A Deaf Academic Bowl Competition

I am pooped!

We just arrived home from Indianapolis.  We were at the Indiana School for the Deaf for the Midwest Academic Bowl hosted by Gallaudet University.  The Academic Bowl is a competition where students answer questions from various subjects and compete for points.  There were seventeen teams from ten states.  My oldest son, a freshman in high school was on the Hinsdale South team.  They didn't place too well, but they sure did a great job as a team!  There were four boys and one girl, with two teachers as coaches.

On the way down to Indianapolis, the students wanted to stop for dinner.  As they passed a few restaurants, the boys spied a Hooters restaurant.  "Let's go to Hooters!" the typical teenaged boys begged.  The teachers didn't think that choice would go over too well with the parents and the high school, so they headed over to Applebees instead.

We arrived in the afternoon in time to watch the fourth match.  It was simply amazing watching these high school kids compete.  Many of the questions were incredibly complex and required specialized knowledge.  The questions tackled history from every corner of the world, complicated math problems and obscure quotes from Shakespeare plays--none of which I could remember from my own upbringing.  The kids communicated via American Sign Language with no voice used.  It was fascinating to watch the students break down a complicated math problem using ASL or challenge the other teams with explanations of why their answers were incorrect. 

The final match was between Hersey High School (where Academy award winner Marlee Matlin graduated from) and the Indiana School for the Deaf.  ISD placed first, Hersey came in second, Minnesota North Star came in third and Texas came in fourth.