"Spelling Is a Gateway...to Learning"

The Chronicle of Higher Education features a Q & A with classics professor Jacques Bailly, official pronouncer of words at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a contest he won as an eighth grader in 1980. Describing the importance of spelling, Bailly tells the Chronicle, "...if you don't get the details right, you haven't got the thought right." Read the article at Chronicle.com. The Washington Post also highlights Bailly in its Bee coverage, noting how high the stakes his accurate elocution are to the spellers' success. Read the story at the WashingtonPost.com.

Picture by Jacqueline Martin, AP Images.