Interview with Mr. Kohn on Quiz Bowl 2009

Ms. Martin:  Mr. Kohn, tell us about Quiz Bowl 2009 and how it came about.

Mr. Kohn:  A few years back, I read an article in the Hartford Courant about a teacher who had been running a Quiz Bowl game in his school for about 15 years.  They used to show it on the school TVs and it became very popular.  As soon as I read it, I thought it was a great idea, but at the time, in the school I was teaching in, they didn’t have TVs in the room, so I just put the idea on hold.  Then, when I came to Windham Tech, I realized that this would be the perfect place to try it out.

Ms. Martin: What do you think the main benefits are for our students?

Mr. Kohn: I think the best part about Quiz Bowl is that it gets the students talking about academics.  I love it when teachers tell me that students in their first period class are calling out answers or discussing alternate answers to the questions.  I also like the idea of rewarding students for all the hard work they put in when they are in academics. Every week I am more and more impressed with how much they have learned in those classes.

Ms. Martin: How do you think the contest is going so far?

Mr. Kohn:  Well, there have been some bumps in the road, but I have to say, despite my high expectations, I think it is going even better than I imagined.  Students come up to me all the time and ask when the next game is going to be or to make a suggestion on how we can do things better. You have to love that!

Ms. Martin: What does the future hold for Quiz Bowl 2009?

Mr. Kohn: Well, the first round should finish up this month and then we move on to the quarterfinals, semi-finals and the “Quiz Super Bowl” at the end of May.  We also have been invited to talk about Quiz Bowl and show some tapes on Channel 14’s cable TV show on education.  That will happen on April 9th.

Ms. Martin: Do you have anything else you would like to say to our Quiz Bowl fans?

Mr. Kohn: Just, thanks for tuning in and may the best shop win!!!