“I believe, or at least I hope, that there is public virtue enough left among us, to deny ourselves everything but the bare necessaries of life, to accomplish our end.”
—George Washington

Here’s a great homeschooling opportunity for your rising classical scholar to validate his mastery of speaking skills (classical trivium skill number three). The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) and the Circe Institute are co-sponsoring a national essay contest for high school homeschool students. A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to the first place winner. Registration forms are due on November 28, 2008, and essays are due on January 23, 2009. Here are the details:

“George Washington and the Formation of the American Character”

George Washington’s leadership and legacy remain an important part of American identity. ISI is committed to keeping the vital lessons of the American Founding alive for the rising generation through this prestigious essay contest.

Focus and Format of the Essay

Charles deGaulle once scoffed at the suggestion that he was indispensible to the effort to rebuild France and Western Europe in the wake of WWII, responding that “the cemeteries are full of indispensible men.” It is tempting to believe, however, that at the time of the American founding, George Washington may well have been the exception to de Gaulle’s rule. He conspicuously stands out from among the other central figures of the founding era and earns Lighthorse Harry Lee’s encomium as having been “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen….”

The task of defining American identity is an ongoing, and seemingly endless, project—and one that each generation must take up anew. Answers to the question of what constitutes the distinctly American character range far and wide, taking on a different cast when examined through the respective disciplinary lenses of history, political science, economics, or the arts.

Careful study of the nation’s founding architects reveals a remarkably diverse and complex set of animating convictions that only compound the challenge of defining the American character. Like his renowned contemporaries, Washington’s personal narrative was hardly monochromatic. It may well be that his enduring contribution to the American personality is the imprint of both his personal and public identity upon the nation he loved and served.

Home school students participating in this essay contest are asked to consider at least two central elements of Washington’s public or private life that found expression in American identity. Essayists are encouraged to consider how those characteristics have been weakened or strengthened over the past two centuries and what this suggests about the American character.

Essays are to be between 1,200 and 1,500 words long. Printed entries should be double-spaced and printed on one side of the page only. All submissions must be postmarked or e-mailed by January 23, 2009. Essays will be judged on the basis of scholarship, imagination, and quality of writing.

Deadlines

Registration – November 28, 2008

Essay – January 23, 2009

Scholarship Awards

1st place – $1,000
2nd place -  $500
3rd Place -  $250
4th through 10th place – a set of ISI books on “Order and Liberty at the Founding”

Bonus Gift # 1

Every homeschool entrant receives a complimentary one year subscription to the Intercollegiate Review, ISI’s flagship publication which provide critical essays, reviews, and commentary on a wide variety of topics related to politics, economics, and culture. This journal retails for $13 a year.

Bonus Gift # 2

Patriot Sage, a 369 page paperback retails for $30, and every homeschooler who enters gets a free copy!  In this lavishly illustrated book, the life and legacy of America’s Founding Father is commemorated by bringing noteworthy scholars and authors together for a timely and topical consideration of Washington’s enduring importance.

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Consult ISI Programs for complete information.

Questions? Contact essaycontest@isi.org.

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt educational organization whose purpose is to further in successive generations of college youth a better understanding of the values and institutions that sustain a free and humane society.

Founded in 1953, ISI works “to educate for liberty” — to identify the best and the brightest college students and to nurture in these future leaders the American ideal of ordered liberty. To accomplish this goal, ISI seeks to enhance the rising generation’s knowledge of our nation’s founding principles — limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, the rule of law, market economy, and moral norms.

Wouldn’t it be GREAT if a home school student won this year?

Forward this post to a friend today!

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ISI Student Guides are a favorite of mine because they are small (usually less than 100 pages), concise overviews of various subjects like American History and Philosophy. Intended as a preparatory tool for the college student, these little surveys summarize the main points of the discipline and save mom lots of research time! You can find these handy little guides at Amazon.com.  Here are two favorites we use in our home school:

Literature:

U.S. History:

You can find other great homeschool books for birth to high school teen in six The Classical Scholar Book Stores.