West Madison fifth-graders document ‘What Freedom Means to Me’

West Madison fifth-grade teacher Minnie Eichelkraut discusses Liberty’s Legacy essays with Logan Hittle, from left, Chelsey Glaspie and Noah Fursterio. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – To launch the Liberty’s Legacy program, West Madison Elementary School fifth-graders expressed their viewpoints on American rights and freedoms.

“Liberty’s Legacy products create classroom experiences that inspire and educate exceptional young citizens and reach beyond school walls to impact entire communities,” Minnie Eichelkraut said. Eichelkraut teaches fifth-grade social studies and reading at West Madison.

Liberty’s Legacy offers out-out-of-the-box teaching tools with the goal to mold responsible American citizens. The Super Citizen segment is part of the curriculum. The company’s motto is, “Passing the Torch to the Next Generation.” (libertyslegacy.com)

All of West Madison’s 72 fifth-graders wrote full-page essays on the theme “What Freedom Means to Me” to launch this activity. Their writing was the first step in the Super Citizen program, Eichelkraut said.

Fifth-grader Chelsey Glaspie wrote, “We are all free to be different from others even if we have a different skin color. If we did not have freedom, we could not speak our minds. We could not go to the same school as friends of a different color.”

Glaspie continued by writing, “I would be a slave, and my dad would not have married my mom because of different color. I would not even be here if it weren’t for freedom.”

Glaspie is a student in Kimberly Hobbs’ class.

In Whitney Lawrence’s class, Login Hittle wrote, “It is cool that people from different countries moved here. We can learn from them and they can learn from us. We can tell them what we do in America.”

“I am thankful for the freedom fighters who fought for our country,” Noah Frusterio wrote. He is a student in Eichelkraut’s class.

“Our country was founded on freedom, and everyone should be treated equally. In other countries, they would love to have the freedom we have here,” Frusterio said.

Eichelkraut plans for several students to read their essays at an upcoming celebration to honor local heroes on April 15.