So, it's no surprise to find that I'm hurt and irritated over some recent events. When I think of "the big picture" I feel petty. When I think of my son's tears - I don't care so much about petty.
I think I wrote about my youngest son winning his spelling bee. I don't remember if I mentioned that he's not moving on to the regional bee. We read the details of the bee, he made his goal (to win) and knew that if he did win he'd go to regional competition (where he made it his goal to win), and ultimately to Washington DC for national competition (he was set on the $42,500 prize package). But, there was a glitch. Glitches are understandable. As adults we run into glitches all the time. Ambitious 9-year old boys, however, don't. How do you explain to the child who did everything he was supposed to do - that the ride was over. There would be no regional bee for him. He couldn't understand how he could have won - yet someone else was moving on and he wasn't. I held my son as he cried his heart out. Three separate times.
Our local bee (for homeschoolers) didn't have enough children participating to send two to regionals. What they determined (and we learned of that morning,) and we as participants agreed to in order for our kids to compete, was that the winner of the 3rd-5th grade division would compete against the winner of the 6th-8th grade division. That winner would go on to regionals.
Well, it sounded good in theory. That is, before my son won his division but lost to the middle-schooler.
(Hind-sight here) Why couldn't they draw straws? Flip a coin? Do something that at least put the kids on an even playing field.
I don't think I'm this upset *just because* this directly affected my child. I don't believe I would have been comfortable with the situation had my child won (in what I felt was an unfair competition).
Not to get the wrong idea, I'm not upset with the folks that put this together. I'm actually grateful to them. The creation of this bee gave the kids an opportunity not previously available to them. I believe they did the best they could at the time, but I do hope changes will be made for future years. And, while I do teach my children that "life isn't fair," I really hate it when they have to learn it in such a first-hand, personal manner.
And finally - while I'm whining anyway...Christopher and Victoria, the other winner, did not receive a single "congratulations" note on the e-loops from our local homeschool groups. Not a single mention for these kids who worked so hard and represented upstate homeschoolers so admirably.
Yes, probably petty - but right now I just don't care.
3 comments:
Dear Sonya,
Hi! My name is Audra Estes. I met you last week-end at the spelling bee (I am one of the committee members). I just wanted to point out that the registration form that was sent via email did mention that it was possible for a student from the 3-5 grade division to compete with a student from the 6-8 grade division. In order to send 2 winners to the bee (which was our hope and goal) we needed approximately 30 students per grade divsion. We hope that next year more students will participate. Christopher did a great job and hopefully, will return next year. We thank you for participating this year and will do our best to make next year's bee even better. Please email me if I can be of any assistance. Sincerely, Audra Estes
Hi Audra,
I'm somewhat embarrassed that you caught my "whine" session. I'm not apologizing for whining - just that you got that side of things and not the side showing that I truly appreciate what you ladies put together for the kids. They all did so well and learned a great deal. I don't know about others but Christopher and I had a great time studying. We had fun with the words and the definitions and had a lot of laughter-filled sessions. I hope you can forgive my peccadillo and accept my gratitude for a job well done!
I am so glad you & Christopher enjoyed studying for the bee, and that, for the most part, it was a positive experience. Thanks for your kind words. We had a great time planning the bee and are so proud of everyone who participated. Hope the rest of your school year goes well! Blessings, Audra
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