Those who really know me can attest to my super nerdiness. I am a nerd, yes. And, I kinda like it that way. A few weeks ago, I heard about a writing competition for high school students at JSU called Writers Bowl. Teams composed of 2 sophomores, 2 juniors, and 2 seniors work collectively to respond to a prose prompt and a poetry prompt. This was right up my alley, so I put together a team.
Yesterday, I took my group of 6 to JSU to face 70 other teams in the competition. My students sat wide-eyed and nervous-looking before the writing began. I felt a little out of my element as well. I really knew very little about what would actually happen during the competition. The teachers were all kicked out, so all I could do was wait on my team.
My hope was that this would be something they would enjoy. There are few outlets for intellectual competition for high school students. I was happy to have at least provided an opportunity for my students to showcase their abilities. We had to leave before the awards were announced, which was fine with me. I didn't have any expectations that we would place. During the drive home, the team members all agreed that it was a worthwhile event and they were glad to have gotten to participate. They expressed interest in returning next year. So, to me, it was a win.
Later, I received an email informing me that my team had placed 3rd in the poetry division. I was so excited and proud for them. That was quite an accomplishment, especially since we were new to the format. I've been smiling since I heard. I couldn't wait to get to school today and share the news with my team. It was rewarding to see the surprised looks on their faces.
Everyone is nerdy about something. I'm nerdy about teaching kids. I love what I do all the time but even more so on days like these. Here are some of my favorite nerd quotes by author John Green (check him out, he's great! I'm also nerdy about books):
“Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself.”
“…nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. ...when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.”
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