ARAGON STUDENTS CLAIM TOP THREE PRIZES IN GREATER HOUSTON-AREA ESSAY CONTEST
Three seventh-grade students from Aragon Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District were each awarded savings bonds in the second annual Barbara Jordan: Texas Treasure Essay Contest sponsored by the Alley Theatre. The citywide contest is designed to encourage seventh-graders to think critically about Jordan’s legacy in Texas history as an activist for community and justice in America and to reflect on how these values impact their own lives.
The top three of the five prizes were awarded to essays written by students from Aragon Middle School. Christina Winkler won first place and a $500 savings bond, Stan Jones took second place and a $400 savings bond, and Callie Arnold earned third place and a $300 savings bond.
Additionally, each student will receive a bound copy of their essay and two tickets to a production at the Alley Theatre, where the winning essays will be published in the theater company’s program and displayed poster-sized in the lobby. Bound copies of the essays will also be distributed to each Houston Public Library.
The dissertations, which were required to be typed in 500 words or less, were prompted by a quote from Jordan, who said, "What the public wants is simple. They want an America as good as its promise." All Houston-area seventh-grade students were invited to compose an essay detailing his or her ideas on what was Jordan’s "promise of America" and whether the country has realized her dream. Students were asked to provide specific examples of ways they could help America reach and keep this promise.
A panel of educators and professionals judged essays with criteria based on the originality of ideas, appropriateness of the subject matter, insightfulness, development of the author’s point of view, and clarity in expressing that point of view. The compositions were submitted in early December, and winners were recognized during a public ceremony at the Alley Theatre February 3, 2002.
A native of Houston’s Fifth Ward, Barbara Jordan is recognized for having been one of the most influential voices for community and justice in America during the last century. She served as both a Texas senator and United States congresswoman until retiring from politics in 1978, furthering her contributions to critical issues in American society through teaching at the University of Texas in Austin until her death in 1996.
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