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Loudoun students take 1, 2 in State Geography Bee
Blue Ridge Middle School seventh-grader Christopher Miller forgets where he left his soccer shoes and his textbooks. But he can tell anyone who asks what African country surrounds Malawi on two sides, the history and economy of East Timor, or the source of hydroelectric power in Paraguay.
Well, he actually missed that question in the April 4 Virginia Geography Bee held at Shenandoah University in Winchester, but it takes two wrong answers in a row for elimination. He won the state bee when he knew in which long, narrow East Asian country a tourist will find the city of Danang (Vietnam).
Matias Sur, an eighth-grader at St. Theresa School in Ashburn, was second.
Christopher will represent Virginia at the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. Champions from 50 states, the Pacific territories, Department of Defense overseas schools, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia will compete for the national title and a $25,000 college scholarship.
To prepare, Christopher said he'll continue poring over atlases, watching tapes of the previous final rounds, keeping up on current events and quizzing with his father an hour or more a day.
Quiz shows may run in the family: His father was a one-day “Jeopardy” champion in 1989. His mother has appeared on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” And Alex Trebek will preside over the national bee.
Christopher's fascination with geography started about the time he could talk, said his mother, Gwen. He would toddle into his parents' room “early, early” on a Saturday, toting his sister's $7.95 globe, and wake up his father, Dean.
“Where's India? Where's China?”
Most Americans are “geographic illiterates,” he said. It is largely true, he said, that geography is fate, and “if you want to live in the world, you must know it. We are all part of this world, and it is our duty to learn about it and do more to protect it.”
Christopher has made it to the state championship round twice before this year's triumph, first in fourth grade and again in sixth grade.
Great Bear lake was his downfall in fifth grade. He guessed that the lake is in the United States, in Alaska. It is in Canada. He failed to win the school title.
The bee is is open to students in fourth through eighth grades. Christopher will have one more year to compete.
Soccer and the school play compete for his attention, Christopher said. The day of the state final, he rushed home and appeared in the opening night of “Peter Pan” at Blue Ridge.
And as Miller the Magnificent, he is available to perform magic shows at children's parties.
Contact the reporter at ssollinger@timespapers.com
You might want to fact check the number of states in the United States. I'm pretty sure that there are only 50, not 52.
Posted by girlbowler
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