Homeschoolers and the Spelling Bee

Most of the homeschooled spellers got together for a picture before the awards banquet. The boy on Jason's right came in second place.

We stayed up late crunching numbers Thursday night. The national spelling bee is chock-full of fascinating statistics for nerds like us!

13% of all 273 finalists were homeschooled. 23% were from private schools, and the remaining 64% were from public schools.

37% of all homeschooled spellers, or 13 of 35, made it to Round 5 (ESPN). 11% of private schooled spellers, or 7 of 63, made it. 18%, or 31 of 176, of public school spellers continued.

In other words, overall homeschooled spellers advanced farther than the rest.

Of the top 6 finishers, 2 were homeschooled.

Other interesting statistics:

The vast majority of all 273 finalists come from two-parent families.

69 of 273 had been to the national spelling bee before at least once. Of the 51 spellers advancing to Round 5, 33 were repeaters. Returning spellers have a huge advantage (though not guaranteed either). Less than 10% of first-timers, or 18 of 204, made it to Round 5, compared with 48% of repeaters. All of the top 6 finishers were repeaters. It was pretty incredible that 2 of the top 10 were first-timers.

More pictures

Here are the rest of the pictures of the trip.

Friday was sightseeing and the awards banquet. We squeezed in a tour of the Capitol, which for various reasons took almost 3 hours, and then a very quick trip to the Museum of American History. The things we wanted to see at the museum were the Star-Spangled Banner (the actual flag which inspired Francis Scott Key to write what became the national anthem), a very elaborate and large doll's house, and a huge statue of George Washington in a toga. We got to see them all!

Speaking of togas, the Capitol was full of classical motifs, such as statues representing History and Wisdom, and so forth. It was very interesting.

The awards banquet was a wonderful end to the week. The speaker was a young man, about 24 or so, who had been to the NSB 2 or 3 times and had gotten out in the 3rd or 4th round each time. He later went on to become a champion speech-and-debater, and is now in law school. He talked about the fact that, even though he never placed very high, the spelling bee experience--of working hard, learning about words, having people believe in you--profoundly shaped him. Great encouragement to the 272 spellers who did not win it all this year!

Each of the top ten finishers got a personal presentation of their award, and gave a speech. The best speech was a 7th-place girl who ended with a limerick poking fun at the way she spelled her "losing" word, etouffe. You gotta love a speller who can laugh at herself, especially when later you talk to a mom of a speller who placed high, who is griping that the pronunciation was misleading.

Jason on TV Tuesday!!

Jason will be on Good Day Sacramento on Tuesday, June 7 at 8:45 am to talk about the spelling bee and his trip!

and has no one figured out what is wrong with the placard? I mean, of all the places to have typos, the National Spelling Bee should be a little more careful!

Photos from Jason's Big Day

Each speller's pic & basic info was up on a big screen when he/she was at the mike.



Jason awaiting his turn. Number 20 next to him is the 2005 champion. All of #20's words would have been Jason's if Jason had stayed in. Jason said he would have still been out the next round.



Jason at the mike--calm, cool, collected, as always. That's our boy!

The Irony of It All

What's wrong with this picture?? This is Jason's placard that he wore yesterday.

Appoggiatura

Jason watching the spelling bee out in the lobby on ESPN. For some reason, it was more fun to watch it on the TV than live. Go figure.

Today was a lot more relaxing than yesterday because Jason wasn’t competing. We really enjoyed watching the spelling bee. Over time we’ve met some of the spellers and their families and had many great kids to cheer for!

Some of the highlights:

Several kids made funny comments while at the mike. In her string of questions about her word, one girl snuck in the question, “Could you spell that?” Dr. Bailly did not fall for it!

Two spellers, after correctly spelling their very obscure words, said, “Thank you, Mom!” So heartwarming!

