When Teens Essay to Write About Values

We keep hearing that our teen-agers don’t read and can’t write, and there is abundant evidence to support that dismal notion.

There is also evidence to the contrary.

I was recently asked by Rabbi Alfred Wolf to be one of three judges of a high school essay contest. As Rabbi Wolf is my spiritual adviser, I agreed, though I hate judging anything. I have judged beauty contests and seen the tears of the losers.

Rabbi Wolf, now retired as rabbi of the Wilshire Temple, is director of the Skirball Institute on American Values, and the theme of the contest was American values. The students were asked to select an American value, document it historically, and relate it to their lives.

There were two contests: one for Catholic schools, one for Los Angeles district schools. I received copies of the six finalists in each group. Some unheralded teachers had done the preliminary judging. My fellow judges, I had learned, were Tritia Toyota and Irving Stone. I tried not to think what they would decide.

The first essay I read was by Joel G. Aldape of Huntington Park High School. I was amazed. Its grammar was impeccable. Its argument was logical and forceful. His theme was the Puritan ethic. He concluded that he believed the Puritan ethic had built America. One striking line was that the Puritans had thought their ideas would bring them closer to God. Today, he suggested, we think the Puritan ethic will bring us closer to success.

We were supposed to judge each essay in various categories on a scale of 1 to 10. I gave Aldape 9 or 10 in every category. Then I read the next essay. It, too, was grammatically neat, well-reasoned, and persuasive. I realized that if I gave the writer the same ratings, neither would win. I went back and took a few points away from Aldape.

I hated it. In the end, I gave almost every contestant a good grade. An essay is a private thing. How can you judge one against another? I hoped that my fellow judges would be more decisive than I was.

The awards were to be given at 4 p.m. at Lawry’s California Center, an oasis north of Dodger Stadium and the railroad tracks. It is a lovely place, replete with patios and fountains and gorgeous California flowers.

Unfortunately, the ceremony coincided with one of the rather common natural catastrophes on Mt. Washington, where I live, a mile from the Lawry’s center. As I was driving down the hill to the Skirball meeting, I noticed a plume of white smoke rising from a nearby canyon. I knew I ought to stop and call the fire department. But I also knew that someone else would surely do that. We on Mt. Washington are all alert to fires.

When Rabbi Wolf began the ceremonies, shortly after 4 o’clock, his remarks were accompanied by the kind of sounds that only a metropolis can produce. Freight trains rumbled by, grinding and whistling. We were suddenly assaulted by the clatter of helicopters, one after another. Then came the roar of fire engines and the scream of sirens.

Rabbi Wolf carried on imperturbably, despite the noise. Msgr. Aidan Carroll, representing the Catholic schools, spoke with great charm, ignoring the clamor. His aplomb, in fact, almost converted me to the faith.

The two grand prize winners were asked to read their essays. They did so with calm and poise. The winner in the Los Angeles district division was the young man who wrote about the Puritan ethic. Robert M. Bautista of Bishop Amat was first in the Catholic schools.

While Aldape was reading his essay, a train went by, grinding and clanging,

Helicopters chattered overhead; a fire engine roared by, siren shrilling. Young Aldape continued with his essay, which, after all, was about freedom of speech, but when the center’s chimes began to stroke the hour of 5 he gave up. With great patience, he waited out the bells.

Rabbi Wolf had asked me to say a few words in conclusion. I could only say that writing an essay was probably the most important thing a student could do. I said, as I believe, that one does not think until one has expressed his thoughts in writing. I thank God I finished before the chimes stroked 6.