Tonight you can see the finals of the National Spelling Bee on television and watch as the kids contort under the mounting pressure. They “tug at their hair and display preadolescent tics that are hard enough to manage in front of malicious middle-school classmates let alone a nation of living-room critics, sportswriters, and live bloggers,” as Steven Fatsis, author of Word Freak, writes in a column today on the Daily Beast.

I’m inclined to agree with him that the spectacle should make us adults squirm, too, at least a little. But I’m not sure the problem is that we’ve blown this event into something way too serious, as we do so many of our kids’ endeavors these days, destroying open-ended fun by forcing them under the performance spotlight. I’d say something like the opposite is also going on: Should it make us squirm even more to recognize that part of why we go overboard with this display of brain exertion is precisely that we don’t really take spelling very seriously at all?

Photograph of Sidharth Chand in the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images.

Tags: education, kids, pressure, spelling, Television

Last night's 10-round National Spelling Bee final was a nail-biter, and an awesome one at that. There were redonkulously hard, beautifully arcane words (schizaffin, palatschinken, Neufchâtel). There was heartbreak (heavily-favored Sidharth Chand, last year's runner-up, crumpled before our eyes in the second round, when he realized he spelled apodyterium with an ei). There were class clowns (Kennyi Aouad, a three-timer who famously got the giggles in 2007; not to mention the deadpan ninja Kyle Mou). There was even—awkwardly—former Olympian Shawn Johnson, who just won on Dancing with the Stars, and is apparently qualified to comment on all kinds of childhood competition.

The most compelling story of the night, though, took hold in the final rounds, when it was down to just three competitors, and we learned that two of them—Aishwarya Pastapur and Kavya Shivashankar—have been friends since nursery school. Aishwarya was easily one of the most composed, adult-like kids up there (hello, future Senator!), but when she misspelled menhir, she welled up and scurried off the stage. With her mother's arms wrapped around her, she watched her old friend carry away the trophy with Laodicean.

I was watching over the phone with my best friend—the one I mentioned in yesterday's post, the one I met at a spelling bee—and we both got choked up, for both girls. Now there's a follow-up story I'd like to read, once the dust settles a bit. Hey girls! My friend and I are still tight 17 years later; I have faith in you two.

(Unrelated side note: menhir? Doesn't anyone read Asterix comics anymore?)

Tags: friendship, Indian-Americans, kids, spelling, Television

Poor women. While normal intelligence can co-exist with ovaries, our delicate lady-brains can't contain genius-level intelligence. Men and women might have the same average intelligence, but men have more variation, and thus more idiots AND genuises. At least that's what former Harvard President and current Obama advisor Larry Summers implied in 2005 when he said that biological differences might explain the lack of female mathematics professors.

If Summers was right and biological differences are to blame, there should be fewer math-genius girls the whole world over. However, a new study that looked at worldwide data found that countries with greater gender equity had just as many girls as boys in the top 1 percent of mathematics. An article in NewsDaily presents the take of the researchers, Janet Hyde and Janet Mertz:

"Analysis of data from 15-year-old students participating in the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment likewise indicated that as many, if not more girls than boys scored above the 99th percentile in Iceland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom," Mertz and Hyde [the study's authors] wrote.

Several different international tests show the same pattern, including the International Math Olympics, Mertz said.

So why is there a gender gap in the United States? It just might have something to do with the discouraging message that a person in possession of breasts is biologically incapable of doing that ever-so-manly math. As Mertz said,

"If girls don't have equal educational opportunities or if they know if they learn the material there won't be jobs available to them, why bother, they seek something else."

