About
I am honored to be the Chairman of the Houston/Harris County Do the Write Thing Challenge. My memories of being a seventh and eighth grader are still vivid and they are not all pleasant. In fact, I am sometimes amazed that I came through those years. However, today’s youngsters face far more difficult problems then I could have imagined.
They are bombarded by media filled with violence, immoral behavior and desensitizing language. Daily, they are confronted with offers of drugs, gang membership and other anti-social activities. It is easy to see why middle school students are vulnerable to truancy and academic failure.
The Houston/Harris County Do the Write Thing Challenge is an outlet, through which this at-risk age group can express themselves. It is a youth anti-violence and academic program that provides these students with the opportunity to think profoundly about the issues surrounding the problems of violence. They examine and discuss the causes of violence, the effects on their lives, and communicate in writing what they think should be done to build a healthy civil society.
The writers identify many problems, chief among them is bullying in all of its malevolent forms. Malicious gossip is spread by instant and text messaging at all hours; kids are taunted as “rejects” and shunned; they are humiliated verbally and physically and the viciousness sometimes escalates into brutal assaults. The students condemn the entertainment media and the Internet which exalt aberrant behavior and ridicule decency. They demand wholesome entertainment and suggest controls to reduce their exposure to lewdness and mayhem. Family indifference, neglect, alcohol and drug abuse and violence are significant sources of misery in many young lives. Children hunger for positive guidance and attention from their parents and kin and other adults in their lives. They want civility at home, in school and in the community.
Most heartening are the declarations of the students, who decide they can make a difference and can set the example by thinking rationally, controlling their impulses and behaving responsibly. They vow to reach out to others, to be kind and to engage in constructive pursuits. Personal responsibility and leadership are their philosophical building blocks.
All of us can learn from the writings of these students. Sometimes jolting, sometimes surprising, always interesting, their words are straight from the hearts of our best and brightest. Read, enjoy and learn.
Ed Emmett
Harris County Judge
Houston/Harris County Do The Write Thing Challenge Chair
