-
Nationwide Access to Paid Parental Leave
The Department of Languages, Literatures, Cultures, and Writing at Slippery Rock University hosts an annual scholarship contest, the James Strickland Award, for the best essays to come out of our first-year writing course (English 102.) Below is one of the honorable mentions for the 2021-2022 academic year. In selecting this essay for recognition, Dr. Strickland noted, “everyone, I am told, assumes that any program that would improve the lives of our citizens would be too expensive and too much government overreach. Jaden Boyle makes the case that Nationwide Access to Paid Parental Leave would actually have a positive impact on our economy. Jaden’s argument is so well presented that it is…
-
Welding Compassion
In Selecting this essay for the third-place in the James Strickland Scholarship, emeritus professor James Strickland notes, “James Byron’s essay was a delightful surprise: a meditation upon the value of teaching meditation, controlling one’s breathing, and practicing compassion. All of it done while supposedly teaching welding techniques at a trade school. James’ unusual story includes the reaction of some of his students, like Leroy from Homewood, but the real joy of the piece is hearing how James himself became a convert. Imagine the karate kid with a welder’s mask.” By James Byron Have you ever considered the power of a single breath? We all breath, automatically, involuntarily. It’s something we do naturally, without…
