The Press-Republican annually co-sponsors the Champlain Valley Educational Services Regional Spelling Bee, along with North Country Parents for a National Spelling Bee. It's one of the most rewarding activities in which we get involved.
Besides the satisfaction we derive from seeing young people get excited about a pursuit of the mind, why do we get so intimate with the event?
There are a number of motivations, actually, but a couple of them really stand out.
First, we get very enthusiastic when kids demonstrate an interest in words, as it's a subject that occupies a favored spot in our hearts, too. And we think knowing how to spell better is a worthy end in itself, just as is knowing how to add and subtract.
On top of that, though, communication is the life blood of a society, and words are the building blocks of that communication. When kids learn to spell, they also get acquainted with meanings and uses of words. They may begin to use words they otherwise might not have used. Their ability to express themselves will be enhanced, and they will feel more confident talking in front of other people — maybe even in front of groups.
Their intellectual curiosity may be piqued by exposure to new words. We might all become a smarter community with smarter people who make better decisions affecting everybody.
The spelling bee also gives us a chance to give some publicity to kids who aren't athletes. Not that we have anything against writing about the achievements of our local sports performers. We're justifiably proud of our own Sports Department and the job it does covering all the boys and girls, men and women who try so hard in the local arenas of competitive athletics.
But sometimes we hear people complain that, if a kid isn't a sports star, he or she rarely gets any recognition in the newspaper. We know this isn't true and try to combat that impression. We run honor rolls and Students in the News regularly, as well as features that land a student on the news pages for intellectual or social achievement.
A spelling bee is competition for the brain, and we relish the opportunity to promote the event and tell our readers about the kids who stand out.
The spelling bee is also an event in which children learn about themselves — how they perform under pressure, how they use their powers of concentration, deduction and recall when all eyes are on them with high rewards at stake.
The winner of this year's bee, held last Friday night at Plattsburgh High, is Alyssa Szczypien of Peru Central. At that competition, 118 fourth-through-eighth-grade spellers were on hand from 13 school districts in Clinton and Essex counties. What an impressive showing.
Alyssa will be in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. May 31-June 6. We'll all be rooting hard for her, and we congratulate all participants for giving it their best in this rousing display of local intellectual talent.
