Engagement Tools
AED Scenario (5-04-09)
Title: The Spelling Bee
Author: Audrey Kleinsasser, University of Wyoming
Learning Democratic Practice? School-Sponsored Competitions
The teachers of Fairplay School, grades K-8, were pleased that engagement in learning was high and that children were provided multiple routes to excel academically, emotionally, and socially. As a faculty, the teachers worked closely and enthusiastically with parents to create a school environment that honored individual differences and promoted democratic practices. In fact, the school was a member of the National Network for Educational Renewal’s League of Democratic Schools.
Fairplay was located in a community with a university. Not all, but many students were the children of university faculty and staff with high academic aspirations. To achieve multiple goals, including those of ambitious parents, the teachers implemented best practices that were learner-centered and consistent with the school’s philosophy. Those practices included multi-age classrooms, school-wide service learning projects that took students and teachers into the community, and cooperative learning strategies.
As a result of the school’s complex character, Fairplay’s teachers had what seemed to be a never-ending discussion about the place of competition in curricular and co-curricular activities. Should the school field athletic teams? What about annual History Day, Math Counts, science fair, and spelling bee competitions that required parental support, intense coaching, and corresponding budgets? Supported by most parents, the teachers had come to the consensus that a fast-paced American society was competitive enough. They agreed that contests producing a single winner were unsound pedagogically, especially for children soft-mannered and prone to anxiety. Further, the teachers reasoned that competitions did not connect to the school’s curriculum or even the high-stakes assessment system. For all of these reasons, Fairplay did not field competitive athletic teams and did not participate in academic contests.
Two parents, Carol and Tom Wicker, decided to challenge the school’s philosophy about competition. Their daughters Tina and Mary were interested in participating in the local spelling bee. Carol and Tom wanted to support their academic interests, but also realized that if one won, she would qualify for the statewide contest. The end prize was a seat at the Scripps National Spelling Bee depicted in the popular documentary, Spellbound, and the movie, Akeelah and the Bee.
The Wickers began by talking with Principal Amelia Diaz who put the topic on the monthly agenda of Fairplay’s parent-teacher organization. The Wickers were respectful but persuasive in their presentation to other parents and the teachers. The topic also went to Fairplay’s student council for additional discussion and a recommendation. The student council could not come to consensus and reported that result to Principal Diaz and the parent-teacher organization. Although most of the teachers and some parents had misgivings, all agreed that for a three-year period, the school would sponsor high profile, academic competitions including History Day, Math Counts, science fairs, and a spelling bee. All led to statewide, regional, and national events.
Everyone agreed that effects on the children and the school would be evaluated and reported out. Then, after three years, the parent-teacher organization would consider the findings, including those from student, teacher, and parent surveys. At the same time, the teachers decided that students would collect data about the impact of competition. The students would design and implement individual and small group research projects anchored in the approved curriculum, through content like language arts, math, and social studies. Teachers and the study council also agreed to make competition a regular topic in the bi-weekly student-teacher advisory groups.
The Wickers were thrilled with the school’s decision, feeling they had been listened to, their position as engaged parents honored. They also knew they had some work to do. Needing at least $5,000 to field the statewide competition and winners that would qualify for the national contest, they met with leaders from the local print and non-print media, school district officials, and administrators from the university. Supportive of academic competitions, the university’s academic recruiting office donated $500 to the state spelling bee. Recruiters viewed the competition as a natural way to recruit excellent students to the university, highlighting the university and its academics in a positive way to parents and the public. Other university offices contributed as well, and eventually, there was enough money to field a statewide bee.
Then, in early March, 41 qualifiers from 24 schools from across the state participated in the spelling bee, including one home-schooled child. After more than 20 oral rounds, two Fairplay students remained, one of them Tina Wicker. After more rounds with increasingly difficult words, Tina won first prize, qualifying for the Scripts National Spelling Bee and the honor of representing her school and state.
About three weeks after the competition, a long and thoughtful letter to the editor appeared in the local newspaper. The writer, the mother of a student who participated in the state bee, thanked the paper for sponsoring the contest, and then leveled a serious charge. She claimed that the winning student and runner up from
Fairplay had access to an online word list called Spell It!. [hyperlink http://www.myspellit.com/ ] She went on to explain that, according to the students’ own words in an earlier article that had appeared in the statewide newspaper, the winner and runner up had studied from this particular list. It was, according to the letter writer, the same list, word for word, that was used in the competition. The mother wrote, “Why weren’t all the participants in the contest informed of this word list?” Further, she recounted that the spelling bee announcer told the audience that the word list used for the contest would be a very different word list than any that had ever been seen before, that it would be quite challenging. She concluded her letter by writing, “When unfortunate events like this arise, it demoralizes the values that we, as a nation, are trying to instill in our future leaders. It is unfortunate that winning has more value than one’s integrity.”
