…and others go to summer band camp. I and probably at least 1 on other mutineer did some time at Debate camp (I’m a geek and I’m at peace with it, so back off). Bela Karolyi’s gymnastics school and Nick Bollettieri’s tennis camp have almost legendary records of producing champions. Well, for a new generation of Desi overachievers, it’s now the after-school spelling circuit–
An immigrant from Andhra Pradesh, India, Chitturi noticed that language barriers and a traditional cultural emphasis on science and engineering were limiting Indian success to the field of mathematics, neglecting the reading and writing skills that compose a large portion of standardized tests that are crucial to college admission. Concerned that lower results in these areas were impeding immigrant success in the United States, Chitturi expanded the North South Foundation – an organization he founded in 1989 to fund scholarships for students in India – to include small competitions in spelling and vocabulary for Indian children in the United States. Since its expansion in 1993, the foundation has spawned 60 volunteer-run chapters across the country that each host annual regional spelling competitions for Indians. The regional winners compete in the foundation’s national spelling bee, gaining experience that contributes heavily to their success in the Scripps competition. Chitturi estimated that half of the Indian competitors in the Scripps bee, the nation’s largest and longest-running spelling contest, have passed through NSF, including 2003 champion Sai Gunturi of Dallas.
Now, I dunno about you, but I sorta visualize that underground tournament scene in just about all martial arts flix. The one where fighters from across the country gather while surrounded by hoards of half-drunk Chinese / Thai / Korean day laborers clutching their bets in hand and screaming at the top of their lungs – “Spell! Spell! Spell!” After the contenders duke it out, they present themselves before the previous year’s champion who occupies a seat of honor in the center next to his white-haired sansei. With a silent nod and raise of his eyebrow, he assigns the fates of the challengers. But that could just be me.
My Sunday afternoon desi youth program back in the day was a bunch of kids, half of whom managed to get injured in the lowest intensity, uncle-supervised tug-of-war match on the planet. The other group of kids were out behind our toolshed-cum-community center talking smack like they grew up in the projects, splitting 6-packs they smuggled in under their jackets (why else would you wear a friggin’ parka in Houston?) and swapping Tupac bootlegs – and that was just the girls.
Perhaps there is hope for the future afterall.
Speaking of English, there should be no apostrophe in the plural “Tourneys.”
While we’re on the subject, there should be no apostrophe in “desis” either 🙂
clearly, I ain’t no uppity spelling bee champ.
Debate camp?!? Did you do that voluntarily? Do you often you use the phrase ‘one time at debate camp’?
Dude, it was worse than that….. not seeing a straight enough line from HS debate to med school, my parents weren’t exactly fans and I had to beg them to let me go.
Part of it was a TX (as well as CA and to a lesser extent NY) thing, folks outside of the state were often pretty surprised at how competitive / intense HS debate was. Some schools possibly had more folks on the varsity debate team than onvarsity football. Believe it or not.
I ended up judging an NSF spelling bee that took place on a college campus not too long ago. I judged the “Junior Bee” which meant that my champs were nine years and younger. They sat at student desks. Many of the kids were so young and so small that the toughest part of the Bee was jumping out of the chairs and climbing back onto them.
My personal favorite was a five year old who had to spell “apple.” He started out by saying the word, and then said, “A….P….” Then he stopped because he was fascinated by his shoelace. Once he remembered where he was, he looked up at the microphone (which was a good 5 inches higher up than he was), and said “qrxyqw.” And then said, “Apple.”
Good for the little guy that NSF has such stringent rules on parents, because his parents looked about ready to put the smack down. Check out the following:
Also, there is a written portion of the NSF bee, unlike the Scripps. I had at least one contestant who was so young that she didn’t really know how to write but had to go sit through that portion because it was “good practice.”
kd, i’m laughing so hard right now at that apple story. He’s an Aladdin in the making. f@#k the overachievers–we need more kids like that 🙂
btw, vinod, i never went to debate camp, but i actually think it’s cool that you did, and on your own initiative no less. i did go to geek camp (whose name shall not be mentioned) though, so maybe i’m not the most objective person on this 🙂
kd, that’s hilarious. When my baby nephew recites the alphabet and forgets a letter, he tries to distract you by holding up a bead and saying, ‘Look! Ball!’
They think our attention span is like their attention span 😉
Maybe I am too late to point this out, most of you might know this, but everyone wants the last word
My attention span is like their attention span! Actually, I’m more forgiving with my nieces because I know what’s it like to have super-aggressive parents and no sympathetic adults around me during my formative years.
As much as I want the girls to read all the books I had read by the time I was around their ages and for them to succeed beyond my wildest expectations, their childish innocence and need to laugh and play pushes my mother-hen-like concern aside. There’s so much more time for them to be serious, responsibility-laden adults.
Do what now? 🙂
Hilarious Vinod. This sounds like flashbacks from the “Kerala House” in Houston – I’m guessing that’s the community center you were referring to.
Straight from the projects of Sugar Land
yoroshiku onegaishimasu, demo chotto matte kudasai… ayamachiwoaratameru:
sansei – “The U.S.-born grandchild of Japanese immigrants to America.” sensei – judo or karate teacher; teacher or mentor; used as a form of address for such a person.
And while we’re on the subject, don’t forget about issei (Japanese immigrant), nisei (child of an issei), and kibei (nisei schooled in Japan ‘lest they forget about ze’mazzaland).[1]
Does no one read Snow Falling on Cedars? Well, those who haven’t read it, save yourself the agony by never doing so.. unless you’re masochistically wishing to impale your own mind with a “twinkie” love-tale laid atop an anemic backdrop summarily presenting internment of japanese and the redistribution of their land.