We got to know the family of speller 133, Hannah Smith. Hannah has 5 sisters and a brother. They’ve been homeschooled and the girls all love babies, as Joanna found out. Their dad has taught them all Greek and Latin since age 5, and their spelling ability shows it! Hannah placed 11^th. The 2 sisters we met were very sweet, outgoing, and well-spoken. Hannah was able to spell one of her words correctly because she saw a related word on a book at the Air and Space Museum the day before… she made the connections and got it right!

There were many homeschooled spellers. 15% of the 273 spellers were homeschooled, and 2 of the top 6, or 33%, were homeschooled. My parents caught the news this evening after the spelling bee, and they said the reporter mentioned that, even though recently homeschoolers had been dominating the spelling bee, this year the winner went to public school. Funny they had to point that out!

It was amazing to see how many words, even up to the last few rounds, came from the Consolidated Word List in the “Frequently Used” section. Jason definitely needs to finish learning that list. It was also obvious that the top 5 or so finishers had studied the words they were given and weren’t guessing, except on their misspelled words. Anurag had studied his winning word, “appoggiatura”. His group of study friends let up a cheer when he got the word because they knew that he knew it!

I knew a few music words (like “appoggiatura”) and an art history word (“pronaos”) that were given in the final few rounds, but I could not have spelled most of the other words that those spellers got!

The winner was very sincere and gracious in his comments after winning. He said a big part of going to the national spelling bee was the camaraderie and friendship. He had been studying via email and instant messaging with friends he made at last year’s bee, all of whom were determined to come back this year. His advice to potential champions was to “have fun” and enjoy the journey. I think Jason’s done that!

This year’s winner placed 47^th last year, close to Jason’s 52^nd. When asked how going to National last year helped him, he said, “I found out what it took to do really well and I decided that I was going to do it.” He studied all year since then. Jason is seriously thinking about whether he wants to put this kind of time into next year’s bee. It would certainly be a worthy endeavor, but a big commitment as well.

Studying spelling is not just about rules or memorizing. It’s incredibly broadening. You learn so much about many different fields of knowledge, and you learn to systematically think through a word, to make connections, even to think before you speak!

Well, tomorrow will be another day of sightseeing and the awards banquet, with a “farewell party” for spellers afterwards. It’s been a wonderful week of memories with more to come.

Today’s pictures

Yesterday's pictures

I Have Walked in His Moccasins

(I hope I spelled moccasins right.)

Jason had an interview today. At the end, the reporter said, "Pick a word that sums up today and spell it." He thought, and I threw out some words. He picked "suspenseful" then stumbled on the "se" part. I ribbed him! (Later he blamed me for the mistake because I suggested the word.)

Then, the camera turned to me and the reporter asked me a couple questions. At the very end, she asked me to spell my first name. (Why??) The bright light, I don't know what, but I blanked out. For some reason a big capital "G" came to mind and it was all I could do to not start with "G".

New Friends

Jessie is a little-girl magnet. If there are other 4-7 year-old girls in the building, she finds them. She has a new friend, Sahaja. The two of them played together the whole day today, in the spelling bee. They took turns sitting by each other’s mommy. They had dolls, crayons, a Curious George paper doll book… I only had to tell them “shhh” about every 10 minutes when they were with me. In the morning, they also had a third girl with them. And through the week, all these little girls remember each other and they are looking for each other.

I’m glad it’s so easy for her to make friends.

No pictures today…..

I know it’s not late in California but it is here in DC! Good night!

What’s it like to watch your son compete in the National Spelling Bee? -- Stuart's Take

I was very nervous last night and at first this morning. While getting ready to go, I realized that there is nothing to be nervous about (what I always tell Jason), that we just have a lot to be thankful for in even being here. On the way down to the Bee, I told him to do his best, but even if he did not make it past the written round, it did not matter; he had worked hard to prepare and it was an honor that God has given him to compete here. He has seemed to really take that to heart all along the way.

After he made it (by 1 point!), I was so excited that he had accomplished his first goal: to get through the written round. He was very happy about it too!

