by PARKER ALBARIAN
The stakes were high that night inside a packed Christensen hall.
The occasion was Chadwick’s much-anticipated annual Parent Trivia Night on Jan. 21. Win and receive a plastic trophy, or lose and walk away with the shame of failing to outsmart other parents in a friendly competition.
If you think this affair consists of a simple Quizlet, you are sorely mistaken. This year, the trivia night was emceed by Upper School Dean and economics teacher Patrick Wallace, and he did not take the task lightly.
Wallace spent 15 hours preparing for this thrilling night, not counting the time to carefully craft a killer playlist. Ambience is everything, and Wallace’s favorite band, the String Cheese Incident, is the very definition of ambience.
“I think I did a better job DJing than the DJ at Formal,” Wallace said.
Twelve groups–each with their own crafted team names–assembled to answer six categories of questions: Pop Culture and Current Events, Geography, Sports, Famous People, Music and Alcohol.
“It was science and different historical questions on alcohol,” Wallace assured.“Several tables brought some wine and beer, but it was pretty tame. Nothing too wild.”
Team “Tequila Mockingbird” took home top honors and the coveted plastic trophy at Chadwick’s Parent Trivia Night.
The night, of course, was not void of the rowdy protesting of answers. As the ancient proverb goes, like parents, like children. To avoid conflict, Wallace implemented one crucial rule: The Quiz Master is always right.
“Some of the teams–and players, like my husband–did not like this rule,” said parent Tanya Rothman.
Rothman reflected on the time that a member of her team failed to trust her. The question was: “What two countries share the longest border on Earth?”
“It was Canada and the U.S. I had that one, but Joe Derhake said ‘no’ and we got it wrong,” she said. Rothman’s lapse in conviction meant she failed to display superior cognitive capacity that would have brought her child (senior Ryan Rothman) glory.
Team “Tequila Mockingbird” brought home the gold. The group was composed of first-, third- and eighth-grade parents, including the very knowledgeable Chadwick English teacher, Kate Elortegui. When the group assembled that night, they realized they all had different skills that made for a strong and intellectually diverse team.
“Some of us were born on the East Coast, the West Coast, some in Middle America and one from the UK. I actually think those backgrounds helped us have different answers, like with pop culture in the ‘90s or geography,” Elortegui said.
While Elortegui’s team was obviously pleased with the victory, one member did not seem to find their celebration of jumping appropriate. “My husband later said he was embarrassed on behalf of me as a faculty member that I was quite enthusiastic when we won.
“I was jumping around, and we were perhaps a little obnoxious. We didn’t expect how into it we’d get,” admitted Elortegui.
Wallace acknowledged the big-picture value of Parent Trivia Night for the Chadwick community.
“As the Dean of Students, I get to spend a lot of time with the students, and I’ve always believed that relationships are at the core of what makes Chadwick special,” he said. “To have opportunities to spend time with parents in a fun setting, where no one’s talking about school, grades or colleges … it was lovely.
“It’s just great to spend time with the people that make this community so special. Parents are a huge part of that.”
The Mainsheet 