Rah, rah, sis-boom-bah, goooooooTEAM! (Okay, really, does anyone say “sis-boom-bah” anymore?) Anyway, as college football winds down* (finally) and before March Madness descends (yay!), I invite you to consider another time-honored competition that brings teens from across the country together to fight it out for their high school’s honor. It may not involve as much physical strength as a traditional sporting event, but the training and dedication required are just as demanding. It’s the US Academic Decathalon. And these kids need your help.
Winter break is over and the endless study sessions have resumed. This year’s theme: The French Revolution. Go ahead, dazzle us. What do YOU know about it besides the whole “let them eat cake” thing? By the time the finalists get to Omaha in April they will know about everything from the revolution in Saint-Domingue and A Tale of Two Cities, to Antoine Lavoisier, who identified oxygen and was, of course, beheaded.
Each state has local and regional competitions and then their state champion is sent to the finals. It can be a grueling process, but it pays off. Schools large and small, well-funded and lost in the system take groups of teens and mold them into lean, mean thinking machines. It sets them up to succeed in college and in life, no matter how their school finishes in the standings.
However, as you can imagine, the whole process requires dedicated adults willing to volunteer their time, as well as cold hard cash to cover expenses. We all talk a good game about how education is the key to the success of a child, of an economy, of a nation. So, it’s time to walk the walk. Check in with your local school and find out how you can help. Who knows? Spend a little time with these amazing kids and you might just learn something.
* #hookem, #rolltide
(we have an equal opportunity pompom squad here at WhatGives!?)
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Tags: competition, donate, education, high school, US Academic Decathalon, volunteer