As Jason’s turn approached in the oral rounds, I was focusing on three things: running the camera, running the video-camera, and how to respond if he gets “the bell.” I did not have to think very hard about what to do if he spelled it right. It was so awesome to see him get his first two words correct, and we sent some big smiles back and forth when we made eye-contact after he sat down.

In the fourth round (just one more word and you’ll get to be on ESPN—his next goal), I could tell that he was not familiar with the word by the questions he was asking. When the bell rang at the end, I was so happy to see him respond graciously. Though disappointed, he was not overly so, and waited politely to hear the correct spelling before leaving. What a good sport!

I was a bit worried about how he would be doing when I went to meet him in the comfort room, but he was his usual goofy self, sipping on a soda, chatting with the Bee staff in there. I gave him lots of hugs and kisses, and told him lots of “dad” things—maybe more for me than for him.

What a great kid! I am so thankful to God for him!

What’s it like to watch your son compete in the National Spelling Bee? -- Jenn's take

Nerve-wracking!

Heart-pounding!

Mind-numbing!

I couldn’t actually look at Jason when he was in front of the mike. I heard him, but I looked down, or around, or anywhere else. It was like a dream. Afterwards, I realized I didn’t have any mental images of Jason at the mike, because I hadn’t looked at him. Thank goodness for cameras and the Leistens’ videocamera.

I admit that my first thought, after he got the bell, was “Oh, now I can relax the rest of the spelling bee!”

One thing I told Jason before round four: “If you miss, do not walk away from the mike when Dr. Bailly is giving you the correct spelling. Look at him until he is done.” At dinner I asked him if he did so, because I didn’t see him. And he did.

Proud mom!

What a day!

Even though Jason did not advance to Thursday’s competition, it has been a great day, and a great week!

The written test started at 8 a.m. The room was packed—standing room only—with media and spectators. Afterwards, the answers were passed out and Jason had 20 of 25 correct, which was great considering that only one word was from a list he was given to study and the rest were “surprise” words. But we wouldn’t find out until 12:30pm whether that score was enough to advance.

Next was round two, the first oral round for all 273 spellers. It took over 3 hours. All the words given came from one of two lists given specifically to spellers to study, so if you studied, you were almost certain to know the word given in this round. Does anyone know what “milchig” means?? I suppose it doesn’t matter as long as you can spell it! An oral word spelled correctly earned you 3 points which you added to your written test score, so Jason’s total score now was 23 of a possible 28.

At 12:30, after this oral round was finished, the director announced the numbers of the advancing spellers, in random order. The minimum qualifying score was 22, and we could breathe again! By a hair, Jason would go on to round three after lunch!

Round three was the first round of “surprise” words. Jason’s was “habanero”. He asked for the language of origin, and was told “Spanish”. Stuart knew it should start with “j” and knew it was all over when Jason started with an “h”. Good thing it was Jason and not Stuart who was up there!

Two hours later (4 pm) … round four started. Jason got his word: “scaberulous.”

“What is the language of origin?” “Latin.”

“May I have the definition please?” “Having small raised dots, scales, or points.”

Jason made his best attempt…. But got the bell.

Spellers who miss are taken to the “comfort room” where they can process what happened, compose themselves, eat some yummy cookies. Stuart and Eb met him there, and he was sitting at the table, smiling and drinking a soda. Though disappointed, he was in very good spirits.

When the two of them exited the room, Jason had a short, wiggly interview with the Sac Bee Washington reporter. He was very jovial and smiling.

I didn’t get to see Jason for quite some time afterwards, because I was nursing Joanna. When I did finally see him, he was still smiling and told me, “I’m coming back next year.”

That’s the spirit!

The National Spelling Bee is a very positive competitive environment. They are constantly affirming that each speller who is there this week is already a champion. Everyone cheers for all the spellers. It’s a wonderful place to be, and a wonderful place to learn to do your best.

