Latest news article in NC

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:34 am

We should have a separate forum/sticky for news articles about quiz bowl.

Here's the latest one: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/educat ... 2119c.html .

This follows up on another article written about the Chapel Hill team a couple of years ago.

wwellington · Post by **wwellington** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 5:19 pm

In Virginia, Maryland and the Washington area, he said, school bands and cheerleaders turn out for events...

Please tell me this is a lie.

No Sollositing On Premise · Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:00 pm

Only for tapings of the It's Academic TV show. Bringing a cadre of cheerleaders to an actual tournament would to say the least draw some funny looks.

The Goffman Prophecies · Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:01 pm

wwellington wrote:
In Virginia, Maryland and the Washington area, he said, school bands and cheerleaders turn out for events...
Please tell me this is a lie.

It's a reference to It's Academic, the local television show that has been a staple of high school quiz bowl for many many years. And yes, the show does include cheerleaders and throngs of cheering fans.

steven-lamp · Post by **steven-lamp** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:29 pm

It's also a type of knowledge that hovers close to the surface. Quiz bowlers may not recognize a Picasso, but they know the names of his paintings.

That, to me at least, represents the evils of quiz bowl. The whole "let me run lists on everything without having any knowledge of the work whatsoever." Anyway, I guess listing works in high school, but pyramidal questions take away from some of the successes gained by listing.

ChopinManiac · Post by **ChopinManiac** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 7:40 pm

I could not agree with you more. The worst part of quiz bowl is the idea that if you learn enough random facts, you can be good at the game. I agree that pyramidal toss-ups do make an attempt to try and fix this, but there are still too many games I see where it comes down to, "crowned on Christmas day" or "won the lottery which allowed him to start painting." New questions asking much more about real knowledge rather than fact hording would be nice, but it is understandably not easy to do.

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:45 pm

UndercoverParrothead wrote:
wwellington wrote:
In Virginia, Maryland and the Washington area, he said, school bands and cheerleaders turn out for events...
Please tell me this is a lie.
It's a reference to It's Academic, the local television show that has been a staple of high school quiz bowl for many many years. And yes, the show does include cheerleaders and throngs of cheering fans.

Yes, it is a definite reference to It's Academic, although I have also heard that quiz bowl has once been halftime entertainment at some football games in Florida. I'm hoping that is more urban legend.

Yeah, in my interview I did refer a lot to the enthusiasm of the DC It's Academic scene, including that TV show. Brain Game is the analogous program here in Raleigh, and so drawing that analogy was very easy.

bigtrain · Post by **bigtrain** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 1:18 pm

"They have become a national-caliber program in the last few years," he said. "It was kind of out of the blue."

Correction: It was kind of out of the Carolina blue.
You guys dont own the entire realm of blueish colors, just the version of blue that represents one of your state's numerous evil college sports teams (specifically basketball).

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:06 pm

bigtrain wrote:
"They have become a national-caliber program in the last few years," he said. "It was kind of out of the blue."
Correction: It was kind of out of the Carolina blue.
You guys dont own the entire realm of blueish colors, just the version of blue that represents one of your state's numerous evil college sports teams (specifically basketball).

Actually, I contemplated saying that in the interview... ;)

rchschem · Post by **rchschem** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 1:08 pm

That, to me at least, represents the evils of quiz bowl. The whole "let me run lists on everything without having any knowledge of the work whatsoever."

Unfortunately, this article also represents the evils of print journalism. What we do and how we do it was misrepresented, as was the fabricated Ken Jennings altar we apparently have. And, unfortunately, what you said above doesn't represent what we do, thank you very much. I'm assuming you are talking about some abstract, imaginary quiz bowl team and this thread just gave you a chance to vent.

Anyway, I guess listing works in high school, but pyramidal questions take away from some of the successes gained by listing.

And I guess you actually read all the books you knew, studied art history, astronomy, saw all those operas, and listened to all those classical pieces, while you were in high school? I'm glad college bowl has enlightened you about higher learning, but let's not be snooty. Yes, pyramid-style questioning does present an obstacle to those people who only know titles and authors, but that's no reason to eschew any kind of list studying. You have to start somewhere.

And, by the way, our players CAN recognize a Picasso. We spent three hours a couple of weeks ago with about 30 art books, touring the paintings we couldn't actually see in museums. The NC Museum of Art is currently hosting is hosting an exhibit entitled "Matisse, Picasso, and the School of Paris", too.

Eric Grunden
Raleigh Charter High School

steven-lamp · Post by **steven-lamp** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 1:45 am

Hey man I wasn't slamming your school or anything. It's more of an in-state Alabama thing. Actually, I get mostly music and art questions, and, yes, a portion of the ones that I get I have seen in museums or listened to. As for the music, I'm an avid music fan and listen to tons of classical music. Anyway, some of the stuff I've learned over the years just from playing so much. There's certain stuff that just repeats so often in tournaments you catch on. Sorry if my post seemed to be a slam on your team, it was just more of a slam on the state of quizbowl. It seems sort of bland to memorize things without having appreciation for them. Obviously, since you have studied the paintings and listened to the music and read the poems, that's impressive and will only help you in tournaments.

rchschem · Post by **rchschem** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 11:48 am

Hey man I wasn't slamming your school or anything.

Noted. Thank you.

I know nothing really about the state of Alabama quiz bowl, but I think your point applies to a more general audience, too. It's up to us as coaches and players demonstrating leadership to promote quiz bowl as an introduction to deeper learning. The US public education system does a fine job as it is of promoting surface knowledge without understanding or interconnections.

jrbarry · Post by **jrbarry** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 8:13 pm

Lists are my life! :-)