Remember my blogpost The Indian Spelling Bee Hive at Washington dated June 3, 2009 which mentioned about an interesting opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by James Maguire : "How to Win the Spelling Bee. You don't have to be Indian. But it seems to help."
Well, I decided to send my feedback on that article to WSJ which was published on June 8,2009 Letters to the Editor on the Opinion page.
Being published in the WSJ, that's a first for me :-) :
LETTERS JUNE 8, 2009
Hard, Disciplined Work Is How You Spell ChampionAs an Indian immigrant and parent of a student who has won an award at the recently concluded Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nevada, I can relate very well to the points made by James Maguire in "How to Win the Spelling Bee" (op-ed, June 3).
As expected, my daughter's achievement got nary a mention in the local papers, which seem to have no problem filling many pages with results of any sporting event, however obscure, in the local school districts.
American society likes to put sports achievers on a pedestal while academic achievement generally receives short shrift.Participation in research projects at local universities, science fairs and quiz competitions is more often than not at the initiative of the student or his or her parents. Schools often look askance at such activities and would rather allocate precious funds for participation in athletic meets than academic events.
This situation is baffling in a market-driven economy. People ought to ask: Who is going to create more jobs in the future -- the "popular" football player/cheerleader or the "nerdy" kid with the 4.0 grade-point average?
Most of these achievers are not just spelling geeks; they are well-rounded and have many other interests and hobbies at which they excel.
Let's get our priorities straight and start giving the real leaders of tomorrow the respect and encouragement they deserve.
Deepak Seth
Rochester, N.Y.
Well, I decided to send my feedback on that article to WSJ which was published on June 8,2009 Letters to the Editor on the Opinion page.
Being published in the WSJ, that's a first for me :-) :
LETTERS JUNE 8, 2009
Hard, Disciplined Work Is How You Spell ChampionAs an Indian immigrant and parent of a student who has won an award at the recently concluded Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nevada, I can relate very well to the points made by James Maguire in "How to Win the Spelling Bee" (op-ed, June 3).
As expected, my daughter's achievement got nary a mention in the local papers, which seem to have no problem filling many pages with results of any sporting event, however obscure, in the local school districts.
American society likes to put sports achievers on a pedestal while academic achievement generally receives short shrift.Participation in research projects at local universities, science fairs and quiz competitions is more often than not at the initiative of the student or his or her parents. Schools often look askance at such activities and would rather allocate precious funds for participation in athletic meets than academic events.
This situation is baffling in a market-driven economy. People ought to ask: Who is going to create more jobs in the future -- the "popular" football player/cheerleader or the "nerdy" kid with the 4.0 grade-point average?
Most of these achievers are not just spelling geeks; they are well-rounded and have many other interests and hobbies at which they excel.
Let's get our priorities straight and start giving the real leaders of tomorrow the respect and encouragement they deserve.
Deepak Seth
Rochester, N.Y.
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