Students study freedom of speech, press

For a third year, Greencastle Middle School eighth-graders had the honor of working with journalist Jeff McCall during our study of the Constitution.

This collaboration was made possible through the Castle Program (Putnam County Coalition for Education and the Creative Arts Inc.) In each class, Mr. McCall discussed with students the significance of freedom of speech and press for our country. Comparisons were made with other countries allowing the students to discover that with this privilege comes a great responsibility.

During this discussion on our constitutional rights, Professor McCall of DePauw University encouraged students to let their voices be heard. He modeled for the students how to write an opinion article drawing parallels to the process he incurs as a journalist. Together, we then encouraged students to write their own opinion essays on a topic of their choice about which they are passionate.

Several essays submitted were worthy of publication and tackled an impressive variety of issues from dress code in school, hunting laws in Indiana, taxation in the federal government all the way to problems facing our global society.

I must say that the opinions expressed by these eighth-graders were truly amazing. Not only were their opinions well written with researched facts, details, and statistics to support their position, but they also offered inspiring solutions and ideas for the country's future.

Another expectation of eighth-grade American History students at GMS is to take the Naturalization/Citizenship test taken by those wishing to become citizens of the United States. Students are given a 100-question assessment covering the history and government of the United States.

When given as a pretest at the beginning of the year, no one earned a passing grade. After a year of hard work, I'm proud to announce that 100 percent of GMS eighth-graders passed the Citizenship Test with a score of 80 percent or better, with several students passing with a 100 percent. It is refreshing to see our youth excited about and dedicated to becoming great American citizens.

I wish to express my gratitude to the Banner Graphic, Jeff McCall, and the Castle Program for supporting such an amazing real world lesson for our eighth-graders. I am so proud of each and every student.