“This contest enabled my students to see how they are connected to the world beyond their communities.”

“[After Local Letters], the students understand in a real sense that the words they use have a wider impact than our classroom.”

“Students gained insight and knowledge into the application of our Human Rights unit with world events. They also learned to direct their concerns towards a decision maker in ways that many of them had never done previously. It was not an abstract activity.”

“Many of my students were inspired to take further action after participating in the Local Letters workshop by sending their letters directly to the people they addressed, continuing conversations about their selected global/local issues, and even meeting with our school administration to further their campaigns.”

“[Local Letters] helps students have a more ‘real’ audience for their argumentative writing, which is motivating. They were excited to read the Pulitzer articles, and were able to conduct research and make local connections to the issue from the Pulitzer article. For many, they advocated for specific legislation awaiting passing at the state or federal level. Being able to identify who has the power to make the changes that they want was tricky and powerful.

Writing about issues they self-select has a formative impact on their identity. Many students are passionate about their topic, and as we have been sharing letters, they give each other positive feedback and ask questions. It's been an engaging activity and I am so impressed by my students' work."

“My curricular goals of global awareness and historical empathy were supported by the Pulitzer stories read and analyzed resulting in producing creative poetry...Fighting Words provided the opportunity for a creative, different, and deeper form of assessment. Students enjoyed not only expressing themselves, but as one student expressed in my class, 'I found a different part of my soul.'"

“[Fighting Words] helped raise awareness of global issues in an accessible way for all students, cultivated our shared value in the power of words and lifted student voices. It gave a chance for students to express their emotion, creativity, and skill, employing and experimenting with poetic tools and devices studied in class.”

“Students care about what is happening in their community and in the world. They want to be able to make a difference in their local and global communities. This contest is one way that students can share their voices with the world. This contest allows them to make a difference with their words.”

“Fighting Words reinforced my social justice focus within my curriculum. It provided a good opportunity for students to engage in artivism and use their student voices towards advocacy for spotlighting underreported issues.”

“As part of teaching poetry I firmly believe in the need for students to write as well as read great poems. So many come into class saying (or thinking) that they don't 'get' poetry. Thus reading the work of students who participate in the Fighting Words competition is an inspiration to my own students.

Furthermore, I am always trying to bring the greater world into the classroom, particularly in a school which the kids themselves refer to as a 'bubble.' The wonderful stories on the Pulitzer website open their eyes to important and often unrecognized facets of our global society.”