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37 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 15, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 18, 2005 State geography bee contestants Kevin, left, and Doug know their cartography. The two Beick brothers have a family life that helps inspire knowledge of the field, among other interests � like fire poles. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Creating a buzz at the geography bee By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune It looks like the Beick brothers — Kevin and Doug — won’t have any trouble finding a place in the world. At ages 14 and 11, the Medford boys already are recognized whizzes at geography. In fact, they’re the Rogue Valley’s first set of siblings to simultaneously qualify for the Oregon Geography Bee, the state preliminary to a national contest. "That’s unusual," said Sheri Ruegsegger, geography bee coordinator for Oregon. "We see it occasionally at the national level, when people from the same family get into the top 10, but it’s rare." Kevin, an eighth-grader, took first place in the all-school geography competition at Hedrick Middle School, while Doug, a sixth-grader, took first place at Lone Pine Elementary. Both boys did well on a 50-question written exam, which cinched their trip to the state contest April 2-3. "In fifth grade it was really hard," said Doug, who qualified for the state event last year, too. "This year, it was a lot easier because I knew a lot more." Advertisement Added Kevin: "I thought the 50-question test was easy." Kevin and Doug will join 98 fellow qualifiers for a shot at the state title in an event held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. The winner of that contest will go on to the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. In an era when geography knowledge threatens to go the way of Latin lessons, the boys’ parents, Ron and Molly Beick, say their kids have naturally gravitated toward the subject. "From the time they were little, they always liked to look at the maps and see where we were going," says Ron Beick, a former math teacher who now works as a vice principal at North Medford High School. Puzzles and games of logic also intrigued the Beick boys, including Timmy, 10, a fourth-grader at Lone Pine. Kevin and Doug said they both plan to be cartographers — map makers — when they grow up. Timmy said he’d like to make movies. Their parents have encouraged geographic interest with family trips to the East Coast, Hawaii and destinations between. Every night at dinner, the family members quiz each other from a book filled with where-in-the-world questions. "I know more stuff about the U.S. than the rest of the world," Kevin said. Still, Kevin knew the answer to the winning question tossed out at the Hedrick school contest: "What is the only Canadian province that touches Alaska?" "At first I thought the Yukon, but that’s a territory," said Kevin. "So I thought it must be British Columbia." Bingo. The questions likely will be even harder at the state contest, and extremely difficult at the national level. The Beicks know that some people prepare obsessively. "The guy who won last year, he made his own atlas," said Molly Beick, who teaches statistics at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. But the Medford family has taken a more casual approach to the state contest, which offers a $100 cash prize, a National Geographic globe and an expense-paid trip to the Washington, D.C., event. "I can’t say we’re really drilling," said Ron Beick. "We’ve kept it fun." That’s the key to learning, said Ruegsegger, who teaches Advanced Placement geography at Perrydale High School in Amity. In an era when global issues raise increasingly local concerns, all kids need to be geographically literate, she said. "We talk a lot about current events and having a knowledge of what’s going on," Ruegsegger said. "The more opportunity they have to do that, the more aware they’re going to be of the global village." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s