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May Madness! a Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate

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May Madness! a Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate Social Education 70(5), pp. 304–311 ©2006 National Council for the Social Studies May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate “When I first was told about May Madness I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to get in front of a group of judges and speak about my historical figure…. I was also not sure what to ask during cross the examination. May Madness was more exciting than I expected. It brought out the competitive side of the students. The challenging part for me was deciding what exactly to choose from my characters’ accomplishments to show they took a stand and were influential…. Every time the judges gave us feedback, it gave us a chance to improve our speeches,” (2006 runner-up representing Katharine Graham). Isaac Cosby Hunt III Many Advanced Placement (AP) “tournament of historical figures,” and, in the District of Columbia Urban teachers may struggle, as I did, with as all good educators do, I appropriated Debate League (see www.dcdebate.org). what to do with their students after the the idea, putting my own spin on it in the As a debate coach in that extracurricular national examinations in early May. process. I also borrowed the name, May league, I have seen the powerful effect My advice is to do as the musician Madness, from the March Madness that structured debate has on young Prince once suggested: “…Go Crazy!” college basketball tournaments. people’s thought patterns, research skills, While I’m not suggesting a dance party In the inaugural year of the and self-esteem; I wanted to engage my in the classroom, I am recommending tournament, the competition was not AP students in that type of dynamic a phenomenon of a different kind: my one, but several tournaments, in fact. activity. After spending most of the cure for the post-exam blues is the “May The students had to create their own academic year expressing themselves on Madness” competition. individual tournaments; each student paper, May Madness gives my students For our May Madness final project, wrote four essays, one for each of the the opportunity to showcase their verbal my AP U.S. History students and I four regions of competition: East, West, talents. make a list of native-born or naturalized Midwest, and South—just like the twentieth century Americans and NCAA basketball tournaments. In the Setting up the Madness place them into a bracket—much beginning of their essays, each student During May Madness, I set aside my like the National Collegiate Athletic had to “seed,” or rank, their historical bowtie and pull out the referee shirt. Association (NCAA) basketball figures—who the “favorites” and the Serving as the “tournament director,” tournaments. The students then debate, “dark horses” were in that region—and my work is primarily focused on head-to-head, which historical figures explain why. recruiting the judges. Every year in were “more significant” until we have For the past four years, however, May April, I send out an e-mail to just about a Final Four and, eventually, a winner. Madness has gotten away from pencil every adult I know in the city. Some By the end of the tournament, the class and paper and moved to the podium. judges are three- or four-year veterans has determined the most significant Instead of having the students write of the tournament; and the job of American of the twentieth century. essays about their individual tournament recruiting gets easier every year as past decisions, we have a class tournament judges tell their friends, spouses, and Origins of the Madness and have judges decide who advances. colleagues about the activity. Judges Somewhere along the line of my 12 years The decision to change the format was, represent a diversity of backgrounds in education, I must have heard about a in large part, a result of my participation and professions; for example, May S OCIAL E DUCATION 304 Figure 1. MAY MADNESS 2004 Leaders & Revolutionaries Heroes & Icons Builders & Titans Great Minds Artists & Entertainers William A. Ronald Reagan Tupac Shakur Steven Spielberg The Three Stooges Martha A. Teddy Roosevelt Al Capone Maya Lin Oprah Winfrey John C. Marcus Garvey J. Edgar Hoover Robert Oppenheimer James Brown Poline D. Harry Truman Edward White Bill Gates Sandra Day O’Connor Kendra D. Timothy McVeigh Ray Kroc Bob Moses Elvis Presley Lakita E. Huey Newton Marilyn Monroe CJ Walker Martha Graham Tiffany G. Alice Paul Muhammad Ali JD Rockefeller Louis Farrakhan Nzinga K. Helen Keller Sam Walton Stan Williams Stan Lee Alta L. Paul Robeson Barry Gordy J.K. Galbraith Lucille Ball Concepcion