Scholastic Writing Awards for kids

I am excited and inspired after a day of reading kids' submissions to the Scholastic Writing Awards.  I read some fantastic work. And even those entry's that were less successful had kernals of wonderful work to come. I read beautifully crafted sentences. There was dialogue that made me feel I was eavesdropping,  the words were so true and genuine. There were photographic descriptions, and poetic turns of phrases that could have come from the most accomplished writers. All this from 9th-12th graders (in my batch)! Of course my fingers are crossed for the submissions I nominated. It's all subjective though, so I hope all the participants continue to write.

The arts seem to be under assault these days where kids are concerned. Programs in schools are being cut in favor of a push for more math and science over arts education.  There's nothing wrong with math and science,  but I believe the emphasis in school should be on developing intellectual curiosity for life long learning, and a broad education that embraces the humanities. After school programs and libraries can also fill the gap, but they need your support. And get kids to participate. The greater the demand, the more attention these programs will receive.

Here's a link to the submissions guidelines. I encourage everyone to let kids know about this wonderful opportunity. http://www.artandwriting.org/the-awards/how-to-enter/
And thank you to Writopia Lab in Hartsdale for hosting. Writopia offers writing workshops for kids across the country. http://www.writopialab.org/ Happy writing.