Within two days, another letter appeared in the local paper. The writer, a parent and friend of the Wickers, supported the winner and countered claims in the first letter. She charged the newspaper with printing a libelous letter naming a minor. She closed her letter with the demand, “This child deserves a public apology.”
Tina Wicker was in tears; her parents furious. The Fairplay teachers were heartsick. Students in every multiage group wanted to conduct surveys to find out what students, teachers, and parents thought and what, if anything should be done. Several wanted to schedule a video-taped interview with Tina and her parents. A Fairplay parent who had not supported the three-year pilot asked Principal Diaz to put the topic of winner-take-all competitions on the agenda for the next parent-teacher meeting. Everyone knew more letters to the editor were sure to come. The Fairplay teachers realized that the never-ending discussion about competition was going to be invigorated in ways well beyond their control or appetite.
Questions for Discussion
- Is there enough research about individual differences and learning to support the claim that competition in school settings should be curbed for psychological, social, or cognitive reasons? If there is, does that research outweigh the desire of parents and some teachers to promote academic contests that have national prominence and support?
- The writer of the first letter claimed that “winning has more value than one’s integrity.” But there is at least one more component to consider, student learning. How do competitions like the Scripps Spelling Bee provide opportunities to learn, opportunities that open other academic doors and affect participants for life?
- Is competition a part of ordinary life, inherent in the values we hold as a democratic nation? If so, then elementary and secondary schools would seem to be a logical and safe place for students to learn about preparation, fairness, and being a gracious winner or loser. Rather than avoid competition, teachers should draw upon curricular and co-curricular activities to teach students about competitiveness and healthy responses.
- One could make the case that the scenario illustrates life in a democracy and vibrant, democratic practice. After all, the scenario depicts: a) considerable input from all constituencies, including children; b) a transparent, open decision-making process; and c) consensus-building around a contentious, but real issue. What could be better?
For Further Discussion
Websites
Go to this site for information about the League of Democratic Schools.
http://www.ieiseattle.org/
This official site overviews the official Scripts Spelling Bee, including philosophy, preparation tips, and word lists
http://www.spellingbee.com/
Spell It! is a study site for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It was created in cooperation with Merriam-Webster. The site “focuses on about 1,150 words, divided into sections by language of origin. Studying language of origin will enable you to learn and remember several important rules, tips, and guidelines for successfully spelling words in English—the most challenging language of all for spellers!” http://www.myspellit.com/
Learn more about the award-winning documentary featuring eight students who competed in the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
http://www.spellboundmovie.com/
The Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg, Anchor Publishing, 2001
This novel was made into the 2005 movie starring Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, and Flora Cross. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387059/.
It tells the story of an eccentric family, featuring nine-year old Eliza Naumann, a so-so student whose life at home and at school changes when she wins the local spelling bee and the attentions of her father.
Print Materials
Small Districts, Big Problems: Making School Everybody’s House, by Richard Schmuck and Patricia Schmuck, Corwin Press (1992).
The authors of this volume visited 25 small school districts in the US to meet, observe and interview students, teachers, principals and administrators. Here they present research that connects with reality, including Friday night athletic events and musical and dramatic performances. It’s cheap entertainment for a place-bound rural community, claim the authors, based on their research. Through their description of the physical and educational landscape, the authors capture life in nonurban schools as it is, and present information that is brutally honest.
No Contest: The Case Against Competition, by Alfie Kohn, Houghton Mifflin (1992).
From the website http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/nc.htm, [the following is pasted from the website]
The title says it all. In this controversial book, Kohn critiques competition. Based on hundreds of studies, the author argues that “our struggle to defeat each other -- at work, at school, at play, and at home --turns all of us into losers.” In fact, the term “healthy competition” is a contradiction in terms. This edition includes a section of the way students can learn more effectively by working cooperatively.
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes, by Alfie Kohn, Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
The author makes the case against using rewards with students, children, and employees; lengthy chapters offer alternatives to traditional carrot-and-stick practices at school, at home, and at work.