The 4-Way Test, George Washington, and Me

Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
Tavis Cote, First Place
Grade 3, Primary Division
Mrs. Johnson/Mrs. Manchester, Branch School

In considering topics that inspire me to live the 4-Way Test and to
be fair, I thought of George Washington.  He seemed to live his life
according to the principles in the 4-Way Test.  Even during a difficult
time as the Revolutionary War, George Washington was fair to the
troops he commanded, considered the impact on all the people living
in the colonies when he made his decisions, and was truthful in his
treaty negotiations with his enemies.
The people living at that time looked up to George Washington be-
cause of his stance against Great Britain and the unfair taxation on
the colonies.  They also respected him for his reputation of fairness
and honesty.  These same characteristics are the ones that I admire
about George Washington today.  He may not have known about the
4-Way Test, but he was indeed a great example of it.
I hope that in my daily life I may be able to live up to the same quali-
ties that made people respect George Washington.  The 4-Way Test
helps provide me the questions to ask myself when I am uncertain of
the correct action to take.  When I interact with my friends, I need to
ask myself, “Is it the truth?  Is it fair to all concerned?  Will it build
good will and better friendships?  Will it be beneficial to all con-
cerned?“   I use kind words and speak the encouraging truth to my
friends.  When I do that I find that the effect on those around me is
positive.  When I forget to ask myself these types of questions or
when I see others not thinking before they act, I notice that people get
into arguments or get their feelings hurt.
I hope that by living my life according to the principles laid out in the
4-Way test, my friends and family will come to respect me much as
the people respected George Washington.  Who knows, someday
maybe I could be the President of the United States as well.  Remem-
bering the 4-Way Test could help me get there.

The Four Way Test

Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
Toby Jones, Second Place
Grade 3, Primary Division
Mrs. Darway, Harloe School

It is important to make the World a better place by being the best
person that you can be.  Everyone can do this if they follow the Four
Way Test to be sure they are making good decisions.
First, people should always be truthful.  If you aren’t truthful some-
times, people won’t even believe you when you do finally tell the truth.
Being truthful is a very big deal.
Second, being fair to others is important.  Being fair and caring
about others is what makes you a good person.  When you are fair to
others, then they are fair to you and the fairness spreads to other
people.  It goes together with the third idea of bringing good will to
others.  Being fair shows that you care about others and caring about
others makes them feel good and brings out good will.  Good will gets
rid of bullies because when bullies let out their feelings and feel good
will, they won’t be bullies anymore.  I like being fair to others and I
have fun doing it.  I like the feeling it brings to my heart.
We also need to be sure that the things that we do are beneficial to
others.  That means it will help others and then it will also help me.  I
like helping others with school work, homework, and at home.  Help-
ing others is my favorite thing to do next to playing with my friends
and my dad.  Helping others makes everyone feel good.
If everyone would think about the Four-Way Test when they make
decisions, the World would be so much better and everyone would
feel good.

The Four Way Test and Me

Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
Brandon Poorman, Third Place
Grade 3, Primary Division
Mrs. Darway, Harloe School

If everyone in the world were truthful, fair, shared good will, and did
what was beneficial to others, I think this world would be perfect. If
each person in the world could follow at least two of these ideas it
would be a thousand times better. We should all remind each other to
follow the Four Way Test to make our world a better place.
It is always good to tell the truth. If you don’t, not only will you get in
more trouble than you would have, but the next time no one will believe
you. We should always be fair because if people feel like things are
fair, they will feel that they are getting what they want and everyone will
have fun. If people feel that nothing is fair and they don’t have a
chance, they won’t try to be better or be good to others. You should
also have good will toward other people and treat them kindly. If you
aren’t kind in the way you treat people, you won’t have any friends.
Friends are important to have fun in our life, so it is important to have
good will toward others so they will have good will toward you. When
we make decisions about what we are going to do, we need to be sure
that it is beneficial to others. If we do, other people will feel good and
they will do good things back.
So please, follow the four way test when you make decisions every-
day. If you do, you will be one happy and special person and the world
around you will be a better place.

The Rotary 4-Way Test

Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
Morgan Wertz, First Place
Grade 3, Primary Division
Julie Elvin/Sharon Scudder, Harloe

The Rotary 4-Way Test reminds me of the laws I follow in my Girl Scout Brownie Troop, which were written to remind us how we should act as individuals, and how others should be treated. When I first read the Rotary’s 4 principles, they made me think, once again, of how I should act and treat others.
The Rotary 4-Way Test can be used in everything we say and do. Whether my troop is presenting at our multi-cultural event, or selling Girl Scout cookies, we must be TRUTHFUL and honest to everyone. Each time my troop meets, we plan new activities to help others, which is very rewarding. Before Christmas, we walked around neighborhoods, collecting canned food donations for the needy. This activity helped us build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS in our community, and was BENEFICIAL to all concerned.
In my school we have rules, in my community we have laws, and in my country we have regulations. It seems as if rules and laws help guide people in society—and the Rotary’s 4 principles guide us to become better citizens in this society. Without them, the world would be a crazy place! People would NOT be TRUTHFUL, they would NOT be FAIR to all concerned, they would NOT be able to build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS, and their actions would NOT be BENEFICIAL to all concerned. I think the Rotary 4-Way Test can be used in our schools, communities, and country.
I often wonder what the world would be like without any wars or hunger. What if there were no drugs or homeless people living on the streets? Then life would be BENEFICIAL to all concerned. If everyone had jobs and were paid for their work, it would be FAIR to all concerned. If there was no hate in this world, we could build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS. I once read a Japanese Proverb that says: “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare”. I think the 4-Way Test could be our ‘vision’ to help our ‘actions’ in making this world a better place.
I can truly see how the Rotary’s 4-Ways can be used in my Brownie Troop, my school, my community, my country, and the world.
As a Girl Scout, I will continue to follow the Girl Scout law, which states:
“I will do my best to be HONEST and FAIR,
FRIENDLY and HELPFUL,
CONSIDERATE and CARING,
COURAGEOUS and STRONG, and
RESPONSIBLE for what I say and do…”
I think the Rotary’s 4 principles are like the Girl Scout Law. As I grow older, I will do my best to be a good citizen. I will remember to practice the Rotary’s 4-Way Test in all I think, say or do:
“Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
I believe the Rotary 4-Way Test can give us all the ‘vision’ we are looking for.