Tags: gender issues, Larry Summers, math, Science, sexism

Over on Slate, there's a really interesting piece by Ray Fisman about the importance of female mentorship. Apparently, a recent working paper from the NBER found a way to measure the effects of female vs. male teachers on students at the Air Force Academy. It can be hard to distinguish among various complicating factors when studying how teachers influence students, but rigid protocols at the Academy apparently make it easier to isolate these factors. As Fisman puts it, the study found that "replacing a male instructor with a female one has such a strong effect on female achievement as to erase the gender gap entirely." That's a pretty powerful finding, and the study is persuasive. Check out the whole piece; lots of interesting stuff in it. Now the $64 million question is: How do we make sure that women encounter the mentors and teachers they need—especially in those fields where women are scarce?

Tags: gender gap, math, Science

Pop group New Kids on the Block are citing the global economic recession as a main reason for canceling their reunion tour. (OK!)

No land-lines, “virtual” swim meets and trayless cafeterias. Cost-cutting colleges and universities have come up with some smaller, quirkier economies that add up to big savings. (New York Times)

Could it be that companies will suddenly lose large numbers of their employees when the recession is over? A survey shows the majority of working Americans are planning to launch a job hunt when the economy turns around. (U.S. News & World Report)

Experts warn that a new wave of mortgage foreclosures may be coming soon and could rival the default rates for subprime mortgages and slow efforts to find bottom in a prolonged national housing slump. (McClatchy Newspapers)

As unemployment continues to rise in the U.S., drastic reforms are likely. Here are four broad measures the administration could take to provide some relief. (Forbes/Oxford Analytica)

With so many Americans losing their homes and moving away with their children, many school districts are faced with a new problem — empty desks. (CBS News)

In this job market, the idea of quitting might sound crazy, but some people are giving notice and finding that they’re better off without their jobs. (ABC News)

The Obama administration’s $75 billion program to reduce foreclosures has been beset by backlogs and delays, leading many overstretched homeowners to complain about unreturned phone calls and inaccurate information from lenders, while others say they were denied help for reasons that weren’t clear. (USA Today)

The Senate has passed the Cash for Clunkers Program, which gives consumers with cars that get less than 18 miles per gallon the ability to turn them in for a $3,500 or $4,500 cash voucher. (Reuters)

“As we debate what to do for the millions of homeowners who are ‘under water’ we could learn from a city that knows a thing or two about being under water,” writes Dan Baum. “New Orleans can teach us that the life we build with our neighbors deserves at least as much attention as our endless thrust towards newer and bigger.” (New York Times/Happy Days)

Tags: college, Dan Baum, education, job hunt, mortgages, New Kids on the Block, New Orleans, opting out, recession, taking time off, unemployment

Yesterday, the Obama administration held a roundtable at the White House campus celebrating the 37th aniversary of Title IX. Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, and Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the president, hosted "an all-star line-up of women athletes and scientists," per the White House release. That included Billie Jean King and Dominique Dawes (rapidly becoming an administration favorite), and a slew of representatives from women's groups like the Feminist Majority, NOW, the Women's Sports Foundation, and the National Women's Law Center.

It's not a particularly special birthday, but Title IX, enacted in 1972, and stating, roughly, that whatever the state offers a young man in school it must offer a woman—from locker rooms to centrifuges to fencing teams—"represents a major advance not just for women, but for all Americans and for higher education,” said Jarrett, who chairs the recently established White House Council on Women and Girls. Duncan stressed team Obama's committment to slaying "the obstacle of gender discrimination" that persists long after high school. And Jarrett added: “I'm especially proud of our efforts to encourage women to pursue their aspirations in fields in which they have been historically underrepresented such as science and technology."

I naturally cheer this publicity for equal rights—and am glad to see the Council on Women and Girls finally springing into action. It has flown largely under the radar since the splashy March events establishing the office and featuring, again, celebrities both talking about and demonstrating women's empowerment. But I've also been a little suspicious of this office since its establishment: Birthday parties are nice, but where are the tangible benefits or policy supports for female workers, mothers, patients, teachers, students, and consumers? That's not to say there has been no progress. But the council's mandate is to convene all of Obama's cabinet secretaries regularly to discuss elements of support for women at home and abroad—and, three months after the Council was founded, I'm fairly sure the only all-Cabinet meetings to date have been about the budget.

