Months past now regular readers have been banging the barn door down wondering about the annual School Spelling Bees that have been reported here on the equator in past years. To date news in the papers has come in minor drips and drabs, until today, Sunday 6 April, an extended couple of columns detailing regional finals just completed.
In the north a young aspirant before the microphone at the podium, Primary 6 and eleven years of age, was reported throwing his hands up in delight each time he got a word right. In the south another, also Primary 6, twelve years old in this case, "kept the audience transfixed by tracing letters in the air as he spelt." No pencil and paper permitted in the contests now. If a student wants to visualize the words they require a good imagination.
The lad who did the aerial tracery politely pronounced Thank you after each turn; indeed, even when he was eliminated the same. Suchlike behaviour causing a judge at one of the events to reflect: "There's more grace under pressure, and a show of respect for each other. That's what makes this show compelling: it's kids at their best."
Difficult to argue.
A sample of the vocab: dichotomy; cantankerous; circumlocutory.
And finally an admission from the author. After numerous failures at regular spelling tests in Primary school, a young student one well recalls found the best recourse to improve poor, failing grades that never failed to raise mother's anger was careful glances across the desk at a reliable pal's work. That soon put things right.
Such a bastard the English language, particularly in a non-native speaker household, much less city-state or country.
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