By Roger Tausig
Rotary Club of Orange
Roger Tausig
Rotary International has defined seven areas of service that we as clubs focus on when determining our projects and funding activities. Rotary International’s seven areas of focus are promoting peace; fighting disease; providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene; saving mothers and children; supporting education; growing local economies; and protecting the environment.
In any given year, the Rotary Club of Orange endeavors to address one or more of these important needs. This column will focus on supporting education.
While working on creating a more robust relationship with our regional high school, one project that is designed to move that forward is the annual Four-Way Test Essay Contest that is organized for our club by Richard Dumbrill, chairman of our Youth Services Committee. The contest is a district-wide event that is open to the 58 Rotary clubs that comprise Rotary District 7980. Dumbrill has very ably acted in this role for several years, working with Amity High School teachers and students to promote the contest and organize the judging and finalist presentations.
So what is the Four-Way Test? The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. Rotarians recite it at club meetings. It is a test to apply to the things we think, say or do.
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
These principles have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the actions we take in the world.
Using the Four-Way Test as a foundation, we challenge high school students to internalize its tenets and then write an essay on a topic that exemplifies their understanding of its meaning. Students draw on personal life experiences as well as societal issues to tie in the Four-Way Test and formulate their thoughts into essays.
We typically receive hundreds of entries and then select local winners who present their essays in their towns. We then narrow that down to a small number of finalists who present their essays at our Rotary district conference in the spring. All live presentations must be given without notes, further challenging the students not only to produce a meaningful essay but also testing their poise and public speaking skills.
I have attended a number of these presentations both locally and at district conferences, and have been thoroughly impressed with the quality of the material that these extraordinary young people have developed and the thoughtfulness and maturity they have demonstrated, often tackling serious social issues of the day. Hearing these young people present their essays has renewed my faith in this generation and given me hope that there are young people who will grow to adulthood and become the leaders that every generation needs to thrive and advance.
It is just another reason that I am proud to be a Rotarian.