It doesn't matter if you win or lose...it's all about the experiences and journey that get you there.

Last spring I was asked by one of our district staff if I was interested in taking over the Academic Decathlon Advisor position that was vacant for the next school year.  I really didn't think I was qualified and I thanked him for the opportunity, but I wasn't quite ready to take it up at that time.  I would have never considered doing it without having been asked, and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.

I saw AcDec as an opportunity for my teaching to become more interdisciplinary, as I would be forced to learn about some of my weaker subjects, specifically the arts.   It was a struggle to recruit and find enough kids to make a team, and the funding issue was even worse.  Our principal graciously ended up helping us out with the curriculum funding for  this year, while we paid for our way to the local competition, and a grant we were awarded got us to the regional competition.  I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into when I said that I would do it.  Fortunately, I attended the coaches workshop at the beginning of the school year and I had an excellent mentor who had previously run the program for the district.

We met  M,W,F at 6:30 am and had  some after school and some weekend practices.  I realized what I got myself into when we were discussing permutations at 6:30am.  It was stressful making sure I had enough bodies to score points for us to advance at each level of competition..  We were successful at the local level and advanced to the regional level where students needed to prepare speeches, write essays, and participate in interviews.

 At the regional competition we took 9th in our regional.  We had  a very tough regional.  We were participating against schools that have Academic Decathlon as a class, and schools that  won the national competition last year.  We were .9 points away from beating the team in the 8th place spot, and we did beat our Conference rival. :)

I did a lot of reflecting, and it wasn't about the winning and losing that mattered,  but it was about  the successes that the kids had along the way.  We didn't come back with any ribbons; we came back with more than that....an incredible team spirit, a love for learning, and a lot of laughs and things to celebrate that happened along the way.  I wasn't sure that I was going to return next year, but when I saw how much each student got out of it, I am not ready to give it up.

A comment from a student during the competition:  "We're not going to state, but I'm having a BLAST!"  :)

It was this that mattered the most.  I waited to share our scores on the bus on our way back to school, and we had a lot to celebrate!  I'm planning on putting together an awards ceremony and inviting parents, so that we can have our own awards ceremony to celebrate our SUCCESSES!

Academic Decathlon 2012 = A SUCCESS!

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