

Google launches K-12 Art Contest - vlad
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/

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vlad
I won first place in Massachusetts in a grade 4-6 art poster drawing contest
promoting US Savings Bonds ran by the US Treasury in the 90's, and met the Lt.
Governor as well as receiving a $1,000 Savings Bond (the 2nd and 3rd places in
each state also won $500 or $200, respectively). In contrast, state winners of
the Google contest win a paid trip to New York City (presumably with a
guardian) and get to meet other winners, and do not win money unless they are
top three in the nation.

Another difference is that the judging criteria for my contest was split up in
percentages, one of the largest being originality. My design was original in
many ways, probably helped by the fact that I had just moved to the United
States a year prior and avoided stereotypical patriotic symbols like the
statue of liberty, the liberty bell, and eagles. However, the the 2nd place
national winner (the top three got to visit Washington D.C. as well as winning
an additional $5,000, $2,000, or $1,000) was simply a giant eagle perched on a
tree branch, and even the first place winner the prior year was a drawing of
the statue of liberty (both at the skill level of a middle-school student.)

It appeared that the national judges did not familiarize themselves with the
judging criteria as much as the state judges. First of all, the theme was
"Invest in your future today", so what a painting of an eagle perched on a
branch had to do with originality or theme is very vague, and the art wasn't
anything special, so I don't see how it could have even been in the top except
for the patriotic angle, considering that those three factors was supposed to
make up the majority of the judging criteria.

In contrast, I notice that the judging criteria for the Google contest is
delegated to the bottom of the FAQ page instead of having its own section.
Additionally, it doesn't list the relative importance of each of them
(artistic merit, creativity of the use of google logo, how well the theme is
expressed, and an essay).

All in all, while I'm happy there is a replacement for the Savings Bonds
contest (which ceased in the early 2000's due to a combination of budget cuts
and controversy over judging), and that it's a great way for Google to get
brand recognition as an important company with the K-12 crowd, it would be
nice for Google to 1) provide more specific criteria and 2) stick to it, since
lots of children will be spending a month or more on the poster (about how
long I spent, for example) with little chance of actually getting recognition
or an award.

