Those Who Can, Teach

2017 Teachers Tournament Finals—Game 1

May 18, 2017

Contestants
David Clemmons
Nan Cohen
Mary Parker

according to alex trebek, the three categories of people most likely to excel at Jeopardy! are students, lawyers, and teachers.

Students spend most of their time learning. Their knowledge is fresh and can be recalled quickly. Lawyers are constantly tested to remember statutes, decisions, and arguments to bolster their cases, and they think on their feet. Teachers are always on the spot, front and center in their classrooms, their mastery of material always on display.

Students, both high school and college, have had tournaments throughout most of the history of Jeopardy! Lawyers are not, as a group, likely to draw large numbers of adoring viewers. Teachers, on the other hand, were a tournament ready to happen.

“Adding or deleting a tournament from the show really takes a lot of thought and consideration,” said Harry Friedman. “We talked about it for a couple of years. We knew if we were going to do it, it would have to be for a group that really needed no justification or explanation. Teachers seemed to meet those criteria.”

“They work hard. They’re underpaid and often underappreciated,” echoed Rocky Schmidt.

A Teachers Tournament allowed Jeopardy! to create a unique set of rewards just for teachers. Unlike regular contestants, Teachers Tournament players are guaranteed $5,000 for coming on the show, and travel expenses are paid as well. In addition, courtesy of a Farmers Insurance initiative called Thank America’s Teachers, each gets a grant of $2,500 to use for an educational purpose.

One woman learned about the Farmers Insurance grant program while watching Jeopardy!, Schmidt said. She eagerly passed the information to her son, Rob Webb, a teacher in Kinzers, Pennsylvania. In 2016, he and Pequea Valley High School were awarded one of the six $100,000 grants made by Farmers that year, which was used to build a planetarium.

In addition to drawing attention to the importance of teachers, the Teachers Tournament, first telecast in May 2011, brought with it some terrific promotional opportunities for Jeopardy!

David Clemmons, Nan Cohen, and Mary Parker at the 2017 Teachers Tournament.

Hometown newspapers and local TV stations welcome news that a local teacher is going to appear on the show.

“With Farmers Insurance as the tournament sponsor, we are able to provide grants to deserving teachers for them to enhance their classrooms. A unique part of the Teachers Tournament is producing fun pieces showcasing how the teachers are planning to use their grant money,” said Rebecca Erbstein, the show’s producer in charge of promotion.

Teachers try out for the tournament by taking the online test, just like other aspiring contestants. Those who pass the qualifying test may be placed in a separate pool from which Teachers Tournament contestants are selected and auditioned.

Maggie Speak says she finds special qualities among the teachers she selects. “I could cry talking about the Teachers Tournament,” she said. “It’s always so beautiful. They’re so supportive of each other.

“I overhear the conversations they have with each other about how much of their own money they spend each year to enrich student education. These people care so much about what they do.”

On several occasions, she said, Jeopardy! has served as a matchmaker for some contestants. “We’ve had two or three marriages from the Teachers Tournament,” Speak said. “One couple just got married in the summer of 2017. The New York Times covered the wedding, and Alex said that even though the two players didn’t win the tournament, they won in love.”

“Just by being on the show, teachers can impart an important lesson to students,” said Nan Cohen, a high school English teacher from Van Nuys, California, who reached the finals in 2017. “Students need to see role models who aren’t afraid to take chances, even if it means making mistakes,” she said.

Cohen tells her students how for years she was afraid to go on Jeopardy!, for fear of embarrassing herself in front of millions of viewers. She explains how her fear held her back for too long.

She resolved to learn the ins and outs of the game, including strategies suggested by some of the best players. Most importantly, she learned to face her own fears.

“I went bravely into something that freaked me out a bit,” she told one reporter. “And I came out the other side having had a really great time.”

The other teachers did, too. Mary Parker, a French and English teacher from Rogers Heritage High School in Rogers, Arkansas, hoped appearing on Jeopardy! would provide encouragement for the students on the quiz bowl team she coaches.

For the third player, David Clemmons of Fort Worth, Texas, being on Jeopardy! was perhaps an answer to a prayer—literally. Before he became a teacher, Clemmons spent twelve years as a Methodist youth minister, playing guitar, presenting lessons from the Bible, and leading prayers.

“I knew I could present myself well,” he said. “I’m able to project the kind of thing people want to see in a positive setting.”

Enriched by education! Fifteen teachers compete over two weeks for the $100,000 grand prize.