September THEBRIDGE 2002 VOL. 15 • ISSUE 3 TEACHER Hooray for Continuing Education! by Julie Greenberg, ACBL Director of Education The Official This summer I had an opportunity to treat the Lincoln Memorial and the Viet Nam Wall. It Newsletter of myself to the “full” ABTA Convention. The was a trip we never could have planned for The American Bridge Teachers group meets prior to ourselves and an opportunity to socialize and the Summer NABC each year at the NABC site. enjoy each other’s company. A great evening. American This was a great experience for me, and I’d like Speaking of the social side of the convention Contract to tell you about it. Each morning everyone met for a continental The ABTA seminar preceded the start of the breakfast and a chance to chat — a good way to Bridge League convention (Tuesday afternoon). There was a get started. On Thursday evening, we all dressed panel of teachers to answer questions and up and attended the ABTA banquet . lots of Accredited some special speakers. This year some very awards, tributes, and a great dinner. As a talented and popular teachers, including Harry special perk, ACBL arranged for the teachers Teachers Lampert and Audrey Grant, were featured. attending the ABTA banquet to sit in on the During the time the presenters and attendees presentations at the Hall of Fame dinner. That introduced themselves, there were teaching tips was a nice treat since I really didn’t want to miss and good ideas flowing so fast I could hardly continued on page 8 get them all written down. What I captured are a lot of gems. (See page 3). The official convention started on Wednesday afternoon and went through Friday noon. At registration, everyone was Apples given a packet of materials — books, gifts, etc. — that was very impressive. There were a to . IN THIS ISSUE variety of outstanding speakers throughout the program who were either experienced teachers with great teaching tips, expert (In our first issue, we started a tradition of Continuing Education .......... 1 players there to help the attendees with their giving “apples” for extraordinary own bridge games, or others who introduced accomplishments. Here we go again . .) Teachers’ new products and teaching materials. Bookshelf ........... 2 MARTI RONEMUS — for the But it wasn’t all business! At each Teacher Tips ......... 3 unique bridge experience — ”It’s convention, there is an optional activity on Bidding Boxes ...... 3 Wednesday night. The activities chairmen, 1931 Again” — she created for her Carol Kaufman and Rhoda Cohen, did an players. See pages 4 and 5 for Bridge Week .... 4–5 outstanding job in Washington. They arranged details. Magazine/ for a deluxe private bus tour of the city narrated DELMA MURRAY — for going the Members ........... 4 by the best tour guide I’ve ever run into. She extra mile to send a picture of herself Star Teachers........ 6 knew so many interesting stories and facts, she in her fabulous red teacher jacket Cruise Update ...... 7 had us sitting on the edge of our chairs all embellished with her teacher patch. evening. We had several planned stops — the BETTY STARZEC — for the Phoenix NABC new FDR Memorial (magnificent at night), the outstanding seminar on “Teaching Seminars ............. 8 beautiful refurbished Union Station for dinner, the new Korean War Memorial (eerie and Online” that she created. Don’t miss it awesome in the evening) with a short walk to at the NABCs. FALL 2002 The Bridge Teachers Bookshelf Every year, the American Bridge Each book can be ordered from ACBL’s Bridge Teachers’ Association (ABTA) selects the Source for a member teachers’ bridge book of the year from price of $5.36 each among books published during the (regular $5.95). At that preceding 12 months. The 2002 award price, how can you go was presented at the Washington DC wrong? To order, call summer convention to an entire series of 1 (800) 264–2743 or books — The Bridge Technique Series by purchase online at David Bird and Marc Smith. www.acbl.org. This series is A brand- composed of 12 by Pat Harrington new publication paperback books and a can- (approximately 64 pages each) and didate that will surely be deals with a variety of topics on play: examined for next year’s Entry Management, Tricks with Trumps, award is 25 Steps to Safety Plays, Eliminations and Throw- Learning 2/1 by Paul Thurston, a Canadian bridge Ins, Deceptive Card Play, Planning in journalist and teacher. Published by Masterpoint Suit Contracts, Planning in Notrump Press, this book is written in the easy-to-read style of Contracts, Defensive Signaling, Barbara Seagram’s two popular books, 25 Ways to Squeezes