My Mistakes

Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
Linnea Skinner, Second Place
Grade 1, Primary Division
Jann Zeilenga, Branch

I always practice the Four Way Test at school with my friends and other kids. I always tell the truth and I’m always fair with others. I am kind to others so they’ll be kind to me. If someone’s calling me names or being mean, I just ignore them and walk away. There’s a song about a golden rule and the golden rule is to treat others as you would have them treat you. Sometimes, it’s just so easy to be kind to others, but when I get home it’s not as easy to do with my family.
One day when me and my brother were making a fort we used a pair of my dad’s pliers and when we were cleaning up our tools we put my dad’s pliers away somewhere but we don’t know where. My brother and I had to look all over our property. We couldn’t find them anywhere. So, now my brother and I have to buy him a new pair of pliers. One day when my dad was working, he needed his pliers to tie rebar and he couldn’t find his pliers anywhere. It took my dad so much longer to do his job. It wasn’t fair to my dad at all.
When I got home from school, my brother wouldn’t help me look for the pliers, and instead of helping me look for them, he sat down and sharpened a stick. My brother threw the stick that he was sharpening and tried to spear me. He also threw rocks at me. I was holding a skinny stick and I whipped him with it on his legs. I couldn’t hold my temper. I really want to be friends with my brother but it’s just so hard to do it if we always fight.
This Tuesday morning I made another mistake and blew my nose on my mom’s favorite fleece jacket. There was no box of tissue in the kitchen and I couldn’t find any toilet paper—but I didn’t look very well. I know it wasn’t fair to my mom and I shouldn’t of done it.
I will try to not make mistakes anymore. I’ll try to look harder for tissue and take care of my mom and dad’s things. I will try to ignore my brother when he’s teasing me or throwing stuff at me. It’s really important to respect other people. I’ll try to be a good friend to my brother and I’ll make sure that my brother and I put things away where they go.

My Long Lost Friend

Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
Tavis Cote, Third Place
Grade 2, Primary Division
Kathy Metcalf, Branch

Hi, this is me—Tavis. I am an eight year old boy in second grade who was asked to do this 4-Way Test Essay for his homework. I have tried to come up with a topic for several days and I finally have one.
This story is about two friends who have known each other for a long time. We started out as buddies from the time we were three years old. Since we lived close we played a lot together. But when we started kindergarten, my friend became good friends with another girl. They started hanging out together. For a while the three of us would play after school. We played during vacations as well. Then, I met new friends too and we started hanging out.
We all got along okay until something happened. It was so long ago, I am not sure exactly what it was that happened. I just know that when the two girls were together, they were unkind to me. I found myself sometimes being unkind to them. It reached a point when I thought my former friend was my worst enemy. We no longer played together. We called each other names and almost never spoke . This went on and on and on. Eventually, we just ignored each other even though we lived near each other and went to the same school.
It seems that with time we have both gotten past our original fight. Like I said, I can’t even remember what happened. We have started being kinder to each other. We sometimes can play now. Just the other day, I played with my friend and the other girl. They even left me a nice note. It makes me feel better that we have started to get along again. I hope we can remain friends.
I plan to keep playing onward and eventually I hope we will reach the friendship that we had when we first met. I will use kind words. I will play with her more often. I will try to find things we can do together.

Doing What’s Right

Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
John Mattimoe, Third Place
Grade 6, Intermediate Division
Mary Hayes, Ocean View

My friend Brett wanted to join my Destination Imagination (D.I.) team. Destination Imagination promotes creative thinking; you must think outside the box to solve a challenge. My teammate Kyle and I didn’t want him to join the team.. We thought he always argued and we didn’t want to give him a chance. Brett was always playing and we felt he would never pay any attention to our ideas. Brett was a one man team.
When he asked us if he could join the team we always said that we did not want any more people. We could have put him on the team, because we only had four people and we could have had up to seven. We just did not want Brett on the team.
It was not fair for him. He wanted to be on the team so badly, and we acted like we did not care about his feelings at all.
This did not build a better friendship. Brett was my friend, and I treated him like I wanted him to be miserable; friends never do that.
We could have benefited from letting Brett on the team. Brett was very creative, and he was a very talented, funny actor. He also is a good musician and a good singer.
The following year we imagined us being in Brett’s shoes, and we let him on the team. We know what Brett went though and what we did. We all promised never to do that again.