~:[CH13 - Day 82]:~ Recognition, Deserved

 
~:[CH13 - Day 82]:~ Recognition, Deserved

I was a little confused when I was told there was an article about Nationals. I didn't send anything to a newspaper, so it caught me off-guard. Regardless, it was cool to see something written about them in the paper. These students worked so hard for this moment and so I was glad they got the recognition they deserved. We always start the process in November and while we may go overboard on the preparation, I want them to be prepared for the conference and gain confidence as they prepare for it. They often point out that we have so many fine details and points and that is due to the work that these students put in from the very start. They ended up with an endless amount of information on the topic that seems to naturally come out as they work in committee, which is the point of the preparation we do. I often tell them that they will face up against delegates who are more confident and comfortable speaking than they are, so we must counter that with our substance in research. In the end, the conference recognized the work they put in, as they were award the highest award possible in research along with an Award of Excellence in debate. For being in almost all large committees this year, I was quite impressed by the feat. It was a bright moment in a day marred with so much that I just wanted to wipe away, but even when things try to bring you down, when you focus on what you should, you'll eventually find something that will help lift you out of that fog trying to blind you from seeing the beautiful things around you. I shared the article with my students as they gave their kudos to each other and I'm just glad that someone took the time to recognize them for all the work that they put in.