[Truthsayer20]

I don't understand the status folks give these spelling bees; it's just rote memorization. Sure, it's important to have a good vocabulary but dictionaries exist so that you don't have memorize every single word in the English language. I would rather see creative essay writing or applied science competitions have the same level of public interest.

[Wright is right!]

"I don't understand the status folks give these spelling bees; it's just rote memorization."

Not totally. A lot of it is the ability to reason-out a word's spelling based upon the basic rules of spelling - handy if you don't happen to know the word. It also helps to know English etymology.

Michael