tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post7352305434049079071..comments2023-11-07T06:56:59.563-05:00Comments on Ann Arbor Schools Musings: Performing: An Educational CapstoneRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-71117320271441683522009-03-29T21:43:00.000-04:002009-03-29T21:43:00.000-04:00The point about competition at Science Olympiad is...The point about competition at Science Olympiad is very well taken. One of the reasons that I said that you can get a sense of the different schools' personalities is that some of them come across as very competitive, and others are more relaxed. It doesn't have to be competitive, and I'm sorry your child had a bad experience. But in fact, I have heard that some schools have competitions prior to the Science Olympiad and only the "best" kids go. In other cases a school with too many participants for an activity may send "alternates" who never get to do anything (because everyone shows up). So it is definitely not perfect. And I recognize that some kids find science fair a better place to put their energies. But for my kids, science fair almost never excited them, and never had that "performance" feeling--it was "just another project." (I always wanted them to like Science Fair more than they did.) Essentially, Science Olympiad is run by a bunch of volunteers, and (ironically) was set up as a counterpoint to Science Fair (breadth over depth, maybe?). I hope you will share your son's experiences with the WESO organizers--if not for him, for others--it shouldn't be a competitive turnoff.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10531344380743742801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790809561264810693.post-88819908541953887942009-03-29T19:35:00.000-04:002009-03-29T19:35:00.000-04:00I like your point about the value of performance f...I like your point about the value of performance for subjects not traditionally viewed as "performative." I just wish there was a way to do them without the competition element. We did Science Olympiad last year and were turned off by the competitiveness of some of the teams (kids who cheered when another team's water rocket didn't work, etc.). So this year my kid didn't want to participate even though he loves science. Maybe if more of the Science Olympiad coaches emphasized good sportsmanship it would have a different feel.<BR/><BR/>We found that Science Fair had the same added "performative" boost that you were talking about but there was much more of an attitude of appreciating and learning from other people's exhibits. We spent hours touring the different boards and finding things to appreciate at all the different grade levels.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03113130840039776447noreply@blogger.com