The results of our annual Education and Culture Committee Contest have concluded. Congratulations to first place winner, Benjamin Goldberg, second place team winners, Maxine Alpart and Elizabeth Liu, and third place team winners, Mirzad Glavic and Haley Gebauer. The ATA was elated to have a record number of participants, 54 in total, express their thoughts on the subject topic through art, music, video, writing, poetry, and dozens of other creative mediums. The judges in this contest were impressed with the degree of originality and imagination. Read the PRESS RELEASE for more information.
In the words of one judge:
“Judging this contest was a privilege and an eye-opener. Why? Because the students creatively and movingly laid bare their bewilderment at what COVID-19 has done to their world in particular but the whole world in general; their certainty that the way out of any kind of disaster is through the sharing of information and ideas and goods among all countries; and their confidence that their generation is up to such tasks.
I was struck by one line from a poem, a line that seemed at first to be a rebuke to adults who have mismanaged things around the globe, either on purpose or by neglect, and, at the same time, a clear-eyed statement that we all can do better than we have done: “Let 2020 and 2021 be a lesson to you.” If, perhaps, “us” might be better than “you,” these young people are not yet wholly in charge—except, of course, in the streets and on social media, where they are our conscience—so we adults must accept that responsibility for the time being. All teachers are in the profession because, even as they explain the past to students, they are hopeful that these same students will improve on it. The work that these contestants submitted made this judging opportunity a hopeful experience.”