The reading bowl is open to teams in elementary, middle, and high school. Students read the books from the Georgia Children's Book Award Nominee list. Their teams get ready to participate in a quiz bowl in which they will be asked questions about the books. A few years ago I was able to volunteer as a moderator. It was so exciting to see the kids show off their in depth knowledge of so many books!
This year I saw the competition from a different angle, that of a parent. My eighth grade daughter was on her school team and they went to the regional bowl. I saw her get so nervous and excited at the same time. I loved seeing her think deeply about her books, jump to ring the buzzer, and answer with confidence. Below are some of the books read this year for the competition this year.
Watching the teams compete was awesome! Some come in as quiet as can be, barely buzzing in, scoring a point or two. Other teams come in like military units, ready to crush the competition! The moderator would hardly get through the question before these well read soldiers were buzzing in! And every team came in having read and reread many books to get ready for this big day!
The best part of the day for the kids by far was the award ceremony! Every team that participated got a trophy, but the top three teams got towering trophies! The pure joy and excitement by every student there was so thrilling! There were fourth and fifth graders, middle schoolers, and high schoolers, yes, I said high schoolers, shouting over their victories!
I loved those high schoolers! Man, they were cool! There were dark and brooding boys and girls who had long since given up on the "natural look" in favor of green hair. They were so typically "teenagery". I had to laugh when the winning teams lost all control and swarmed the gym floor to claim their trophies!
I say, good for Helen Ruffin for recognizing the need to award and reward reading! And good for the teachers who take on the title of coach for a READING team! We as a society claim that we value reading and understand it's importance, but how often do we overlook reading in favor of sports? I encourage everyone to find a way to reward readers!
I know what you are thinking, "Reading is its own reward." Yes, I know. And I agree. But isn't football? Isn't baseball? After all, these are games. Yet, no one would question whether they might be given trophies or rewards. Why not acknowledge those who do what we really want them to do? Read!
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