Years ago my daughter and I started watching Jeopardy together and keeping score. It was fun--for a few years. I knew that my general knowledge wasn't bad, except when it came to painters and obscure places or people. More often than not, I would win. But slowly my winning percentage started changing!!!! My daughter remembered all the science that she had just studied, she new the current pop songs and group performers and I found myself losing more often than winning.
Even now, we occasionally watch Jeopardy together and keep score. Tonight was one of those nights. Unfortunately, I did not like any of the topics. I wanted to win!!! So what were some of the categories? "Compound words", "How the World was Spun", and others I have already forgotten. Needless to say, I did not win. When all was said and done, I had around $2000 and my daughter had over $10,000.
What could I do to improve my changes in Jeopardy? Take lessons in popular culture? Watch MTV? Read every popular fiction book, and every classic, while at the same time memorizing all the famous lines--or the ones that might become famous. Can I do that and still be an effective teacher? I don't think so. I guess I will leave Jeopardy "doctorate" for someone else to achieve. I will still play with my daughter, after all, together times are treasured!
I can relate to this! We started watching Jeopardy when my boys were little. They thought Mommy was so smart to come up with all these answers. Now...I couldn't beat my oldest son if I tried. He has had science, math, and history classes that weren't even offered when I was in school. Have fun with it and be glad your daughter has all this knowledge. Maybe some day she will actually go on the show and win big buck!
ReplyDeleteThis post made me smile, especially reading about when the shift occurred. I liked how you explored your competitive side and what you would need to do in order to shift back to you winning more, as well as whether or not it was worth it.
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