We went out for a big dinner to celebrate all that Jason had accomplished. One thing we talked about was whether Jason would really like to make a run for next year. Is he willing to work through the summer? Will he be committed to doing whatever it takes to do better? So far he’s nodding “yes” enthusiastically and I’d say he’s actually excited to start studying again.

We couldn’t be prouder. Jason has truly done his best, and with such a good attitude. He has never expected any victory; any time, when asked if he thought he’d make it to the next round, he always said “no”, because he has really tried not to get his hopes up. And we’ve always told him that we’d be proud of him even if he did not make it past the first round, and that he has already accomplished so much and worked so hard.

I think I’ll go re-read my post from last Friday!

Spelling Bee Coverage for Wednesday

Click here for real-time spelling bee updates. You will see the speller's name, his/her word, and how he/she spelled it.

Round One, a written test of 25 words, starts at 7:45 am East Coast time. Round Two, first oral round, starts around 9 am. Wednesday goes until about 5:30 pm.

OK, enough about the spelling bee! I'm getting nervous now!

PS. Thanks so much for all your comments. It means so much to know you are praying for us and thinking of us. We need all your prayers!

Miscellaneous

This is a bag I made for the trip, specifically for sightseeing. It is working out wonderfully—holds a couple diapers, wipes, blanket, and my wallet and a cosmetic bag. The messenger style is very comfortable. I am posing in the lobby of the hotel.

And here’s the flag again in the top of the hotel lobby.

Tuesday Tourists

Today was completely free for sightseeing. We hit the pavement at 9 am to get in line for the National Archives. We weren’t planning to stop here until we saw National Treasure, and now the Declaration of Independence is cool.

Eternal Vigilance Is the Price of Liberty

Stuart did ask a staff person if the Declaration of Independence really would disappear into a vault. She said she couldn’t answer that question for security reasons, so Stuart whispered to me, “That means it does.” So now you know the inside scoop!

One of the signers of the constitution was named Jared.

It was awe-inspiring to see the original documents. They were very faded and faint, in contrast to their strength of meaning.

Air and Space Museum

After exactly 22 minutes in the National Archives, we went on to the Air and Space Museum. This was a really fun place--airplanes hanging from the ceilings, airplanes to climb into, a Skylab to go inside and see how astronauts take showers. We spent most of our day (and bought most of our souvenirs) here.

The Dancer, Auguste Renoir, 1874

Next was the National Gallery of Art. Jessie and I were particularly looking forward to this, as I had showed all the children pictures of some of the artworks there before we left. Somehow the boys weren’t quite as excited about seeing them in person as Jessie was. I have no photos because Stuart didn’t go; he stayed out with Joanna and the boys as they were worn out from the Air & Space Museum.

Barry Stebbing’s art lesson about impressionism and pointillism stuck with Jessie, and she impressed me with her ability to spot impressionist paintings! So now I have a little museum partner, and this was a special delight to my heart.

Face time with a duck in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

We were too tired to go to any more museums, so we headed home for dinner and early bedtime. I spent a bit of time quizzing Jason before bed to get spelling “into his head” before tomorrow. Then, we had phone interviews with the Sacramento Bee and KFBK, which also helped Jason to start thinking about spelling.

The Independence Ballroom is all ready for tomorrow

Not only does he have to spell, he will be doing media interviews so we had a pep talk about that before bed too. I said, “No one-word answers!”

I think he’s as ready as he’ll ever be for tomorrow.

More of today's pictures can be found here!

Little Traveler

Joanna is a great little tag-along. Just recharge her every 3-4 hours and she's good to go.

Sizing Up the Competition

We have quite the spectrum of spellers here.

I met a mom who said her son hadn’t studied since winning the regional, and no bribing, nagging, or helping could get him to study. There was another girl who also hadn't studied since the regional, watched Spellbound about a week ago, got panicky and started studying.

Then, on the way to dinner tonight, we passed a group of about 15 spellers in the lobby, a couple with laptops, sitting together and quizzing each other. They said they were going to take a practice written test (I assume someone in the group made it up?) at 8 pm, then study together until 11:30.