Made Simple, Planning in Compete in the Bidding and 25 Bridge Conventions Defense, Reading the Cards, and You Should Know. Tricks with Finesses. As you see from While this book is designed to get the reader the titles, some of these topics would be playing 2/1, it also provides a lot of information on appropriate for your students and some good sound bidding as the topics move from opening of them might even be helpful to you. bid requirements to major-suit openings and There are many good ideas for responses (including 1NT forcing, “the magical ninth lessons on play and defense as well as trump,” Jacoby 2NT, and Bergen raises), and on to some hands you might wish to light opening bids and Drury followed by minor-suit incorporate into your lessons. If your openings and responses and fourth suit forcing, weak students are serious about improving jump shifts, new minor forcing and reverses, and their play, you can use a single book as concluding with a discussion of competitive bidding. the text for an entire mini-course. Each chapter concludes with exercises to reinforce Quizzes at the end of each chapter can the material. be used for classroom discussion or as The only downside for teachers is that there are no homework. If you doubt that you could complete deals to use in a course on 2/1. However, base an entire course on a book of only many of the exercises show opener’s and responder’s 64 pages, consider a partial list of topics hands to be bid and the teacher could fill in the covered in the final segment of the series, remaining cards to provide deals for classroom play. Tricks with Finesses: entries; choosing the If you are thinking of a course on 2/1 for your right type of finesse; the ruffing finesse; advanced students, I strongly suggest making this the double finesse; restricted choice; clearly written book your text. combining finesses and break chances; choosing which This book can be purchased for the member price finesse to take; the two-way finesse; avoiding finesses; of $14.36 from the ACBL’s Bridge Source either enlisting the defenders’ help; and defending against a online at www.acbl.org or through the ACBL Sales finesse. Supplement with extra hands for classroom Department by calling 1 (800) 264–2743. practice and you’ll have a great intermediate to advanced level course. Visit our web site www.acbl.org page 2 B R ࡗ I D G E T E A C H E R Tips from Teachers - PUBLICITY TIPS — At the ABTA Convention Mary Jane von Moss TEACHING TIPS — promotes her lessons Leslie Shafer uses gems and cars to help her with the saying, “Take students learn the value of hands (Minimum, Medium, my class. It stimulates the Maximum = Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond). brain and stalls Ted Applegate, when teaching defense, tells his Alzheimer’s for six students to rearrange their hands and put the cards in months.” the suit bid by an opponent closer to that opponent. Carol Kaufman Norma Sands teaches “Play the high card from the promotes her cruise ship short hand first” by turning that phrase into a chant. It lessons with BIFF — will help jolt the student’s memory. Bridge Is For Fun. Audrey Grant tells her students that if their upper Delma Murray advertises by wearing a red jacket body is touching the table, their cards can be seen by with her ACBL Accredited Teacher patch. It is attractive the other players. and attention getting. (If you didn’t get a patch and Carol Griffin teaches doubles with this saying, want one, send a student list to Dana Norton’s “Doubles are like a Miss America pageant — you attention.) gotta have shape.” CLUB MANGER TIP — Peggy Tatro helps her students meet each other Marti Ronemus had a good idea for a series of and learn about duplicate by moving them periodically special club games. Get the cooks in your club to (e.g., move E–W up a table or move N–S down a provide refreshments for a game by serving their table to mix it up). specialty and name the game after them (e.g., Ellen’s Judi Shulman reminds us that teachers are in the Coffee Cake game). You pay for the cook’s supplies entertainment business. If you don’t get your students to and collect the recipes to make a booklet for the laugh at least five times, they won’t be back the next holidays. week. ICE BREAKERS — Dennis Scott: Barbara Seagram uses this reminder when Fold Your Hands: Have your students fold their teaching leads. It’s a matter of Tops and Bottoms. Lead hands and place them on the table. If they do this with Top of nothing and Bottom from something. the right thumb up, they are creative. If they fold their hands with the left thumb up, they are organized.