Education
Grade 6

Workforce Development: The Key to Fighting Poverty

Have you ever been forced to skip a meal, either because of financial deficiencies or other factors that hindered your ability to find a job? Unemployment is significant because people can’t always find jobs to help them survive. With solutions such as job training skills, however, the hardships of unemployment can be eradicated. Imagine you […]

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Environment
Grade 7

Clean Up the Anacostia River!

The Anacostia River is a source of life for countless species, and it is currently at risk. The Anacostia has a history of being polluted, and to this day, it is full of toxins and trash. I have volunteered for the Anacostia River Watershed Society multiple times and seen firsthand the crippling effect of pollution […]

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Education
Grade 5

The Importance of Soft Skills in School

Schools are great for helping us learn math, reading, and science, but what if that’s all they focus on? While we are busy studying for tests, we might forget about other important skills like being creative, working well with teammates, and understanding our feelings. If we only concentrate on getting the right answers in class, […]

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Education
Grade 8

Give Everyone the Chance to Read

Your teacher calls you up to read a paragraph during class, but you don’t know any of the words. Your mind starts racing: you should know the words, but you don’t. Your hands start to sweat, your heart rate goes up, and it becomes hard to breathe. Year after year, the reading continues to get […]

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Education
Grade 8

Alternatives to School Punishment

Have you ever made a decision you regret? What if I told you traditional school disciplinary systems only encourage students to repeat their bad decisions? For instance, look at Malcolm. He is a straight-A student, but he is poor and has no power in today’s society. Malcolm arrived late one day because he had to […]

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Environment
Grade 6

Pollution in Bangladesh

Imagine you are breathing in thick, polluted air, and your heart starts to hurt. Can you imagine breathing air that is 16 times worse than the World Health Organization’s recommended levels? That’s what people in Bangladesh have to breathe every day. Air pollution in Bangladesh poses a significant problem for the 171.2 million people living […]

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Domestic and Sexual Violence
Grade 8

Sexual Assault and Harassment

A lot of people around the world have been through some sort of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can be as small as catcalling and as big as touching people inappropriately or rape. Yes, even I have been catcalled, and you or people you know may have been as well. I am a 13-year-old girl, and […]

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Education
Grade 6

Preventing Trauma From School Lockdown Drills

A 7-year-old girl had a lockdown drill because of a potential bomb threat. When she got home, everything seemed fine until she was changing out of her school uniform, and her mom noticed that she had written “Love Mom and Dad” on her arm. When asked, she said it was in case the “bad guy” […]

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Bullying
Grade 8

Respecting Physical Boundaries

Teaching middle and high schoolers to respect physical boundaries is essential for keeping everyone safe and civil. When students learn about boundaries, they know when to give others space and how to say no if they’re uncomfortable. This helps them have better friendships and feel safe around others. Parents and mentors should teach youth about […]

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Education
Grade 6

Changing How We Think About Homework

How would you feel if homework didn’t exist? Homework should be minimized because, first, homework causes problems in a student’s school-life balance, and second, it is ineffective and a waste of time for the student and the teacher grading it. According to The Human Restoration Project, “A study in Contemporary Educational Psychology of 28,051 high […]

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