think that if we believe in peace, we can achieve peace and become a free, peaceful world.
Carter West, 5th Grade, Colonial Trail E. S.:
"Peace is costly but it is worth the expense." This African Proverb is true on many levels. I think that peace starts within ourselves as individuals. Peace comes from understanding yourself, respecting others, accepting differences and refraining from violence. We each have to make peace within ourselves before there can be peace among all people. It sounds so simple but yet it seems to be the most difficult challenge.
Why is it so hard for us to be peaceful? Fears and insecurities keep us from being open to the views, beliefs and cultures of people that we do not know. We are afraid that they will try to change us, control us or even
destroy us. These fears build tension and tension is followed by aggression. We act on our fears rather than take the time to try and understand others. Learning about someone else's culture could change our perspective. This, though, would require letting go of our pride.
This is where the "expense" comes into play. As humans, we find it amazingly difficult to swallow our pride or back down once we have set ourselves on a certain path. Pride is very expensive as it can cost us friendships, jobs and even our lives. To put pride aside and learn to be a person who can respect others would change the world. So to say that peace is costly, to me, it means that we need to give of ourselves. We cannot sit around waiting for someone else to change the world, the change starts within each of us. Having peace in this world and knowing that everyone is respected is worth the expense.