And returning, once more, to the female athlete beat (I totally fished my tennis racket out of storage this weekend), it is interesting that the majority of the women celebrating Title IX were academics, activists, and policymakers—not athletes. Maybe Dara Torres was too busy being totally ripped to swing by the White House, but it is worth noting that these superstars are still hard to come by.

Photograph of Valerie Jarrett (right) and Dominique Dawes (center) by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Tags: female athletes, title IX, white house council on women and girls

California’s controller said Wednesday that he would have to issue IOUs in a week if lawmakers can’t quickly solve a $24 billion budget deficit. (Reuters)

The number of millionaires in the world shrunk at a record rate in 2008, according to new data. Last year cut the number of millionaires worldwide by 15 percent to 8.6 million. (Los Angeles Times)

Warren Buffett said yesterday that the economy is a “shambles” and likely to stay that way for some time, though he remains optimistic there will eventually be a recovery over a period of years. (CNBC)

With the unemployment rate at 9.4%, some Americans are willing to go wherever they can to nab a job. To adapt, they find living quarters near the job in campers or cheap apartments, giving up normal family life for a paycheck. (Wall Street Journal)

As part of a series comparing today’s recession to Charles Dickens’ Hard Times, Paul Vallely looks at how the recession is damaging Britain’s emotional health. (Independent)

Depending upon how long the downturn lasts, historians, economists and psychologists say it could shape the values and attitudes of young people in much the same way the Depression shaped the attitudes of those growing up in the 1930s. (USA Today)

With so many folks out of work, people are turning any gathering into a time to network. Cocktail parties, kids’ birthday parties, even dentist appointments — it seems like nothing is off limits.  (CBS News)

How can you deal with a morally bankrupt boss when the economy is threatening your job? (ABC News)

School daze: State and local budget cuts are hitting school districts hard — forcing many of them to make cuts in summer programs that many educators consider critical to students’ academic success. (Wall Street Journal)

Sales of newly constructed homes fell unexpectedly in May and were down almost a third from last-year’s levels, a government report said. (CNN/Money)

Tags: Charles Dickens, education, Great Depression, housing, millionaires, moral bankruptcy, networking, new homes, recession, unemployment, Warren Buffet

Zoos across the country are reporting higher attendance as consumers look for affordable entertainment closer to home. (Springfield News-Leader)

As well-off families confront the new contours of their budgets, education may emerge as an attractive, if painful, place to cut. (New York Times/City Room)

The recession has begun to cut into eating habits, affecting not only how much we fork out on food but also what we are putting into our shopping baskets. (BBC) There are easy ways to cut down on your grocery bill. (Recessionwire)

A standoff at a Georgia chicken plant shows how two important imperatives in a recession — creating jobs and cutting excess capacity — can collide. (Wall Street Journal)

Across the country, slim financial aid packages and family monetary concerns are preventing students from attending their choice university. (Dallas Morning News)

Twyla Prindle on what should you tell your children about the recession. (Examiner)

DIY Nation: Strapped consumers are trying to save money by cutting expenses such as lawn services, opting instead to tackle projects themselves. (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette)

The recession is hitting harder than forecast in the U.K., as figures show the country’s GPD dropping 2.4%, the most since 1958. (Bloomberg)

The securities firms still standing on Wall Street are about to close the most lucrative quarter since the credit crisis erupted. (Wall Street Journal)

More landlords have loosened their pet policies over the past 18 months, responding to a spike in demand from pet-owning renters — many of whom have been victims of foreclosures. (Associated Press)

Tags: cheap recreation, college, education, employment, food, kids and the recession, recession, Wall Street

It’s that time again. Early September means one thing only to parents and kids of a certain age and stage: It’s application season.

Last night I watched Nursery University, the documentary about the frenzy of getting preschoolers into a nursery program in New York City. I shivered with relief that I don’t have to jump through any of those hoops this year. Our family can take a pass from the tours, the essays, the interviews, and the testing for a while now. But I know that many of you out there face several months of the agony of what the New York Times calls without irony, "The Choice."

