Posted on 04/10/2025 5:07:47 AM PDT by DFG
A pair of angry parents are taking legal action after their daughter lost a regional spelling bee over a technicality they believed had already been addressed.
The outraged parents are demanding justice after their 12-year-old daughter, Amara Chepuri, lost the Tampa Bay regional spelling bee because she misspelled a word that they say was not on a predetermined list.
Now, the Chepuris say they are considering pursuing legal action, claiming that Amara was unfairly disqualified and should still be eligible for the national contest.
'She could have won,' her father, Ananth Chepuri, told the Tampa Bay Times. 'She's one of the best spellers in Florida.'
Ahead of the prestigious spell-off, Amara asked her teacher, Billie Jo Williams, for clarification on the rules and the list of words spellers received to study.
'If by chance the list gets exhausted, will we have a tiebreaker?' Amara wrote. 'Also, if we do have a tiebreaker what words could be given?'
The teacher explained in an email obtained by the Tampa Bay Times that the school would not be implementing a tiebreaker.
However, he mentioned that the school had an additional 150 words, which the competitors had not yet studied, available 'if we exhaust the list.'
Amara and her family understood Williams' message to mean that the school would use the entire published list before referring to the extra set, according to the Times.
But during the competition, the judges appeared to have skipped some words after it became clear that the two final spellers had memorized the list - which according to Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, 'is common practice for a spelling bee.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
She also had a tryout in downtown Dallas for the kids Jeopardy tournament the Saturday after the Dallas Regional Spelling Bee.
Our daughter graduated from college 4 years ago with a BSN and is now a nurse in the Dallas area.
From Google AI:
The term “spelling bee” isn’t about the insect, but rather comes from the Middle English word “bene” (meaning “a prayer” or “a favor”) and its dialectal form “been” or “bean,” which referred to a gathering of neighbors to help each other with a task.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
The “Bee” Origin:
The word “bee” in “spelling bee” is derived from the Middle English word “bene,” which meant “a prayer,” “a boon,” or “extra service by a tenant to his lord”.
Dialectal Evolution:
In England, “bene” evolved into a dialectal form, “been” or “bean,” which referred to voluntary help given by neighbors to accomplish a task.
Community Gathering:
By the late 1700s, “bee” became associated with social gatherings where people came together to work on a common task, such as sewing, quilting, or husking corn.
Spelling Bee as a Gathering:
A “spelling bee” fits this pattern, as it’s a gathering of people (students or participants) coming together to participate in a common activity: spelling words correctly.
Examples of other “bees”:
Other examples of “bees” include quilting bees, husking bees, and spinning bees.
Lists? How long are these lists? When I was a kid we never had lists.
I had thought these children were memorizing the dictionary.
“Calliope.” My Waterloo, my bugbear, downfall, Achilles’s heel.
Why spelling list in the first place?
Just memorizing some list? Is that all?
I would say, let adopt the whole Webster dictionary as the spelling list!
I'm surprised they didn't claim "racism" yet.
Spelling bees are a lot less impressive when you realize they’ve just got a list of words to memorize.
I can relate to the frustration here. I once took part in a spelling bee. My first word was “Democrats”. I spelled it i-d-i-o-t-s, and was immediately disqualified.
I wonder if it’s not too late to sue.
🤔
Sounds like the rules were changed after the bee started OR the judges lied to the contestants about exhausting the list before using the extra words. Parents are right.
They get a list to memorize?
Snowflakes. S-N-O-…
When I was ten my parents brought legal action against West Suburban Little League Inc because I had been call out at third.
If I brought a cricket bat to a spelling bee, would they let me win?
(Virginia state spelling champion - high school - 1984)
These frivolous lawsuits levied by parents are the primary reason school policy is so messed up. They will sue over anything, and force idiotic policy change.
:)
I’d not known that fact, and it changes everything. In my ignorance, I thought it was a test of general literacy and one’s ability to understand and apply the elements and rules of construction. Learning that they all have a list of the words? WTH?
They are given a list? The “list” should be the entire dictionary. I thought that’s what the Indians were doing in the first place with their Spelling Bee obsessions. Losers.
Oh boy, now they're going to Sue.
Furious parents. Were they killer bees?
One way or the other, this kid got stung.
My oldest kid won his school Spelling Bee, no list I was aware of.
Went to Districts, and he was out on first word.
After the fact we saw a list of words at home. We asked him if he studied it, and he said NO. I think I facepalmed before it was an emoji!
I guess it’s possible the correct spelling was e-v-i-l _ i-d-i-o-t-s.
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