Educationally Speaking -- Gay Geiser-Sandoval

Every week, the newspaper is filled with articles about all the

problems with education. Letters to the editor expound that kids these

days don’t take their education seriously. Maybe that is due to what the

media chooses to cover. Every sports team that has won league or advances

up the CIF ladder in playoff games has been given front page coverage on

the sports section.

However, were you aware that two district schools took first and

second place in the county for academic smarts when they competed against

50 other teams? Of course not.

So, I’d like to tell you about how proud you should be of a group of

ninth- and 10th-graders from Newport-Mesa schools that spent the year in

scholarly pursuits. Although the reward for these students is greater

than any medal they received, almost every student from the district that

participated came away with one.

There are eight events in the competition for the lower high school

grade levels, including giving a four-minute speech the student prepared

and a one-minute impromptu speech. Since most people would rather die in

a fire than give a speech, it was an awesome task for these 14- to

16-year-olds.

They were also tested in math, English and literature, fine art,

music, world religions and science. And they wrote an essay.

Estancia High did not have a full team of nine members, so some

individuals received medals, but it did not have enough members to rack

up points for a team medal. Corona del Mar High fielded two teams, and

was constantly jumping up for individual medals, as well as a first place

team medal in the Super Quiz round.

I thought their coach was going to have a heart attack when the team

took second place in Overall Team points for Division 2 for the county.

Members of the team had worked together on a junior high level pentathlon

team, so they are a lean, mean thinking machine, which will go on to

greater achievements in the next few years.

Costa Mesa High has a reputation as the school that you transfer out

of if you want to get a good education. Even the kids believe it. That’s

why the kids on the team weren’t expecting any medals, but came to the

awards ceremony at their coach’s urging.

So, the eight members were as surprised as everyone else when they

took 16 individual medals, including first and third places in Individual

Best Overall in all categories. Since one team member had to leave early

to go to a Drum Line competition, the team was short for Super Quiz, but

still took second place team overall. When they didn’t get fifth place as

a team for overall points, they were disappointed, but decided to try

again next year. Most had stopped listening when Costa Mesa High was

called as the County Champs in Division 2 for Overall Team points.

I saved a headline from the Times that said “Suddenly it’s cool to be

a campus brain.” El Camino High was the winner of this year’s U.S.

Academic Decathlon, and kids there are busy taking tests for a spot on

next year’s team. That is my hope for the Newport-Mesa schools. I want it

to be “cool” to be a campus brain here too.

In that pursuit, Costa Mesa High is holding an academic rally, which

will feature all of the school’s award-winning academic teams to honor

their achievements and give them a moment in the sun. I hope other

Newport-Mesa schools will shine the light on their academic teams. Let’s

hope the community will do the same.

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs

Tuesdays. She may be reached by e-mail ato7 GGSesq1@aol.com.f7