Breaktime, Spelling, Evan O'Dorney

Oh man, I am so relieved that test week of doom is over. The final one took place at 10:30 this morning and I literally have no idea how I ended up doing. It could have gone anyway, since it was all math its hard to say. I ended up with a 91% on the multiple choice part of the Physiology test, so hopefully that is a good sign.
I will still be busy, but, at least nothing big looming in the future. Can relax again for a bit.

Thanks to my mother, I am about to go to Subway and get a Chicken Cordonbleu sammich. She sent me and my brother a gift certificate the other day. I love that stuff.

Today I have decided to write a little bit about spelling Bees. They are pretty entertaining I have decided, but probably not the most healthy pastime for young children and the parents that are involved in pushing them toward it. It is basically the opposite of a Hollywood parent, instead of a parent pushing for their children to have fame and be thought of as "cool", they are pushing them hard in the other direction. The tendency of parents to want to live through their children is present everywhere in our society...and I dont think there are many parents that are not guilty of it to some extent. For example, take the parents who think that when their child is playing a sport he/she is curing cancer. Go ahead and lend your support to what the kid wants to do, but don't push them into something because YOU think it is important.

This of course is a pretty broad generalization, but I think its got to be present in the parents involved in these spelling bees. There is so much work into winning these national contests. It must damage the kids in some way. All that stress... Also, working so hard for something so unimportant. Sure its good to be able to spell decently, but the words in the national competition are usually some strange disease or recently made up word. Most these kids are early geniuses...put them to work doing something worthwhile. Teach them to be able to socially interact with other human beings! Take for example Evan ODorney.

I actually feel bad for this kid. I don't think its his fault that he doesn't understand how to communicate. He has been studying a dictionary for 2 years and he should be climbing trees. That video has to be one of the more awkward exchanges between a newscaster and interviewee that I have EVER seen.

I went a little overboard this time and decided to look up more on Evan. Evan also composes music when he is not trying to spell scrombridae. Best part is that he does it his head..... And what a singing voice! Maybe that is another savaant like talent. American Idol here he comes. Skip to about one minute to hear the most beautiful sound in the world.

All jokes aside he is obviously a genius of somesort. I mean thinking of notes as numbers? Its sad that with that intelligence comes the social awkwardness. This is personal to me because my brother-in-law Richard is also an Idiot Savaant and has similar strengths and weaknesses.

Here is proof of the the stress and insanity these kids go through.

AND NOBODY RUSHED TO HELP HIM UP! And he still got the word right!

And finally...proof that the words these kids get will probably never used in volcabulary and are a waste of time to learn the spelling to.

I hope that kid won.

If that intrigued you at all about the world of competitive spelling, there is a great documentary called Spellbound that follows some of the competitors through the rough world.
But I can't get over that Evan interview.