Geo-Bee
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Do you know where Belarus is on a map?
Do you know the glacier-capped peak in East Africa that shares its name with the country known for its game parks and coffee?
Chennai is a port on which large bay?
These questions and many, many more are ones that my oldest son has been studying with the family over the last month. And today, while all of you are pulling pranks and making jokes with your friends, I'll be in downtown Denver for the Colorado state National GeoBee competition!! Well, I'll be watching; my son will be competing.
A couple months ago he won his National Geographic Bee school competition in 7th grade. It was neat to see him win and it gave him the opportunity to take a test a few days later that was given to all the school winners. He was one of the top 100 in Colorado (they take the top 100 in each state) and got invited to compete for the state championship!
So we've been driving, walking around, eating dinner, heck, just about anywhere we've been the last month my wife and I are quizzing him on various GeoBee topics. At first we went a little crazy, but it became a fun game for everyone and my middle son and daughter wanted to play along as well, so we've had to be creative with the 4 yr old and 6 yr old questions while trying to challenge my 12 year old.
So the moment of truth is today. We're excited and hope he really enjoys it, regardless of how he does. If you've never heard of it, it's a neat game, more interesting to all my kids than spelling or math. If you've got a kid in the 4th - 8th grades, ask them to give it a try. It's a great time.
And maybe they'll make you as proud as I!
Steve Jones
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/way0utwest
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Nice story. Keep up the good work.
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I'll keep my fingers crossed!
I don't know what the situation is like over there, but here at times I'm inclined to think that it's not a matter of course to take the time and invest (yes, intentionally written INVEST) in the education of one's children. It surely pays someday.
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Frank Kalis
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Webmaster: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs
My blog: http://www.insidesql.org/blogs/frankkalis/[/url] -
Steve - Good Luck to your son... and his parents! Here in the UK our daughter recently took a national math test, so I have some idea of what you're going through. (By the way, she came out as one of the top 1000 in the country for her age group (14/15); her reward?... she got to take another test!)
Meal-time quizzes (current affairs as well as school subjects) have always been enjoyed by our kids, so much so that our son (now 17) recently turned it back on us: "What happened 60 years ago today?" After allowing us to ponder on 30th March 1945 for a few minutes, he looked at me and said "I don't know, it's just the sort of thing you'd ask about now!"
Hope all goes well today and have a good weekend.
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Steve - good luck to your son! And kudos to you and your wife for encouraging his curiosity and study of geography.
Best regards,
SteveR
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Steve,
Good Luck to your son! I have a 12 year old and today is his play performance.
Your son will make a great database programmer. I know what I am talking about. It takes a certain way of thinking to work with databases and it is SO CLOSE TO WORKING WITH MAPS!
I did Sport Orienteering as a sport in school and college and had good results. This sport is very popular in Europe. Basically you run through the woods with your map and compass. You have to convert the symbols on the map in your brain into the objects that surrounds you. And back.What I am saying, when I work with databases, tables, fields I imagine them in my mind like they are on a map, I can "see" the relationships similar to roads on the map connecting different places. And I can easily relay a table on the map (diagram) to the real object it represents. And it is not due to training, it is just a way of how imagination works. Maybe the fact that your son has good genes of a database programmer helps him in his geography achievements
Yelena
Regards,Yelena Varsha
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Steve,
Good luck to your son!
Only thing I noticed with the National Geographic Bee is that the contest is for US only. Kinda weird considering that its focus should be world wide. I'm just in across the border in Canada, but the website seems to only have information for US participation.
Any ideas on how the rest of the world can play too?!?
Just a thought
Dolphin.
"Work like you don't need the money;
dance like no one is watching;
sing like no one is listening;
love like you've never been hurt;
and live every day as if it were your last."
~ an old Irish proverb -
Hi Steve,
All the best to your son, and to the parents as well. SQL Server versions come and go, but a family is yours forever!
(And you get only one version, although that continues to evolve all the time)John
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Nice story Steve.
I hope all went well for your son in the competition. Keep us posted with his results.
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Steve,
Don't our kids make us proud and at the same time cause us to feel that they are so far ahead of us at the same age. I've got 4 and each one excels in their own special way.
Best to your son. Hope to see him on the news at 6!
Bill
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Question my dad asked:
So where is Booganville?
I replied -- no such place, only to be presented with a globe...
Look around New Guinea...
Higlight for the answer...
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