I'm not a fan of the Spelling Bee, to be honest, because it is another instance where we parade children in the public eye to compete against each other and for what? To identify a gifted speller? Well, that and a dollar (it used to be fifty-five cents) will buy you a cup of coffee.
Anyway, many schools, including my own, participate in the qualifying bees to find children for the National Spelling Bee. I work in a decent school and I've yet to see a gifted, natural speller, or a child who wants to work to be a great speller. So, the bee pretty much seems silly to me.
That said, and because our school and your school participate in this event, why not get them pumped about it and show them the movie Spellbound before the big day. Spellbound is an awesome documentary that follows a handful of everyday American children as they move through the district bees, to the state bees, to the national bee in 1999. In seeing how these children prepare, viewers get a glimpse into the life of a child gearing up for a truly celebrated event. It is not an easy accomplishment, and for the most part viewers will get to see that the children serious about winning the national bee have a lot of intense preparation.
Aside from seeing how children prepare for the national bee we get a glimpse into their lives and are able to appreciate that it isn't simply a competition for one type of group. The kids featured in the documentary are from farms, urban areas, rich, poor, silly (the kids will love Harry), sophisticated, and all have a different method of preparation based on the resources they have available to them. Does this put any one child ahead of another....it doesn't seem to because it's more about passion for the competition than resources that get children as far as they get in the spelling competitions. Quite simply, if one wants it badly enough then it can be had.
Spellbound is a funny and entertaining slice of American life and a tribute to the National Spelling Bee. Not ironically, one of the children tracked in the documentary ends up being the winner of the national competition.
Enjoy.
