Winter 2022: Classic Contest Winners and Finalists

Winners

Grace, 1st Grade, Cardiff, California

Teacher Kim shares: I took the Conscious Kid//#USvsHate challenge and read “Fitting In” by Haruka Aoki to my students and we discussed what it meant to fit in…and to not fit in. Students eagerly told their own stories of not fitting in…and how important it is to honor difference (it seems their parents have been talking with them about accepting differences). They then made posters to share their messages with others, clearly inspired by the artwork from the book we read.

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Chinenye, 8th Grade, Texas

Chinenye shares: “Who said that my skin is all of me? My skin is but a outer shell of my many layers.”

Alyssa, 11th Grade, Plantation, Florida

Alyssa shares: “The message behind my project is that no matter what we look like, our bodies all serve the same purpose and they are good to us. My intentions are to spread the message of body neutrality and the importance of loving your body because it keeps you alive, which is the true beautiful thing about our bodies. (This is a mixed-media piece: oil pastel on canvas with duct tape.)”

Teacher Lara shares: “Students in Psychology Club were invited to submit to #USvsHate, and this submission is from a student leader in our club who is passionate about raising awareness of social issues impacting the community.”

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Ayden, 11th Grade, Studio City, California

Ayden shares: “I wanted to create a dance film of what it’s like being a student in this time when school shootings have become normalized. We are the ones participating in the marches, speeches, and news articles to help spread awareness and the message that there needs to be better gun regulation in America. I want the message of this piece to invoke emotion in the person watching it and to spark conversation amongst people; if people are talking about the dance, they are spreading the message of gun violence in schools.”

Teacher Carlos shares: “After doing #USvsHate for three years now, it’s clear to me that projects like these are what students need to help them make sense of their world. They want to learn about the complexities of hate to better understand individual and systemic injustices they see and (in some cases) experience themselves. And most of all, they have the intellectual capacity and heart to handle it.”

Finalists

Rye, 6th Grade, Evanston, Illinois

Rye shares: “To get people to be kinder.”

Teacher Peggy shares: “We worked on: History, ways to be a good citizen, and member of society.”

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Will, 11th Grade, Studio City, California

Will writes: “I wrote this song about greedy white men in power. I was going to go with an environmentalist message until it had been leaked that the supreme court was discussing overturning Roe v. Wade. I wanted it to sound something like the songs from the 40’s about joining the union–something like “Which Side are You On” by Pete Seager.”