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Show Home & School On my honour, I will do my best by Daryl McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association If you've ever wondered why American's don't spell "honor" the way the English do, here's why: It's because a patriotic school teacher decided after the Revolutionary War that American's should spell it their own way, and not "honour." That teacher was Noah Webster, who published the famous old blue backed speller and the first dictionary dic-tionary that bore his name. The reason for discussing this subject is that the second annual statewide spelling bee is getting underway un-derway here in Utah. Schools throughout the state have been invited to hold class and school spelling competition, which will be completed by March 3. By March 17, each school district in the state should have held a contest to name a representative to the State Spelling Bee on April 14. Youngsters aged 8 to 14 will be memorizing the spelling of such words as "accomodate," "rhythm," "turquoise," "chauffeur," "buoyant," "camouflaged," "chlorophyll," and "flourescent," Of course, spelling bees are not the only method of teaching spelling. It's entirely en-tirely possible that a youngster may memorize the spelling of every word used in a contest, then turn in an essay the following week with several very simple words misspelled. This happens because words used in the contest are not always the same ones students use when they write essays. Simple words, such "friend" becomes "freind" on the essay; "your" is mispelled "you're" and "too" is wrongly spelled "to." Techers realize that student writing is a real test of spelling skill. However, the spelling bee can heighten a students' awareness that arranging words in their proper letter sequence is important. And when a contest also recognizes students for improving, as well as winning, the experience is even more valuable. Noah Webster would probably agree with giving "honor" to those who ' improve. |