Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Posted on 06/05/2010 4:57:13 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Shantanu Srivatsa and Anamika Veeramani sat nervously, side by side on stage.
Once again, an Indian-American was going to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It was just a matter of what word and what time on Friday.
Shantanu, 13, an eighth-grader from West Fargo, N.D., stepped to the microphone first and couldn't spell "ochidore."
Anamika — showing the cool demeanor she kept throughout — kept her hands behind her back and rattled off the correct letters for the medical term "stromuhr." She didn't crack a smile until the trophy was presented.
"It was too surreal," she said. "It was an amazing experience. I usually have a poker face, so that's what that was."
The 14-year-old girl from North Royalton, Ohio, won the 83rd bee, claiming the trophy and more than $40,000 in cash and prizes — some of which she says she intends to spend.
She also became the third consecutive Indian-American bee champion.
Indian-Americans comprise less than 1 percent of the U.S. population according to 2000 census data, but they have an impressive bee winning streak — taking the trophy in eight of the past 12 years.
"All of the past champions inspire me, they all have something different and they're all amazing people," Anamika said after the prime-time finals on Friday.
She survived the round by spelling "juvia" — a Brazil nut — and then had to sit through a tense 3 1/2-minute commercial before spelling the championship word.
"It was just really nerve-racking," Anamika said. "The commercial breaks didn't really help."
The finals were preceded by an unpopular move that had some spellers and parents claiming the bee was unfair and had kowtowed too much to television.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The Asian and Indian contestants clearly outnumbered the caucasians......
The word which the boy misses with terr..... was easy and I'm not sure why he said one "r"....since the double "r" is a base to so many words.
I don't really put a lot of credence in these spelling bees. Sorry...Don't flame me...
Maybe so but a strong family unit and education being the number one prioity for the children certainly helps too.......
For what it's worth, I just saw an interview of the young lady who won and her goal in life is to become a cardio-vascular surgeon (did I spell that right?)......not a professional basketball player.
Could someone check for the correct spelling of ‘ochidore’? Dictionary.reference.com doesn’t recognize it, nor do any of the other reference websites that I have tried.
http://dictionary.reference.com/
One might reasonably ask a different question: Why are American kids not so good at spelling?
The answer is, that learning in general, and spelling in particular, is not valued in this culture as it is elsewhere.
Show some signs of excellence in this area or that, and you're branded as "weird". Kids, particularly school-age kids, try to bring others down to their own level, rather than elevate themselves. That carries on into adulthood, as well.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Yes,we have a few groups left that still honor scholarship.
Without checking that article I must say it doesn’t surprise me that Indians would be good at spelling, it seems every word in their language(s?) is about 25 letters long!
Why all the focus on the winner’s race?
What do you mean?
Thank you for saying it first. Who cares what race they are?
To be able to spell obscure words or names of nuts is not some great accomplishment....
Gubmint skools lead the effort in that regard.
Anyone know if this girl was home schooled?
Sac, no-one knows how to spell every word. But if you get a word, have no clue how to spell it, but use a knowledge of spelling rules, other languages, intuition to spell it correctly, then that is indeed one heck of an accomplishment in some very fine thinking. My hat’s off to the young lady. Brava!
"You'll never spell in this town again, kid!"
My sweetie is Indian. Brilliant and all that. I’m merely along for the ride. LOL
His dad is in Knights of Columbus and they take these spelling bees quite seriously.
I’ve heard it said that Indians are the “perfect immigrant.” And I believe it.
For the most part...they come in legally and are educated by the time they arrive and take the oath. Gov’t assistance and/or private charity is a source of deep shame, both in the community and the family. You won’t see an Indian at an amnesty rally. They’ve also bothered to learn English.
My sweetie is 1st generation, as both parents came from India. By this time next week, all three of the kids will have master’s degrees: one from University of Chicago, Harvard, and finally, Stamford. Not too bad.
If it were up to me, as President Daisyjane, I’d sign an EO changing the proportion of legal immigrants allowed in this country. Substituting the % of 6th grade educated Mexicans for Indians.
THAT would improve this country immediately.
Especially considering that the winner was a Caucasian.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.