Read Excel South Student’s Award-Winning ‘American Freedom’ Essay
Ninth grade Camelot Excel South Student Markelda Martinez’s “Outlet of Liberty” essay won the Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia’s American Freedom Essay Contest in December. Markelda’s essay beat out hundreds of applicants from schools across the country.
The annual competition, held in honor of Constitution Day, encourages educators to engage their students in learning more about the Constitution with many of the Constitutional Walking Tour’s online resources. Students then write a 100-300 word essay on what freedom means in their lives.
Markelda’s essay, “Outlet of Liberty,” won the top award in the High School Division, earning her classmates a free field trip with The Constitutional Walking Tour.
Read Markelda’s full essay below– and check back on the Camelot Education blog more news on Markelda’s honor!
Outlet of Liberty
Since before I can remember, diverse people have come to America for something more “free” than before. Freedom of Religion made America an outlet of liberty. People everywhere wanted a place to practice what they pleased. Simply being able to practice your own religion is just as important as it was for women and blacks to get equal rights. Even Thomas Jefferson pushed hard for language in the Bill of Rights that separated church and state. No one liked the idea that you were forced to do what others believed. That is exactly why the Pilgrims could not stay in England and they moved here! Freedom of Religion in America makes sense because many diverse people migrated to America and are from opposite cultures and religions.
Even recently, religious freedom has been brought up in schools. For example, South Carolina public schools are being sued by The American Civil Liberties Union-also known as the ACLU. In those public schools, students are being led by teachers to do daily in-class prayers. The ACLU believes that students need to have the choice to their own religion. Once again, the First Amendment and Freedom of Religion have shown their importance in American lives. Freedom of Religion has immensely helped many Americans. Religion is a part of everyday life, and many problems are answered through prayer. However, it is important to remember each individual has the right to choose their own religion. Religion not only frees people, but religion also has the ability to make people feel free.