Jason’s somewhere in the middle!

Memorial Day Barbeque for the Spellers

The flag in the top of the Grant Hyatt, as seen through a wire dome-thing

Today we took a 15-minute bus ride to Trinity College where we had a barbeque and outdoor games. Fun and relaxing.

Jessie met up with one of her little friends again.

There were two *amazing* balloon guys. Jessie got a pink “puppy love” thanks to my dad standing in line for about an hour. The puppy popped in about two minutes. And would you believe my dad stood in line for another half-hour for a penguin for her?? That’s one privileged girl! This time the penguin was safely stowed and is still intact this very moment.

The boys played some tennis.

Mom whipped out the spelling list while we all sat on the grass. (Jason did study this morning before we left, for 30 minutes.)

After returning to the hotel, we walked to Chinatown and had DC’s best wonton soup for dinner, and the children went right to sleep at bedtime!

More of today's pictures

The View From Our Window

Jason checking out the view from our seventh floor window.... "Boy, I'd love to go play in that!"



Here's what he's looking at.

Sunday Report

Today was a little bit of everything (except studying spelling words).

In the morning, we walked to the White House visitor’s center, and the White House, about 1/2 mile from the hotel. The sidewalk in front was very crowded, everyone peering through an iron fence all around the very expansive lawn. The building looked quite small from where we stood. The spelling bee winner gets a tour of the White House and even gets to meet the President himself if he’s around, so we put the heat on Jason to get us a tour.

Lunch was in Chinatown with some dear friends of my parents, whom I hadn't seen since I was a kid. The men and my dad all roomed together in college. A nice reunion!

Then, for the afternoon, we toured the International Spy Museum. This was very cool and “James Bond”-ish.

Dinner was a pizza party & board game festival for all the spellers and families. There were about 1000 people there! The spellers go about collecting autographs in their “Bee Week Guides”… great way to meet new people. Jessie found 3 little girls to play Candyland with, and she and another little girl played “with” a Life game for quite some time, filling up the cars with little pink and blue pegs and driving them around the board.

Jason and Dr. Jacques Bailly, the official spelling bee pronouncer (the big guy, not the little guy)... a celebrity!

We’re very tired but having a great time! Jason is really enjoying himself. He’s very relaxed and taking it all in. Now for some sleep…..

Today's pictures

It's Easier to Comment Now

I'm fiddling around with the comment settings, and you should be able to leave comments without being a registered Blogger. But if I get comment spamming that will be the end of it!

So let us know you stopped by!

A Day of Traveling

All 8 of us, including Jenn's parents, and our huge pile of stuff

Today we got up at 2:45 am to catch our plane to DC! Everything went smoothly and no one edged away from us when they saw us boarding with 4 children. On the plane from Denver to DC we met two other spellers, from Boulder, CO and Portland, OR. We asked a very kind man in our row to trade seats with us so we could all sit together, and he turned out to be one of the spelling bee judges!

Each seat had a little screen for watching TV or movies, for $5. Jessie, upon hearing this information, turned to Stuart and said, “Uh, Dad, where’s your credit card??”

Riding the Super Shuttle to the hotel, we got our first glimpses of the Potomac River, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol…. It was all quite thrilling.

The Grand Hyatt is beautiful. I have been telling the kids, “This hotel isn’t designed for families. It’s *really* nice and there’s no swimming pool.” They have all been awed by how nice it really is… beautiful fountains, a grand piano on an “island” surrounded by water, a glass atrium-type ceiling that seems a mile high with this gigantic American flag hanging at the very top.

Two boys about Jason’s age behind us were asking questions about the spelling bee. They asked him to spell “different” and “couch”. I also squeezed about 5 minutes of quizzing out of Jason on the plane. I think we’re going to have to sit down and decide, Are we studying this week? So far he’s not interested in studying!

More photos here!