Competing against the best

By Staff
Melissa Cason
This week I had an eye opening experience. I have always considered myself a pretty intelligent person. Let's face it. I'm pretty smart.
I know about art, history, science, and literature. I studied anthropology in college.
I even survived college algebra at Alabama.
I can cover a trial without asking attorneys basic questions about the law. I can cover arrests without having a basic charge explained to me. I can carry my end of the conversation with archeologist Hunter Johnson. I can even read French and still speak the language even though my accent left me years ago.
I say all of that because I wanted you to understand my shock when I visited the scholars bowl students at Russellville Middle School last week.
I went in there to do a story about them, and they taught me something about myself: I am not as smart as they are, and they are middle school students!
After taking the picture and talking about their experiences with scholar's bowl, I asked if I could 'play.'
Yeah, I could play, just not very well. At first, I didn't think my buzzer worked, but then, I figured out they just have better reflexes than me.
They knew all the answers to the questions that I had long forgotten.
I tried to stump them by asking them questions, but they knew the answers. One question in particular, they knew better than I did.
I mean come on, they are seventh graders! I'll be honest. I was upset to learn that I wasn't as smart as a seventh grade student.
But, in my defense, while they have been studying things like French history and art, I've been working as a wife, mother, and journalist.
That's got to count for something.
As I left the room, I told the students to enjoy their knowledge now because when they are 30, they might not be as sharp as they are now. After all, I was once gifted too.