English teachers Jake and Jamie Donohoe have a tradition of extra credit March Madness Brackets; they started it back in 2017 and have been continuing it every year since. The benefit of more points engages students with the game of chance.
The reason behind doing this entertaining activity every March is to make the already hard month more enjoyable. Jake Donohoe stated, “March sucks… You need something to look forward to and make it fun…Something you actually get to play a little bit in class is so glorious.”
Not only is it a fun activity, but it’s fair. Even if someone is a basketball fanatic they are on equal standing to someone with no information about basketball. Jake Donohoe included, “I would say the vast majority of kids have done it. The great thing about March Madness is anyone can win. So even my experts on basketball don’t necessarily win…It’s kinda like everyone has an equal chance which I think is great.”
The amount of extra credit a student earns depends on what place they get. First place receives 10 points, second place gets 5 points, third place is 3 points, fourth place is 2 points, fifth place is 1 point, and last place is 5 points. Jamie Donohoe added, “Well I think it’s important in this community to celebrate failure. Because failure is the only way that you can learn. And when people fail we can make fun of them. That is the greatest gift.”
While this isn’t a typical English class activity, many students enjoy the experience. “It’s a fun way to get extra credit, especially for an English class,” said sophomore and third place winner Peyton Tallarico. “It’s fun to get extra credit in a fun way.”
The process of picking brackets varied for different people. Some picked randomly while others chose to expertly pick their brackets. Junior and first place winner Luke Spivey said, “I did a little bit of research. I looked at some other brackets and what some of the top teams were and I put that all in. I selected UConn as the tournament winner because they are the top team.”
Tallerico’s approach was slightly different: “I had to talk to my dad to get some of his insight. I watch professional basketball, not college basketball, but I have a little knowledge…I wanted to be strategic but also chose a couple upsets…I also looked at percentages and expert picks.”
While Spivey chose to strategically pick out his brackets and thoroughly think it through, others chose to look up previous bracket winners to create their brackets. Junior Giorgia Stankus, who was the second place winner, stated: “I don’t know a lot about sports, so I looked up people who made brackets before and merged all their brackets together to form mine.”
The extra credit brackets rounded out to a good month of competition. This ongoing tradition has and will continue to bring joy to many English students during the long month of March. This game of chance offers students unique points in a way no other teachers at Campo have.
