Middle Schoolers Participate in National Geography Bee
At this Wednesday’s Middle School Meeting, we had our annual National Geography Bee. To kick off the Bee competitions, last week at Middle School meeting we were joined be documentary filmmaker Celine Cousteau. Celine, the daughter of ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau and granddaughter of legendary filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, spoke to us about her many projects and expeditions around the globe and her efforts to raise awareness about our relationship to the natural world and to each other. Her visit was truly inspirational.
Following Celine’s visit, students competed in their homerooms to identify our eight finalists. The first round was exciting and challenging. Students pondered a range of questions and supported each other as we worked through this preliminary competition. A number of these competitions were decided by tie breakers, which added to the excitement. So with a thank you first to all of those students who participated, the participants in the Final Round were as follows: Fifth Grade – Atticus and Ethan G., Sixth Grade – Andrew and Carlo., Seventh Grade – Julian and Logan, and Eighth Grade – Dominic and Edith. At the end of the Final Round, two students – Ethan G. and Julian – moved on to the Championship Round. The Championship Round was decided after 3 questions with Julian emerging as the champion. Next week, he will take the qualifying exam for the State Geography Bee competition. The state level competition will take place in the spring in Albany, NY. Congratulations to all of the finalists for a job well done!
In addition to the good fun that the National Geography Bee provides, it also points to the critical importance that a basic understanding of geography plays in being an informed citizen of the world. As technology makes the world smaller and increases our interconnectedness, we should not let ourselves be fooled into thinking that the boundaries, borders, and geographic features of our planet don’t matter any more. The geography of our planet provides a key to understanding important aspects of history and culture and provides a lens for focusing on issues that are “of the moment.” Knowing where something is by necessity establishes a relationship between places. With an understanding of place, we can gain a deeper insight into the people who inhabit that place while we simultaneously gain new insights about our own place in the world. It is these moments of insight that help to define us and our relationship to the larger world.