Personal: School, Nation, Religion

Essay Question:

Consider one of your relatives and the opportunities and responsibilities that person has gained through education, through civic life, and through religion. Which has been most influential in shaping that person, education, citizenship, or religion?

To support your argument, collect some family stories about the person you've chosen. The following questions should elicit family stories that will be useful to you. Composing your own questions might be even more successful, especially if you base those questions on your knowledge of your family chronology and history.

• What difference has education made in your life? What are you doing now that you wouldn't be doing if you'd made different choices about your education?
• Does your education give you responsibilities to other people? Do you feel obligated to share your knowledge? to help others earn an education? to use your education to support your family?
• Do you like learning new things? How do you like to learn (by working alongside someone else? by reading a book? by taking a class?)
• What did your parents and other older family members teach you?
• What have you taught your children and other younger family members?



• What difference has being an American citizen made in your life? What are you doing now that you wouldn't be doing if your ancestors had not settled here?
• What responsibilities have you taken on as an American citizen? military service? jury duty? voting? taxes? more abstract things?
• What benefits have you received? public education? veterans' benefits? social security? more abstract things?
• What did your parents teach you about being American? How did they feel about being Americans? Did their feelings change? Did yours?
• Are you patriotic? How do you express your feelings about your country?
• When you were in school, what did you learn about being an American?



• What difference has religion made in your life? What are you doing now that you would not be doing if you'd made different choices about your religion?
• Have there been specific turning points in your religious life? times when your faith weakened or strengthened?
• Can you think of specific choices you made or things you did that you did because of your religious beliefs?
• Do you evangelize or try to help others see God the way you do? Why or why not?
• What is the best thing about your faith (or lack of it)?
• What religious figures are most inspirational to you? why?