Boudicca's Voice

Today is Brought to you by the Magic "E"

When Mr. T was in first grade and learning how to read and spell, the silent E was introduced. In school they called it... The Magic E.

We still laugh, 10 years later, that when my husband would take them to school, he'd go over their spelling words in the car and inevitably, T would add the Magic E to ALL his spelling words.

Husband: Spell... Cat

T: C-... A-... T

Husband: Right!

T: E!

Husband: ARGH!

Every time... he'd get the word right and then after a long pause, say, "E!" We still joke about it.

Bones is in a precarious position in public school. He is not so focused and brilliant that he should be in the 'Gifted' programs, but he's definitely pushing the top of the ceiling of the 'regular' classes. It is a good place to be... at the top of the class.

The one class that kind of bothers his teachers that he's in is... language arts. Bones is a very good reader and he can spell. It's one of the things that really makes him stand out, in particular as in the regular classes there are a ton of kids who can do neither.

So last week they had the Spelling Bee in his English class. They all stood up and spelled and spelled... and spelled... and the next thing Bones knew, it was just him and this little girl and something in his fluffly little brain started ringing warning bells and he realized, "Holy crap! I'm going to win this thing!"

And he didn't want to... win, so he decided to throw the Spelling Bee.

How many people do you know that intentially throw a Spelling Bee?

Who does that?!

The word was... JOYFUL.

And Bones stood up there, big as day and said, "J- O- Y- F-U-L" and then with a pregnant pause added, "E!"

He frickin' added the magic E to throw a Spelling Bee.

Evidently the teacher stared incredulously, sat back in her chair and then said to the class, "I think... we can all pretty much agree that Bones actually KNOWS how to spell that word. I say we take a vote and make him stay in this round."

And the class voted and Bones was voted to stay IN the Spelling Bee, by his classmates.

This is the teacher that Bones swears hates him because she's said things to him like, "You don't belong in here. You're problem is that you don't try hard enough. You're lazy." I've not emailed her yet to tell her, he's not lazy, he's just crazy ADHD. He's everything BUT lazy... he's just such a dang scattershot we don't get a lot done at once.

She's told him to his face, "YOU... are very smart". There aren't many teachers who've ever told him that.

He said after he won, his classmates cheered (he had to spell 'desperately' after she misspelled it and he was tempted to throw it, but didn't want to cause a scene) and then the teacher broke out lollipops and they all sat around and talked or as Bones put it, "We had a party. Mom, it was so weird. I've never seen her like that..."

In all honesty, I feel bad for the little girl who should have won because Bones decided to throw it. But deep inside, I am thankful for a teacher who sees in Bones something he doesn't see in himself and it's her mission to make him see it.

His school Spelling Bee is on the 25th. I told him I'm not going. But... I'll be there in the back.

And I'm laughing to myself that Bones tried to throw the Spelling Bee... using the Magic "E".

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Update, via CalTechGirl... I so completely forgot about this! She put it in the comments and it's so funny, as this has run through my mind every time we've done the Magic E with the kids. For the life of me, I just could not remember where I got the song from.

Love Electric Company!

Posted by Boudicca at January 13, 2012 11:26 PM