First Place “The Ideal Community” by Clyde Magan – Round Valley Elementary
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a community is: “A group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.” What does that mean? It’s confusing thinking about a community as a whole, just like an engine may be difficult to comprehend when viewed from the hood of a car. However, when inspected up close, a
community, like an engine, comes into focus when seen in its parts. To understand the ideal community, I compared it to the best parts of my family.
Laughter is a central part of my family. My brother makes funny faces when others are angry or upset. It eases our temper and raises our spirits. Likewise, my dad makes funny jokes to make me happy when I’m sad. He also does it at random times just to be funny. Laughter also is important to a well run community. Community members should not be serious with each other all the time. In my school community, my teacher jokes with us to make us happy and school more fun. On my mission field trip last year, one of the parents joked throughout the trip. Everyone laughed and enjoyed themselves. I can’t imagine a community without the joy of
laughter.
No family runs without love. Our family shows love by paying attention to one another’s needs. For example, every night my mom or dad reads books to my brother and me. My mom makes homemade bread because she knows that we love eating it. In the morning, I pack water
bottles for both my brother and myself. We always are looking out for each other. Communities need to do the same. At school, our chef Miss Peek, brings ice to students randomly in the afternoons. She knows that we like chomping on it and doesn’t mind getting it for us. In every sport I play, my coaches pay special attention to the needs of all of the participants. Coach Pam will sometimes open up the diving board at swim team practice because she knows that we need a break. Coach Rubin, my ju-jitsu instructor, adds games to the class to make it fun for everyone. Communities are doomed to failure without love.
If love is the oil of a family, structure and rules are the spark plugs. Without structure, families wouldn’t work. In my house, my brother and I flush the toilet, but often forget to put the seat down. When my mom or dad saw an open toilet bowl, they made us pay $5. This didn’t work. I
continued to forget the seat and my dad continued to harp on me about it. Eventually the $5 plan went away and a week ago, my mom made up a new toilet seat plan. This time, my brother and I had to clean the toilets if we left the seat up. I have never left a seat up since. My mom and dad are constantly keeping my brother and me in check and making sure we act like behaved kids. Communities, too, need structure and rules. Police, principals, teachers, and one’s conscience help keep people in line. Imagine a school, a town, anything, without law. Everything would go haywire. If Mrs. Torrance announced that Round Valley School would no
longer ask kids to follow school rules or directions, kids may do flips off of the monkey bars, food might fly across the cafeteria, nobody would do their school work or homework, and the bus would be CRAZY! Both families and communities need more than just love, they need discipline.
It is important to zoom into a community to truly understand it. Also important, is making sure its parts are working as expected. No one wants a clunky, rickety, rackety, limping along engine. The roar of a finely tuned Porsche is what we all crave. Take community in for a check up
periodically and make sure it is tuned with laughter, love, and structure.
2nd Place “What Makes A Good Community” By Sabrina Gil – Owens Valley Elementary School
You are the decision makers in our community, so it’s up to you to make the right decisions. You are the one who has the power to make a good community!
I have experienced a community that needed changes, and I did my best to respect my surroundings, use kind words, help around, and provide K. C. H,that stands for Kindness Care and Honer! These five amazing things are only just a few things Y.O.Ucan do! We are the ones who can CHANGE and CREATE our world to a better place. I have tried K.C.H many times and it brought happiness to many, and when it brings other people happiness,I will tell you,It brings you happiness.
A community isn’t just one place it’s the WHOLE world. Now,I’m not saying you have to make the whole world change, start small, and soon it will spread slowly, person by person , you just have to be patient.
Now, you’re probably thinking, why should we listen to you?! Well, i’m just a person and you are too. California’s crime rates are extreme, About 123,000,000 results, California’s violent crime rate increased in 2021. California’s violent crime rate increased by 6.0%,from 440 per 100,000 residents in 2020 to 466 in 2021.
I’ve read a quote about kindness by AESOP that said “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is wasted”.This quote is small but tells something that sometimes takes years for people to get it right, and yet it took me one minute, “How you ask?” by instantly doing it every day. Even just one act of kindness can change your community extremely,less homicidal behavior ,less larceny, less crime. We all have the ability to do, you just need to do the right things!
I have read a book by Paul Fleichman called “Seedfolks”. Paul Fleichman is on the same page as me, his story shows different people who know their community needs changing,these people in the book don’t sit there doing nothing they DO, and that’s how it should be. The setting of the story is Cleveland, which has a low population of people. It was trashed,the people were mean, no care for the community, no respect, no education, no K.C.H! Now this story is about a garden that soon turned the community into a place full of care, love, community respect, kind communication, and K.C.H, all of which started with just one little girl named “Kim”. That little girl or little boy or adult could be you !Kim started off by just planting some beans for her own reasons,to make her dad proud, but once it started spreading on it was more than that,it was much more than that,Kim had started a community.
Me and Paul aren’t the only ones trying to get this message out, there are more people in this world and if you wanted you could be one of those people. There may not be a lot of people who think of a community like I do but you can change that, we all can.
In a world where so many are throwing bricks on others, be the one who builds bridges with them! A community is what makes us us, our community is the place where
you feel welcome,the place where you live,the place where you thrive, the place where you can make a CHANGE. YOU are the change!
3rd Place “A Good Community” by Rollin Wilis – Round Valley Elementary
Helen Keller once said “alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”. Today I will be speaking to you about what makes a good community. I believe it is the education, volunteerism and a fair and honest government. It is as simple as doing good things for the good of everyone. Education is important to all kids and adults. All kids need to learn math like multiplication, reading and writing. We need education for everything in our lives. Whether we
like it or not. Malcolm X once said “ Education is the passport to the future for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”. Education is an important factor in building a community. It can be difficult to build a strong trusting relationship without listening and learning from people around you. We all know that education is important. It may start in preschool, but it continues throughout our lives.
Volunteering is important as well. It can be in schools, clubs, and churches. Most high schools even require you to volunteer a designated amount of hours before graduation for public service hours. Rosalynn Carter once said “ With out volunteers we would all be a nation without a soul”. Even at our scholl, volunteers come and teach us about famous art pieces made a long time ago. We learn about the shapes, colors, and history about them. Volunteering builds astronger community by allowing individuals to react with local residents, the outdoors and businesses.
If we want to have a good community we need a good local government. A good government is important to everyone, but a local government is important to our daily lives. Not just to my life but everyones; that’s why everyone should vote. I wish I could, but I am not old enough just yet!
Abraham Lincoln once said “ No man is good enough to govern another man without the others consent.” The decision making process and it’s institution must be able to produce decisions that establish rules for the roads, schools, and all public spaces.We all need rules and guidance in our lives, and it is easier if create them together. Being a good person is important. If you are kind to some one they will be kind to you.Harold s.kushner said “Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” Help your
neighbor when in need. Not because you like them but because you can. Being thoughtful is important to all. Help people whether you like them or not, smile at strangers. Be kind not rude.Be a person that helps people. Be the best person you can be, and really that is good enough. Being a kind person is important to all people regardless of their skin tone, abilities, money, or job.
In conclusion a good community needs good education, volunterring, and a good local governing body. Currently, I am in school and receiving a good education. When I am in
middle school, I will get to volunteer more. And when I grow up, I will have the education, and spent time volunteering, so that I can get a job here and help to make this community
even better!
