1. U.S. Elementary Education : What Parents Need to Know
    Dismiss Notice

All About Spelling Bee And Similar Competitions

Discussion in 'General Discussions - USA & Canada' started by Rihana, Jul 17, 2016.

  1. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Year after year we read kids with Indian names winning the U.S. spelling bee competitions. The typical reaction is a nice feeling to see Indian name, accompanied with an 'is all the time spent on it worth it?'

    What do you think?

    Does preparing for such competitions help the children develop good study and time organization, etc, habits? Is it useful to know the spellings and origin of words with internet at fingertips?

    No learning is ever a waste? Or, could the time be better spent in other ways?

    Any experience with spelling bee's?

    Would you encourage your child to participate?
     
    Loading...

  2. MalStrom

    MalStrom IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    4,191
    Likes Received:
    7,009
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Female
    I guess its worthwhile for the winners because they get scholarships, right? I personally find the whole business of learning esoteric words totally pointless. Who uses these words ever? It's somewhat like all those strange words we had to learn for the verbal section of GRE. Do the kids really enjoy this, especially with so many other opportunities in this country?
    I would rather see kids learn organization, team skills and dealing with rejection and disappointment in sports or a drama group, but different strokes for different folks!
     
    aspha, Rihana and KashmirFlower like this.
  3. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,896
    Likes Received:
    24,888
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    Whats up Rihana? Worrying too much about spell-bee's and laid back parenting today? Positivity thread needs u.

    Not a competitive person by myself and so is the family! It's nice to watch the achieving kids. Scholarship is one thing but how many children spend the whole summer reading Dictionaries. I know a professional who gave up her highly qualified field focussing on her children's math/spell-bees.... Is it worth it? Don't know
     
    SunPa likes this.
  4. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    The competition is for 8th grade and younger, so the monetary value of scholarships is not the attraction, I think. Must be the ability to say that one has won the competition at a certain level.
     
  5. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    :) Actually not worrying, serenity prayer was in effect: identified what I can do, what to outsource to better-half, and what to leave to kid. and a peaceful weekend.. so instead of crossing fingers and praying for the state to persist, typed up kewstins in threads. : )

    I like to watch the younger ones too. The part I cringe is where the child makes eye contact with parent in the audience. For some reason, I hate that part. The child seems to be looking for support, acknowledgment or something.. whatever, I feel for the child.
     
    SunPa and jskls like this.
  6. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    It is relatively easy to bring spelling bee to your child's school, if they don't already have it. The spellingbee.com website has info on how to enroll your school (as a parent). It is a nice experience for a parent who is looking to get involved in school activities.

    Though, it gets tough to continue the effort after one's own child has been eliminated in a round. : ) And, as with any competition, be prepared for surprises, and dealing with parents who are surprised at the rules already communicated to them.

    I don't have any direct experience, but plenty of second-hand experience, from friend who did it for few years.. She used to whine whine, and then come August, there she was at school again announcing about the Bee. Kind of like women forget labor pain, I guess. : )
     
    vidhyalakshmid, SunPa and jskls like this.
  7. JGVR

    JGVR Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    999
    Likes Received:
    675
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Gender:
    Female
    There are many other bees like maths,science,geography i heard apart from spelling bee.If you feel that your kid has an interest to learn new things,then why not try the specific subject bee?winning or losing is a different matter,atleast they would get the confidence that they can try for anything they like with proper preparation.The essence of every competition is to face the world with confidence no matter what.
     
    KashmirFlower and Rihana like this.
  8. dimhere

    dimhere Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    481
    Likes Received:
    890
    Trophy Points:
    173
    Gender:
    Female
    Sometimes he/she is asking for acknowledgement. "Am I doing okay?"

    And sometimes he/she is asking for forgiveness. "Will you still love me if I don't make this?"

    THAT'S when I cringe further down in my seat.
     
  9. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Yes, there are competitions in literally every subject, and also non-academic areas. In general, taking part in competitions is a good experience. Question here is whether the spelling bee kind of competition is worth the time or is that time better spent in other ways. And what are the benefits of such a competition. Do the children genuinely have an interest and show a desire to participate or is it mostly parent pushing the child.
     
  10. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    True, but to be fair to the wanna-Bee's : ) that spectacle of child gazing at parent in audience is there in any competition, performance or even sports.
     
    dimhere likes this.

Share This Page