Intellectual stimulation

I was at a debate and Forensics Tournament this weekend. And with that comes the prerequisite stages of complete and utter exhaustion. I judged a lot. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were filled with rounds, most good a few bad. I got treated to a extemp round of Presidential Politics. I got to judge finals of persuade. I got to see many, many, many rounds of Lincoln Douglas and parliamentary debate. Most of them were good, although the final round was just above my comfort level, so it was hard to make a decision. That round really frustrated me and I'll need to talk about that later. It was so enjoyable to be challenged and to think, instead of the usual course of explain multiplication to freshman who are clueless.

Judging is hard work. It is super hard to believe I fielded 5 IEs and Parli. Damn, I had balls. I certainly don't have the same stamina I had then.

Also, I got to meet the new Kids on the team. Good kids, and I had some fun. I got the privilege of watching one kids defining moment. The team of Meti and Jen had never traveled before, they are a new freshman walk on team. Earlier, I had helped prep them out. Turns out they debate their way into finals (Novice). They end up winning finals. Meti come back from receiving his award and is welcomed to the team with handshakes, high fives and pats on th back. For a good ten minutes after, during the awards ceremony, he just stares at his trophy. Looks at, and ouches the edging. I could just see the gears in his head whirring. He's hooked. He'll want more-that taste of victory and the boost of self esteem is addictive.

The sense of Fun and causal confidence that I sensed was new and probably contributed to the newbies success. Hopefully that will continue to snowball.

So the next time he goes to a tournament, he'll read a little more, prep a little more, and the success he gets will spur the next increase in research and motivation. Hopefully that will continue to build until he's top notch. I wish him luck.

This weekend I did absolutely no academic work. I think I'm going to go to bed now and just get up at 4:00am.