Spell Me A River!

Spelling Bee fever hits Ware County!

I've had a number of friends this week with children competitive in their elementary school's spelling bee.  Although I did not get to see the bees, it has been a joy to read and hear about the excitement of the parents and children as they prepare and participate in these contests.

If Spelling Bee fever hit Pierce County (our home county), I don't know about it.  It may be because Benjamin is in middle school now, but I never heard much about in prior years.  Maybe Spelling Bees are less emphasized in Pierce County.

Oh, I think they exist.  It's just that Benjamin never made it out of his room.  To compete at the whole school level, you first have to qualify out of your home classroom.  And Benjamin never did that.  I think one year he qualified just a place below what he would need to go to the next level.

What was odd about that is that Benjamin almost always got a 100 on spelling tests, all through elementary school.  He is qualified into GATE, a special program for gifted and talented children.  His reading level has ranged from two to four grade levels above his current grade.  He is self-assured and an excellent performer, so he does not suffer from panic or stage fright.

He is prone to a little over-confidence, and sometimes not thinking things through.  He will go with the picture of the word in his head without any real thought.  So I can see how he could miss a word he might otherwise know.

I don't remember, in my own school years, ever winning or even being competitive in a spelling bee.  My spelling grades were not as good as Benjamin's.  I had a somewhat undeserved reputation for being intelligent, so I think it was a bit of surprise to other students when I didn't shine in these contests.

Anybody who has read my posts or facebook comments knows that I can slip through some whoppers, even with Spell-check.  To this day, I never get the i before e thing right no matter how carefully I think about it.  Believe is always beleive. Chief is cheif.  I just can't help it.  Something about my brain wiring, I guess.

I'm not overly critical of other people when I see mistakes of spelling or grammar.  We're all human.  It happens to all of us.  Nevertheless, the general downhill trend is discouraging.  We are tweeting and abbreviating ourselves into newspeak nonsense.

It does my heart good to see that some students still care enough about spelling to compete in these contests and do well.  And it speaks well of those parents as well when their children do well.  It often shows an academic tint and a caring of learning that is very important.

Spell on, my friends! Even with Spell-check  it is a vital and important skill to have, and I salute you, parents and students alike!

Now, if only somebody could do something about Auto-correct!