The Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest: Continuing Success and Growth

The Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest is a character development and ethical literacy program for high school students. Based on a model created by Sir John Templeton, the contest asks students to select a maxim or “Law of Life” (such as “To give is better than to receive”), and to explain what the maxim means in their lives. In writing their essays, students examine virtues such as generosity, courage, self-reliance, perseverance and compassion. Tens of thousands of lives have been changed for the better by having accepted Sir John Templeton’s challenge to ask Big Questions and to articulate and discuss moral and ethical values. The Georgia contest is the largest and the most successful Laws of Life essay contest in North America. This year alone, 41,809 Georgia high school students wrote a Laws of Life essay. The proposed two-year “Continuing Success and Growth” grant will allow the Georgia contest to build on its past success and to expand this valuable Templeton-inspired program in the United States and internationally. The grant would allow the Georgia contest to 1) strengthen its organizational capacity; 2) increase the number of students who write a Laws of Life essay; 3) increase the exposure of Laws of Life within Rotary and the general public; and 4) serve as a best-practice model for new Laws of Life essay contests. These initiatives would help the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest continue to carry out Sir John's simple but extremely powerful program for building character in each new generation.