SIH is closely associated with Educational department of Vilnius Municipality and for four years has been conducting an English language essay contest for 9-10 and 11-12 grade high school students. The essay contest is an addition to the Educational department of Vilnius Municipality’s general education curriculum, and reflects the thoughts of the Lithuanian youth in accordance to current social issues.

In 2004 English essay contest, the 9th and the 10th graders were given a writing assignment: "How to resist Peer Pressure and Develop your own Personality". The 11th and the 12th graders were assigned to write their opinion on the following argument: "Personality Paves the Way to Successful Career". The English essays were reviewed by the committee that consisted of Soros International House and teachers from various schools that were not participating in the writing program. The committee reviewed the essays and selected the winners from 9th/10th graders and 11th/12 graders respectively who submitted their essays to the contest. The winners of the essay contest will be able to take English courses at Soros International House in the year 2005 winter term with 100, 50 and 30 percent discounts.

 Essay Competition Summary

   When choosing the topics of this year’s essay competition, we wanted something relevant to students’ lives, something they could sink their teeth into and would allow them to show us their best. For the 19 year 9/10 students who participated, we asked them to write about ways of dealing with peer pressure and how to develop one’s own individuality. For the 40 year 11/12 school leavers involved we asked them about something undoubtedly on their minds: succeeding in a career and whether personality affected this.
   As soon as we began reading the entries it was evident that the responses, in one clear way, were the exactly same: they were all good, very good. How, then, to choose the winners? To work with native-speaker English teachers from SIH, a team of local experts, that is, teachers from Vilnius secondary schools (none of which, it should be noted, had participants in the competition), was called in to help evaluate the essays and do the difficult job of determining the best.
How did they decide? Four criteria were used: how well did students respond to the topic and complete the task? In doing so, what range of grammar and vocabulary was used and with what level of accuracy? How well was the essay organized? Finally, how interesting was the essay to read as a whole?
   In every case, the answer to this final question was simple: quite interesting. In discussing ways how students could develop their own identities, nearly every participant agreed that peer pressure among teens was rampant and unavoidable and the resounding common response was that teens should just be themselves. Some writers, however, proposed thoughtful suggestions concerning the development of self-esteem backed with sound practical advice. For example, one writer suggested that instead of trying to fit in with a group that was simply popular or cool and often marked by negative attitudes, teens should join students with shared academic interests or hobbies and a positive attitude. That’s good advice, isn’t it?
   Students responding to the argument that personality paved the way to a successful career were no less thoughtful and creative. While most participants tended to agree, some remarked insightfully that the success a person can achieve through having a strong personality might not always be deserving, citing no less than Lenin as an example! Others argued that while personality was important for advancing your career and distinguishing yourself from others, it was no substitute for talent, which, some students argued, really separated the good from the great. A few students noted quite interestingly that because personality is formed early in a child’s life, parents and teachers had a crucial role in determining a child’s future success.
   But the common denominator in all our responses was the belief that nothing could be achieved without hard work. We agree, and judging by the amount of thought and effort put into the entries we received in this year’s essay competition, the students of Vilnius secondary schools have very bright and successful futures ahead of them.

Chris Featherman, SIH Teacher & Evaluation Group Leader