Scripps National Spelling Bee: The Pinnacle of American Academic Excellence
As schools have been pushing for “woke” agendas, you may be surprised that there are still academic competitions out there that have stayed true to their purposes. One of these is the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is happening in Washington, D.C. this week. While we have seen schools and other academic institutions attempt to lower standards and the level of difficulty of education, the National Spelling Bee has increased in difficulty over the years.
As of last year, the second round of each segment (preliminaries, semifinals, and finals) are now vocabulary rounds in which the speller has to select the correct multiple choice answer to a vocabulary question read by the pronouncer. From 2013 to 2019, there was a written test that included both spelling and vocabulary words. Starting in 2002, there was a written round with only spelling words.
Not only are there vocabulary questions in the Bee now, but the words have become increasingly difficult. All words are also now from the online version of Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, which began in 2017. Until recently, the Bee had omitted words that have alternate spellings, hyphens, and spaces in them. In the past, I have seen words used in higher rounds be used in the earlier rounds several years later.
One of the reasons that the Bee started to create new formats for the competition was because of co-champions in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019 (which had eight spellers win the Bee). Spellers had exhausted championship level words and even had tied scores when it came to the written exams.
People always say that receiving words are just the “luck of the draw,” but the reality is that so many words can be deciphered by understanding etymology (language of origin), combining forms/root woods, part of speech, and definitions. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule, especially when an origin is unknown, imitative, or one of the unusual rare origins such as and sometimes it comes down to spelling a word how it sounds.
Going beyond Bee logistics, I remember the nerves when I did spelling bees. The school bees were a breeze, but I certainly had my struggles at the regional bees (the level before nationals). While the first 12-14 rounds were simple as all words came from a study booklet called Spell It! – Tricks and Tips for Spelling Bee Success, the words in later rounds were off-list words which got increasingly difficult (I was a top speller, although). My first few years with spelling bees was under a different program due to lack of sponsorship in the Salt Lake area at the time, so I only had my shot with the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 7th and 8th grades. In 7th grade, I also won another statewide spelling bee (unrelated to Scripps) with all the Lutheran schools in Utah at that time (around 50-60 students from 4th-8th grades).
While I never made it to nationals, I had the opportunity to assist and coach spellers who have made it to that level (or were top spellers at their regional/state bees) throughout high school, and I even had friends who placed high at nationals even before I was involved. For me, helping others was better than competing as I saw students build knowledge of the English language, learn where our words come from, and even develop effective study habits (even outside of spelling).
Whenever I watch the National Spelling Bee, I can see how much these spellers love to show what they have learned and even use their abilities. Many spellers have different techniques on how to spell. Spellers finger write on their hands/arms, others pretend there is a keyboard, and others have sung the spelling of a word. Most of these spellers, including the champions have never had to hire coaches as most of their coaches were family members and close friends. The Bee is truly a family affair, and seeing them cheer (or spell along with their children) is always a highlight.
I pray that the National Spelling Bee never goes “woke.” It is truly one of the last academic institutions in this country that displays American excellence. Your ethnicity and gender at the Bee does not matter, and there is absolutely no affirmative action happening. Everyone has the same opportunity to win, and we have seen both boys and girls, virtually all races, different academic backgrounds, and 11 year olds and 14 year olds win the Bee. Many of the spellers also go on to have admirable and magnificent careers, including Dr. Nan Hayworth (competed in 1971) who is an ophthalmologist, former New York Congresswoman, and also involved with Independent Women’s Forum!
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is truly the pinnacle of American academic excellence. If you have time tonight you should definitely watch the Championship Finals of the Bee.
