American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds
by James Maguire
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Book Summary Information
Author: James MaguireEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-05-01
ISBN: 1594862141
Number of pages: 370
Publisher: Rodale Books
Book Reviews of American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds
Book Review: Misses the Elephant in the Room!
Summary: 3 Stars
Spellers of Indian-American descent have won the Scripps Spelling Bee in seven out of the last eleven years, even though they represent less than 1% of the American population. As the Times of India proudly pointed out, an Indian-American win is assuming an air of inevitability. This year's top eleven finalists included seven Indian-Americans also. Together, these statistics present a powerful message for those wanting to improve American pupil achievement. Unfortunately, Maguire largely misses the point.
The "good news" is that "American Bee" does somewhat appreciate the effort that goes into becoming a finalist. However, a quick scan of this year's finalists also shows that only one attended private school, and three others were home-schooled.
Thus, the "bottom-line" is that hard work and parental support, not more money, are key to high educational achievement. This agrees with the late Prof. Harold Stevenson's (psychologist - Univ. of Michigan) findings comparing American and Asian pupils, as well as those of others that have found that more money is not that answer to improving pupil achievement.
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