Year Six Essay Writing Competition

In Term 1 The Rotary Club of North Balwyn ran a Year 6 Essay Writing Competition entitled 'If I Could Change One Thing in the World.' The essays were to be between 300 - 500 words, on a topic of the students' own choice. Several students from BPPS entered the competition, competing against other primary school students from Balwyn North PS, Belle Vue PS, Greythorn PS and St Bedes Catholic PS. The essays were judged by a literary panel of three from the RCNB . Students were judged on the clarity of their writing (including spelling and grammar), the quality in the ideas expressed and the innovative thinking and imagination the writer presented. Congratulations to all our students who submitted essays, but especially to Riley in 6JK, who earned an Encouragement Award of a $100 Officeworks voucher for his essay. As we entered our second round of remote learning this term, Riley, along with all our other Grade 5/6 students, came along to school to collect his workbooks, and was thrilled to find himself taking home much more than his semester books and pencil case! It is well worth reading Riley's entry below, and his comments on the impact of human greed on our world, especially now, as we unite in facing the challenges brought about by the Covid 19 pandemic.  

If I Could Change One Thing In The World 

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed”    Mahatma Gandhi 

These wise words from Gandhi himself ring unequivocal truth, and still, this is what defines our very lives. In our modern world, there is still an incessant need to change a multitude of conventions. For example, there should be equal rights for everyone and less pressure placed on achieving adequate grades. Moreover, ending global issues like terrorism, racism and crime is significant towards making our world a better place. Personally, I believe that the root of all of these problems consists of one thing. Humans, and our insatiable greed.

 If I could change one thing in the world, I would eliminate human greed. Greed is the underlying origin of all the problems that endanger the world. It is a snake that slithers into our hearts, exploiting our greatest desires and grows to eventually dissolve society’s ethical altruism. 

In a world that is dominated by huge corporate businesses that strive mainly for financial gain, the social barrier between the rich and poor has reached the point of no return. Millions of starving people are at the brink of death, while the rich surround themselves with an illusion that the world is perfect when in reality this is not the case. Likewise, we ignore the fact that pollution welcomes climate change and global warming. These repercussions cause people to suffer from famine, poverty and disease as their crops and livestock wither away. I ask you, would you willingly let people die just for your own selfish comfort?

Eliminating greed from our hearts will do so much for humanity. As a migrant from Hong Kong, I grew up witnessing many unforgiving acts by people driven purely by their greed. By comparison, one left a scar in me deep enough for it to teach me a valuable lesson. With the current coronavirus pandemic, many people are stockpiling on essentials, and this man I saw on TV took it to the extreme. 

The person was maliciously seizing mountains of toilet rolls when a woman tried to take some for herself. Selfishly, the man shoved her, and the crowd; acting as bystanders felt no remorse in watching the helpless woman as she struggled to withstand the incoming waves of people. To this day, I feel shameful that a human would do something like this. 

Studies on teenagers have shown that greed has a dangerous impact, particularly on young people, prompting them to be easily influenced by unjust people. They would ultimately lead a life in sadness, hatred, and regret. However, we can solve this by teaching children that greediness has disastrous consequences, and prevent future wrongdoers.

 On the whole, human greed is the one thing that I believe will cause the inevitable death of our world. We must accept our failures, take responsibility and shift this collapsing, failing system towards a path that will heal this dying world. Only then will humanity be restored.

by Riley