Spellbound

My keyword was “literacy as exclusion” and all I saw while I was watching this film was the exclusion that was caused by the participants and those around them. I seriously had flashbacks to the competitions that were put on and if you were one of those participants you were considered “hot sh**” . There is such a big deal made out of the competitions and the competitors who share advice and know how as exclusive secrets to how they are so good at spelling. It excludes everyone else who isn’t in the competition and there exists a great deal of classism where the participants are either granted a great deal of praise or they are told they are the ones to win because they tote private tutors around in their back pockets. A lot of this is based on luck, ladies and gentlemen. And out trumping stage fright. It serves the purpose of…excluding other people and putting children on a pedestal. What did you guys expect me to say? That’s essentially the reason why these children do this. The glory. The money. It’s another way for them to shine and say that they are part of an exclusive group of people. Anyone outside of the circle is just “not in the know”. I had to laugh that those who had more money to spend the time to work on spelling did not win. A thousand people praying on your part does not a winner make. It takes more than talent too, which some of our competitors did not pick up on right away. They work hard, but only hard enough to assure themselves that they will win. The purpose is not to be the winner, but outperform everyone else. But first, you have to get there first and decipher for yourself what works for you instead of making gluttonous choices about what truly prepares a person for the competition.