After months of preparation, various academic groups are competing at Independence High School on Saturday in the UIL Academics competition with students testing themselves in subjects such as debate, journalism, math, science, social studies, spelling, and computer science.
“The UIL academic competitions are really beneficial to students,” journalism teacher Brian Higgins. “Because they give students the chance to take what they have learned and apply it in a setting that is much different than a classroom activity or test and ultimately that’s what school is all about: providing students with the tools and knowledge to be used in different ways.”
From practice tests to classroom work, coaches such as math teacher Jennifer Rumery have been trying to get students ready.
“The whole first semester we finalized the teams by taking practice tests, and then once the teams were set we’ve been meeting once a week for an hour-ish to go through tests together,” Rumery said. “They do some practice at home but we meet every week to just talk about how things are going. We have a couple of really strong freshmen who have really invigorated the team and I’m excited to see how they do.”
Aside from allowing students to showcase their skills, UIL competitions also help students work on skills that can be useful later on in their educational pursuits.
“The great thing about UIL academic competitions is that they are timed which means students are under a bit of pressure,” Higgins said. “The ability to work well under pressure or when the stakes are high is a great skill to have and these contests can help students develop this.”
For Lincoln Douglas Debate captain Shruti Bhoyar the ability to focus on one academic discipline is beneficial.
“I feel like UIL really supports people’s academic interests by offering an academic environment for them to thrive in,” Bhoyar said. “It also challenges them to look more deeply into certain topics, beyond the surface level.”
UIL also offers academic teams the opportunity to build on skills from years past and strengthen on areas of improvement.
“Last year we had a ton of returning members, so last was kind of this peak for us; we ended up going to state,” Rumery said. “This year was just rebuilding, so it was really just trying to introduce all the new people to the ways of Math UIL. So it was as much improving upon ways of prior years, it was more rebuilding the team and making sure it’s ready to go for this year.”
“I hope that students learn how to be a good competitor,” Bhoyar said. “It’s a great opportunity to advance as a speaker and test your skills while also maintaining professionalism.”
Although these competitions can be nerve-wracking, many teachers on campus hope that students will use this as a growing opportunity and receive recognition for all the work they’ve put in.
“I always tell my students whether they do well, or they fall short of what they hoped, that they shouldn’t get too up or down as on a different day, the results could be completely different,” Higgins said. “[UIL competitions] can be a great showcase for a student to demonstrate their ability in a certain area as they compete against their peers and ultimately, maybe get some recognition for what they have done in school.”
