Rough Drafts

My students are working on the rough drafts of their persuasive essays right now. They've each chosen a topic and (supposedly) researched the idea to some extent. We talked about the persuasive appeals used by Aristotle - ethos, pathos, and logos - and looked at some examples in newspapers, magazines, etc. The topics ranged dramatically: off-campus lunches, four-day school week, U.S. dependency on foreign oil, incest, teen pregnancy, religious tolerance...

Some of the students are asking if they can take their arguments to the school board. I am thrilled that they want to take the assignment beyond the classroom, but at the same time I don't want their hopes to be destroyed when the administration only gives a passing glance to their hard work. Perhaps this would also be an appropriate time to teach the value of personal satisfaction. It's the act of creating that matters, not the opinions of others.