M. Rudy Giuliani Estee Lauder Orville and Wilbur Wright Ed Sullivan Eduardo O. Dolores Huerta Ron Jeremy L.B. Mayer Keith Haring Michael P. Hugh Hefner Malcolm X Robert McNamara Dr. Seuss Kyiurshawn R. Seabiscuit Henry Ford Stephen King Walt Disney LaShaun W. Eleanor Roosevelt Jackie Robinson Margaret Meade Aretha Franklin Martin Luther Portia W. King, Jr. Donald Trump Philo Farnsworth Billie Holiday Lorice Y. Bill Clinton Leonard Peltier Russell Simmons Bob Woodward The author borrowed these categories from www.time.com/time/time100/. Historical figures in italics were teacher-selected. Madness judges have included Eleanor students; one of their first homework sources on their characters. For some Roosevelt’s goddaughter, National assignments of the project is to choose students, even those in an Advanced Archives staff, a member of the District two on their own. I try to assign students Placement class, May Madness provides of Columbia Board of Education, a to historical figures based on what I the first impetus to visit and scour the D.C. Superior Court judge, a nationally have learned about the students during local public library. syndicated journalist, and a former our year together; and I wait until There are about two weeks (10 class commissioner of the Securities and the end of the tournament to ask the periods) from the time I introduce the Exchange Commission. Outside judges students why they believe I made those project until the beginning of round one. provide an authentic audience, which choices. Figure 1 provides a chart of the The students learn which individuals spurs the students to put more effort field in the 2004 tournament divided by I have assigned them to on that first into the project. category. The historical figures chosen day, and they have until the end of the As tournament director, my job is to by students are in roman type. first week to make their own picks. I ensure the competition’s diversity; I try Once students have their four try to give each student at least one to make sure that a range of historical “players,” the next step is for the students resource to aid them in their research, figures are included in the draw, so to create some basic sketches of their but for the most part, the research is I reserve the right to assign certain historical figures. These sketches are all their own. For example, I assigned figures to the students.Time Magazine’s called “skeleton sketches,” a concept I Katharine Graham, former owner of the categorization of historical figures has borrowed from Janet Allen’s book, On Washington Post, to one of this year’s been very helpful in this regard (www. the Same Page: Reading Beyond the competitors. I happened to have a copy time.com/time/time100/). I require that Primary Grades. I adapted the sketch of Graham’s autobiography, A Personal each of the student’s four historical into a text format (Figure 2, page 308). History, which I lent to the student. figures come from a different category. These sheets force students to see the Using that autobiography as well as a I assign two historical figures to the need for both primary and secondary copy of The Pentagon Papers, that S E PT E MB E R 2 0 0 6 305 The 2005 champion (left) holds trophies for winner and runner-up. She took both Lyndon B. Johnson and Bob Moses to the finals. The student to the right won the 2004 championship representing suffragist Alice Paul. young woman took Katharine Graham, Shirley Temple did better research and easier. The rubric shows the students a figure she had never heard of before proved to be the better debater. The how many points each victory is worth, the tournament, all the way to the class learned that Temple was not just and they see that there are more points championship round. a movie star: the student argued that available for the victories by lesser Over the weekend I make the her work with Al Jolson improved race known historical figures. One of this tournament draw. I tell the students up relations, and she went on to become an year’s competitors reflected on his first front that I will be seeding each historical ambassador. With these two arguments, round loss to a lesser known historical figure—just as the NCAA tournament the young debater argued Temple’s figure: directors do with March Madness. To domestic and international significance. My first match-up was a fight this extent, my own judgments as a Not only had she researched her own I’ll never [forget]: Russell history educator about which historical figure well, but she had done what so Simmons and Rockefeller. With figures deserve which rank do affect many May Madness judges suggest: the Standard Oil Company the course (or at least the layout) of the she had studied her opponent.
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