Being an American

David Baker, First Place Winner in the East North Central
Cornerstone High School (homeschool); Bexley, Ohio; Teacher: Shannon Baker

Without a tremendous amount of ingenuity the United States of America would not exist as we know it today. Ingenuity means trying new ways of doing things, new uses for past ideas and developing them until you find a better way. The Founders had to use creativity and ingenuity to develop a system of government for such a diverse people. They were also able to balance the government so that it would treat all citizens and all States equally. The writing of the United States Constitution required our Founders to take their many ideas and form them into a better government. When the Constitutional Convention first met there were many opposing ideas on
government; some Founders called for the British system, however, others wanted a weak government with no leader. Many colonists wanted to crown George Washington as their king, but he said that he would not be the king or support a monarchy in America. There were some that wanted no connection between the States making them just a group of sovereign colonies. They would form alliances in time of war, like they had done during the American Revolution under the Articles of Confederation, when the federal government could only make suggestions not any real laws. There were other Founders who pushed for a central federal power with almost no States rights. If the Founders had chosen any one of those systems our country would have had civil wars constantly, with some States going back to Great Britain or becoming French colonies, a dictatorship (and most likely other revolutions), anarchy or a police state. Instead the Founders created a system with checks and balances and a rather limited federal government, but strong enough to prevent inter-state strife while still allowing State and personal freedoms. They also found ways to balance the amount of power between a small State and a large State so that the small State was not powerless or disproportionately powerful to a larger State.
The Founders had to use much ingenuity to create our Constitution so that it would allow the federal government to function well and not become an Orwellian big brother figure or lead to anarchy. Our Constitution took the best of each idea and created an entirely new republic.
Our country has shown an amazing amount of ingenuity throughout its history. Benjamin Franklin, at age 81, was the oldest member of the Constitutional Convention. He had many other ingenious ideas that still influence everyday life today such as bifocals, the "Franklin Stove", the first police and fire departments, as well as the public library. Another great American who embodied this same type of ingenuity was Henry Ford. Among other things, he gave the world the first assembly line and an affordable car. Many of the things we use every day and take for granted are manufactured in the assembly line. Without all these ideas and many other
innovations throughout our history, American culture would not be what it is today. Mr. Ford said, “To do more for the world than the world does for you—that is success.” Without the willingness to take ideas and inventions of the past and change or remold them, neither Mr. Ford nor our Founders could have been successful in their enterprises. I have used my own ingenuity by designing inventions to help make life easier or better and also while programming my FIRST robotics team's robot. A couple of my inventions are the Twister Resister, a device that
protects people from flying debris during a tornado; and the Stuffed Crutch, an add-on to your crutch so you are able to carry things with you while you crutch. In programming, ingenuity is very important. There are many problems in programming that do not have easy solutions and you must try many different ideas to find the best one. Without being able to "think outside the box" when looking at a problem in order to find unique ways to solve it, or looking at an item to find a new use for it, you will never create anything. I enjoy trying to solve problems as well as finding better ways to do things. In conclusion, without ingenuity, the United States of America might not be 232 years old and counting. I believe that ingenuity, past, present and future, is the most important American value. Without ingenuity, America would not have led the world in science and technology these many years.

A Plant in Hand

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by George Benedict M. Ferrer
Tandang Sora National High School, Philippines

Take Care of Nature

1st Place: "A Plant in Hand"
by George Benedict M. Ferrer
Tandang Sora National High School

"Kalikasan Pangalagaan"
by Ma. Leody B. Jasmin
San Francisco High School

Ang Taong may Pangangalaga sa Kalikasan ay may Kinabukasan (A person who cares for nature have a future )

1st Place: "A Plant in Hand"
by George Benedict M. Ferrer
Tandang Sora National High School

2nd Place: "Kalikasan Pangalagaan"
by Ma. Leody B. Jasmin
San Francisco High School

"
by Mary Denise R. Dator
St. Bridget School, Philippines

Eating Healthy

Emily Clements, Age 13, Australia

As soon as we had access to the Internet, I was on it like a flash. Millions of sites from around the world on every different subject you could imagine-it was expensive, but I was on it every day! My main interests were kids' sites, chatlines, competitions, and, of course, animal websites.

I have always loved animals from the moment I was born! My two sisters and I grew up with pets, and we continue to love them as a family. As a young child, I loved most of all to go to zoos and animal parks, even though now I realize that they can be cruel to the animals. I still want to be a vet when I "grow up." The thing that strikes me about ALL creatures is that they're so beautiful and intelligent--especially companion animals such as dogs, cats and horses. So naturally, because of my love of animals, I looked up animal websites, perhaps in the hope of finding some pictures and interesting facts. Oh, I found them all right, but they weren't at all what I expected.

I almost regret that I found animal cruelty websites now because they continue to haunt me for a long time after I read them. However, there is the aspect that they help me to take action. The first and most horrible one I have read was a page on "factory farming." It was unlike anything I had ever heard of before.

Up till then, I had been naive in thinking that farms were picturesque landscapes where animals roamed in paddocks and grazed in sunny meadows. Of course, reality is never so good. I wonder how many people realize that the pork chops they ate last night came from a pig that had lived its short life in a cramped, dark pen, cruelly dosed with steroids, hormones and antibiotics? The things that people will do to save money in the farming business are shocking. What sort of world do we live in? Then the merciless slaughter ... it was all too much. I was sure I could not eat another piece of meat without feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt.

In the next few weeks, I hoped the feeling would go away, but it didn't. I continued to see evidence of animal abuse. At least twice a month we would pass a sheep truck on the road: it would be cramped full of terrified animals, some with their limbs hanging out the side of the truck. I learned they were headed for a long tough sea journey to the Middle East for slaughter; apparently as many as 5% would die on the way. I hoped others, especially my parents, would have the same views as me. They didn't.

When I told my parents I wanted to stop eating meat I was surprised at their laid-back reaction. After about a week of me leaving my meat on the side of the plate, the conflict began. They couldn't seem to understand that I actually meant what I said: I was now a vegetarian. You can't blame them really, with the scarce amounts of vegetarians around when they were my age, they found it hard to believe it was different now. Mum and I would argue and argue. Were humans meant to eat meat? Were animals meant to be eaten? Was there such a thing as a healthy vegetarian? Was this some sort of weight-loss diet I was attempting? Of course, I was very angry, furious even. Dad told me to write out a list of things that I would need to eat instead, which I had already done. Like any parents, Mum and Dad were worried about my health. I didn't appreciate it!

One day I came home to find the fridge well stocked with a million soy products and every sort of tofu you could possibly imagine! Finally my parents were accepting that I would eat differently from them, and maybe they would even try some of my new foods!

It's still hard for my parents to come to terms with vegetarianism, especially when so many of their friends have very twisted views about this subject. I'm lucky--in my generation, vegetarians are mostly accepted and different foods are widely available. So far, I have found my diet interesting, healthy, AND cruelty free, and I'm determined to make it last!