23.10.2017
On the 20th of October 2017, the 5th graders had their very first English language event in middle school and it was a general knowledge quiz contest.
People wonder if general knowledge is important in a world where most answers can theoretically be found via Google, Yandex and so on, but without widely known general knowledge, how can one build a civil society? The more you know, the easier it is for you to understand what you read and to learn new things. This is called the ’cultural capital’ i.e. a general, conversational, knowledge of history, geography, public policy, and current events, including breakthroughs in science, math, psychology, and more.
Our 5th graders actively demonstrated this. Split into five groups, they chose team captains and names. We had, ’The Natives’, ’TSMVV’, The Hamster gangsters, ’The bigeyes’ and ’The Brains’. They were test on a wide range of topics consisting of Science, Geography, Sports, The UK, etc. The natives came out tops displaying uncanny wit by not only answering their questions, but also taking bonus points for extra questions answers. Teamwork and leadership skills were seen at work as the English Language department watch with pride the fruits of their labour springing forth before their very eyes, knowing their 5th graders can hold up any general knowledge challenge thrown their way.
