In the article “Opinion: I won the National Spelling Bee. This is what it takes to master spelling,” in the Washington Post, Dev Shah writes about how he won the Scripps National spelling Bee by learning how to guess based on certain roots and patterns. His knowledge of Latin, Greek, and other languages plus his understanding that the judges would often try to trick him helped him succeed.

I would like to be a better speller and it was interesting to see how Dev Shah used root words to find out how to spell words he may have not seen before. English can be a confounding language; there are rules but there are always exceptions. It can be overwhelming to keep track of all the different exceptions. It is beneficial to study the common patterns and rules for spelling, but it is not practical to memorize the spelling of every word or all the rules and exceptions.

Dev Shah provides some helpful advice. He says, “No matter how well we may think we know something, eventually, we all have to take a guess.” The thought of taking risks and possibly guessing wrong feels scary. I hate the feeling of making mistakes. Yet, learning about Dev Shah, the spelling bee champion whose calculated risks on stage led him to victory, has shown me a necessary path for growth: embracing discomfort. Instead of shying away from uncertainty, I need to build up my foundation and take calculated leaps, rather than playing it safe. I can push myself towards the unexplored, just like Dev Shah overcame the challenges of the spelling bee.

Article Title: Opinion: I won the National Spelling Bee. This is what it takes to master spelling.

Article Author: Dev Shah

Article URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/28/dev-shah-spelling-bee-winner/