Grace

grace n.  

1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
4. 1. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
   2. Mercy; clemency.
   3. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.
   4. The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.
   5. An excellence or power granted by God.
5. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.

Among the things I would like Hedgehog to learn in their lifetime, I think grace may be near the top of the list.

The second debate meet of the season was this weekend.  Mostly novices in attendance, although a wide spread in what defined "novice."  For some of them it was their second meet after a couple of months of intense preparation.  Others seemed to not know the rules of the game and quickly knew they were in over their heads.

Because of the way it all works, their were several rounds in which the more qualified kids faced those who did not know what was going on, and watching the kids approach the situation was a real lesson in moral character and how one should compose themselves in an awkward situation.

In one round the "experienced" debater was beside themselves with frustration.  "My opponent didn't say anything, so I have nothing to respond to, what am I supposed to do?"  I wished that the neophyte would say something, ANYTHING that would allow me to give them a win on a technicality, but it was not to be.  The best I could do was to give the "winner" of the round some STRONG feedback that, hopefully, will help them to gain some perspective.

But another round I watched was a thing of horror and beauty all rolled into one.  It was literally the first round of debate for the neophyte, and they had to be heavily coached on who spoke when and what was to happen in each speech.  Their first speech was a valiant effort with some good ideas, but not written in the format called for in the event.  When the "veteran" in the round was given a chance to rebut their opponents arguments they briefly pointed out the missing pieces of the previous speech and then continued to speak, prefacing their comments with "while the previous speech was missing these things, there were some main ideas, so I'm going to talk about those." 

We were 1/4 of the way through the round, everyone in the room knew who would win and who would lose, but the winner had the grace to try and work with their opponent on their opponent's own terms.  That student won the tournament, and based on what I saw I cannot say it was a wrong result (even though it meant that my students were not winners).

I want the Hedgehog to be that debater, that person.  The one who recognizes that they are in a bad situation, but let's make the most out of it; not only for ourselves, but for the others involved as well.  A person who approaches those in a disadvantaged person with respect and indulgence rather than entitlement and superiority. 

A gracious human being.