Posted on 06/02/2005 1:24:02 PM PDT by nuconvert
Anurag Kashyap Wins National Spelling Bee
Thursday, June 02, 2005
WASHINGTON — Bursting into tears, eighth-grader Anurag Kashyap (search) of California became the U.S. spelling champ Thursday, beating out 272 other spellers in a tough two days of competition. He said he felt "just pure happiness."
Anurag, 13, of Poway, clinched "appoggiatura," a melodic tone, to take home some $30,000 in prizes. He won in the 19th round of the 78th Annual National Scripps Spelling Bee.
Also among 27 spellers remaining at the end of the sixth round Thursday afternoon were a half dozen home-schoolers. Home-schooled students have won twice, in 1997 and 2000.
Eighth-grader Hannah Smith, home-schooled in Prior Lake, Minn., laughed and shook her head as though she couldn't believe she'd done it after correctly spelling "nemathelminth," a kind of worm.
Others still on stage included a spelling whiz from Canada and one from Jamaica, the only two foreign students remaining.
Finola Hackett, a seventh-grader in Tofield, Alberta, mastered "whiffet," a small or unimportant person.
Jamaican eighth-grader Stacey-Ann Pearson advanced by spelling "mycetophagous," which means feeding on fungi.
Fellow Jamaican Jody-Anne Maxwell in 1998 became the only foreign student to ever win the competition since it was opened internationally some two decades ago.
Thursday was the second and final day of the 78th annual National Scripps Spelling Bee. On Wednesday, 222 spellers were eliminated from an original field of 273.
"I'll just do the best I can," Louisville, Ky., seventh-grader John Tamplin said Wednesday night after making it through the fourth round by spelling "flamborough." It's an old English sword dance.
Most of the contestants at the bee's start were from the United States and its territories, but 14 were foreign students. There were 11 from Canada and one each from the Bahamas, Jamaica and New Zealand.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I still think I should have gotten the title.
No definition? That doesn't sound fair.
He won by being the only contestant who could correctly spell "Anurag Kashyap".
Imagine the media comments had Anurag been a homeschooler....."can't handle pressure"....."needs to get out more"......blah blah blah.
That said, congrats to him and the others. By the way it's interesting to note that the top 3 are all Indian.
I was wondering how long that would take.
(As opposed to what is, which is hundreds if not thousands of misspellings on my FR posts.)
Homeschooler Samir Patel tied for 2nd at the 2005 National Spelling Bee.
I guess if he can spell his own name, he can spell anything, lol.
That is interesting, but I guess it's again, part of the general Asian emphasis on education. They don't kid around, they expect their kids to learn and they don't put up with the silliness and Dr Spock BS we've tolerated for a generation.
Some of the words seemed particularly easy. Strange indeed. And using a proper word, the name of a medicine?
THESE PEOPLE ARE REAL AMERICANS LIKE OUR ANCESTORS.
Who's saying they aren't?
I like how FoxNews always mentions when achieving kids have been homeschooled. Kudos! Look in vain for such a mention in the MSM reports.
Could you use that in a sentence please....
"Whiffet Jefferson Clinton was a national embarassment."
hmmmm....Monica Lewinsky got a whiffet Clinton?....
Congratulations Anurag Kashyap! Well Done!
Yeah Poway.! Go Big Green.!!
"Sequence" and "sequins" are not homophones. I used to be lectured at spelling bees for criticising the pronouncers' pronunciation ... but you've got to hear the vowels!
(Virginia state champion, 1984)
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