Last evening I was a member of an adult spelling bee team… “The Old MacDonald Had a Farm” team… for a local public library to raise funding. Now, I was not a member of this team because of my stellar spelling capabilities… Actually I was… how do they say it in politics… “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours” into the team. I asked a favor… I was granted a favor… THEN… I was asked to be on this little team. You would think I would not be nervous. But I was as nervous as a cat trying to cross a wooden bridge. Nevertheless my team and five other teams took to the microphone each time. We made it through the first round. No one was eliminated. By the next couple of rounds we had lost one team… then two… THEN… That slickly, slimy, French word… ESCARGOT… It does have a “t” on the end! Yes, in our huddle I listened as our fearless leader rehearsed. My other teammate agreed. I thought I heard all the letters, so I agreed. She took to the microphone… OH BUT IN AN INSTANT… She didn’t say the “t”… Dagnabbit! I think that was our official team response from getting eliminated.
But oh the memories that flooded my mind as I sat in the public library, watching the final three teams battle it out. I so love books. It truly saddens my heart to see the printed words becoming less and less important in our technology-driven culture. I cannot help myself. I love the feel of a book. I love the smell of a book - even the old ones. I realized just how much technology has changed our world last night in the few minutes I sat in the library. First of all, we asked if we could have a virtual team member, SIRI… We were told “no”. Then, I noticed that we all felt a little unsure of our abilities because for several years now we have allowed our “spellcheck” to autocorrect us in our everyday writing and research. I also noticed that where several bookcases had previously been placed in the library, there was now several rows of computers for Internet research and such in the library.
In my own business, I have continued to create reading materials in print for my students. But I still rely heavily on marketing to schools because of the digital component of our modules. I wonder just how far we humans are willing to automate? Seems like the things we viewed from Hollywood in science-fiction movies of the past are just commonplace occurrences in our current world. Who knows how long the “spelling bee” will be relevant? Will we lose this traditional American school event along with cursive writing? I hope not.
As I sat last night and watched the sheer joy on two little girls’ faces whose mom entered with them in the spelling bee, I thought, “This is worth it.” It’s worth dressing up like a farmer (when no other team got the dress up memo!)… It’s worth spending a little time out of my busy week to meet at the public library… It’s worth standing before a panel of judges to hear them say, “you have just misspelled the word.” It’s worth seeing the ages range from 4 to 80 in a room… Yes, our ability to learn, think, speak, and write is worth everything! It separates us from so many other creatures. So, I proudly display our “spirit award” trophy! I hope there will be another spelling bee next year at the public library. If so, it will prove that we humans haven’t automated everything… just yet! We will have still clung to our humanity and our desire to learn and to demonstrate our knowledge in the competitive spirit that can be found in the “spelling bee”.
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