Whether you are going through a first time preschool application, looking at kindergartens, changing middle or high schools, doing the college tour, or finding a grad school, this is a season of exquisite uncertainty for you. Believe me when I say I feel your pain. Nothing is quite as tortuous as feeling that you might have to beg an institution to take your money, not to mention you or your child.

All of us who have been through the process—and I think that’s just about all of us—will remember a thing or two from our experience. The disconcerting phone call, the disastrous playdate/interview, the inadequate test score, the kid who was a friend but is now a threat, the disappointing dream school, the mean admissions director, or the hyperfriendly admissions director who sends the rejection letter. The rejection! Or—heavens be praised—the acceptance!

Not all of it’s bad. Sometimes we can fall in love with a place and find that it has fallen in love with us, too. And then we all live happily ever after until the next application season.

What stands out for you? Are you a mother who is going through this on behalf of your kids? Are you a senior about to write thousands of poetic words selling yourself to buy a future? Are you a sibling trying to follow (or avoid) the footsteps of a brother or sister? Do you have your heart set on an institution that you know you’ll never be able to afford?

Let’s show everyone about to embark on this tortuous journey our support by sharing our memories. Send me your anecdotes to emma@thecomebackbook.com. Keep them short and write "applications" in the subject line. I’ll run them periodically through the season.

Photograph by George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images.

Tags: college applications, education, high school applications

DoubleX is starting a new partnership with the Washington Post magazine. Each week our contributors will argue over a certain question, and we invite you to join in. This week: Should parents make special requests about which class their child is in?

Hanna Rosin: I remember sitting outside my daughter’s school in a car one day with a friend, agonizing. Should we ask for another teacher or not? Ultimately we resisted temptation and drove away, which is what I always do. It’s so hard not to get sucked into the playground gossip—That teacher’s a yeller! She made a kid eat by himself on the floor one day! She hates active boys! He ignores shy girls! The kids in her class all get into Harvard!

But it’s a mistake to succumb, for the same reason it’s a mistake for a single girl to make a list of everything she wants in a boyfriend and then go shopping for that guy. Relationship alchemy is complicated. It involves all sorts of connections and tensions you can not predict. Teachers have particular relationships with particular children, not generic relationships with types of children. Maybe the informant mom was especially sensitive. Maybe the teacher was stern, not irritable. And maybe (gasp! we can’t admit this!) the teacher just did not hit it off with that particular kid.

But that doesn’t necessarily say anything about what that teacher’s relationship with your kid will be. My oldest child is in third grade now. Every year I have thought about lobbying for a particular teacher, or to have a particular friend in her class. And every year I have resisted. I never once regretted that. She’s had teachers who were slightly petty, and yellers, and also teachers who favored her.  What happened? Nothing. She learned that—gasp!—adults are flawed, too.

Ann Hulbert: My mother likes to tell this cautionary story about parental meddling. I came home in tears at the end of second grade, bearing my class assignment for the next year: I’d gotten the old ogre who had driven my older brother to a new school. This tested even my mother’s staunchly non-interfering instincts. But I—or so the flattering tale goes—told her someone had to endure this meanie, so it wasn’t fair to try to switch. When I arrived in the fall, the ogre had retired and I ended up with Miss Jones, a dynamo I totally adored.

KJ Dell'Antonia: Absolutely not—except sometimes. We adopted a 3-year-old this summer, and she’ll start preschool with her brother, also 3, at their 5-year-old sister's school, which has two classrooms. Who should go where? Not only did I request that our new daughter be put in her older sister’s room while her brother got a fresh start, I also asked the school to put my son's best friend in his class. I wanted our newest child to have her sister's support, without her brother feeling that everyone he loved was in the other room. Generally, kids should learn to cope with the classroom they're dealt, but when something big is happening at home, there are good reasons to make school at least feel easier.

Tags: education, special requests about child's class