veer Posted May 29, 2008 Posted May 29, 2008 By EMILY FRIEDMAN WASHINGTON, May 29, 2008 Within seconds of adjusting the tall microphone to better match his 8-year-old height, Sriram Hathwar nailed the word judges gave him, barely pausing between letters. Sriram Hathwar, 8, competes at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. He is the youngest speller in the history of the competition. (ABC News)"Elicitation," said Sriram, making sure to pronounce the word correctly. "E-l-i-c-i-t-a-t-i-o-n." The crowd cheered perhaps just a touch louder for the pint-size speller, and he slinked back to his seat on stage, disappearing behind the taller contestants sitting in front of him. Despite his correct spelling of a word trickier than many of the others given during the preliminary round of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee -- his peers were asked words such as "rigatoni" and "macaroon" -- Sriram was barred from moving on to the bee's quarterfinals because of his score on a written spelling test administered earlier this week. But Sriram, the youngest speller in the history of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, should still be proud of his accomplishment. Only 90 of the 288 spellers who competed qualified for the next round. Surrounded by both disappointed, disqualified spellers and those eager to get back on the stage for the next round, the second-grader stoically left the ballroom where the bee was held. "I am ready to get it over with," Sriram told ABCNEWS.com the night before his turn in front of the judges, smiling from behind his thick-rimmed glasses, pausing only to share some of his favorite words and then, of course, to spell them out loud.
ludhianvi Posted May 29, 2008 Posted May 29, 2008 If you notice, most of the spelling bee champs are of Indian origin. Or atleast, there's usually one that makes it to the final rounds Btw, is that our Sriram? :tounge_smile:
Aditi Posted May 30, 2008 Posted May 30, 2008 woohoo...we're good at....spelling. ...and getting insanely high GPAs...
ludhianvi Posted May 30, 2008 Posted May 30, 2008 GPAs used in high schools in the states? Hmm.. I'd prefer simply percentages. Any benefits over using GPAs? IMO, GPAs usually reflect a lower average than it really is when compared directly with percentages.
Cricketics Posted May 30, 2008 Posted May 30, 2008 Any benefits over using GPAs? yes helps a lot to this american society. they 91 perecent guy is rated same as the guy with 99 percent. Both are A for them, and hence are labeled in same category. "THE hIGH cLASS STUDENT" category.. and the local news papers easily get to show off, that they have so many "A" students in their county
fineleg Posted May 30, 2008 Posted May 30, 2008 The URL from Adi does not always work (on and off)- so heres a cut-and-paste: A Texas girl with the highest grades in her class said she is shocked the school won't let her be valedictorian because she finished school too quickly. Grapevine High School senior Anjali Datta, 16, is not allowed to be valedictorian of her class, even though she has a 5.898 GPA, possibly the highest in her school's history, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday. It is reported Datta lost her shot at valedictorian because of a stipulation in the school's policy that disqualifies her for zipping through classes in only three years. "The valedictorian shall be the eligible student with the highest weighted grade-point average for four years of high school," the policy reads. The Dattas said they are dumbfounded by the district's decision to interpret the policy so literally. "I have not heard of any educational institution penalizing a student for excellence -- for completing a demanding set of classes 'too quickly,'" Deepak Datta, the girl's father, said.
Rajiv Posted May 31, 2008 Posted May 31, 2008 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian-origin_boy_wins_Spelling_Bee_in_US/articleshow/3087704.cms
veer Posted May 31, 2008 Author Posted May 31, 2008 yes saw most of the semi final round live.. unbelievable kids.... just brilliant !!
fineleg Posted May 31, 2008 Posted May 31, 2008 Indian (or atleast ind.origin american) kids again. Whoever it is, it is a diiffficulet compatetion to spell carrectly...so Congratz.
flamy Posted May 31, 2008 Posted May 31, 2008 Indian (or atleast ind.origin american) kids again. Whoever it is, it is a diiffficulet compatetion to spell carrectly...so Congratz. :D I believe you :two_thumbs_up:
Sachinism Posted June 2, 2008 Posted June 2, 2008 dont know if this is from the same show but its funny and defo worth watching http://poststuff5.entensity.net/060208/flash.php?media=numbnuts.flv
Brainfade Posted June 2, 2008 Posted June 2, 2008 yes helps a lot to this american society. they 91 perecent guy is rated same as the guy with 99 percent. Both are A for them' date=' and hence are labeled in same category. "THE hIGH cLASS STUDENT" category.. and the local news papers easily get to show off, that they have so many "A" students in their county[/quote'] As a college professor, I have an on-going battle with this system. In my opinion, the current GPA system does not do justice to students. I'd rather have a system where each student is awarded GPA points based on a simple scale that looks like this: 100 = 5.0 quality points 99 = 4.9 quality points 98 = 4.8 quality points etc. Keep most other things the same, and we'll have a pretty fair system. I have brought this up in many forums, but my bosses and colleagues are not interested. The most common argument I have heard is that it all evens out in due course, and someone who loses out on an A (and thus one whole quality point) for an 89 may get an A for a 91 in another course. I don't agree, but I am alone. I am just happy that I am allowed to grade on absolute scale. In my opinion, relative grading is unfair. It wrongly assumes that every population of students (however small) will fall into a bell-curve - that some students in each class WILL make an A, and some WILL fail. Nothing in my experience, is further from the truth. If my entire class makes 90+, they all get As. If they all make less than 60, they all get Fs, and I'll quit my job!
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