The National Spelling Bee is back, but with fewer than half the spellers it had three years ago thanks to regional consolidation and a reduction in sponsorships. Here’s what should be done
After a disheartening cancellation in 2020 and a largely virtual event last year, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is back in person. To be sure, 2020 and 2021 weren’t lost years: online spelling bees, including my own, blossomed, and 2021 saw the crowning of the first African American champion. But this year’s return to a semblance of normalcy – with LeVar Burton emceeing the event! – will undoubtedly delight logophiles and Trekkies alike.
The Bee has become an American cultural institution. Watching elementary and middle-school students wrestle with words under high pressure and strict time limits – a mere 90 seconds to ask questions and an additional 30 seconds to spell – is captivating. The Bee rewards discipline, feats of memory and linguistic mastery: what you see onstage is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work, with spellers’ parents, and tutors like me, playing supporting roles. The approximately 30 words that a champion speller receives onstage are the surface of a deep reservoir of knowledge. That a competition which unapologetically champions learning has thrived for more than 90 years should be cause for celebration.
