Davis is writing an essay on safety versus privacy. Before his chat with the veteran, Davis was sure that safety was more important than privacy, but the veteran pointed out that even safety can be abused, which helped Davis see the issue from a new angle.
Connie Fow, a teacher at Highlands, reached out to the Veterans group in an attempt to give her students the chance to listen to others and to learn to understand people from a different background. Speaking to the Tri-City Herald, she stated:
“I wanted to up the ante a bit and get the kids to think outside the box, to think critically."
She and her students could consider using printing services to produce thank you notes and letters for the veterans who came to visit and speak with tem.
The essays that Fow's students are writing are part of the Smarter Balanced Assessments standardized exams program, which is part of the Common Core State Standards. Students in eighth grade are expected to demonstrate skills in language arts by writing an argumentative essay.