Winning the 75th Annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee is as sweet as hitting a musical note, an appoggiatura for example. Thirteen-year-old eighth grader Anurag Kashyap of Poway, California is the winner of this year's spelling marathon by correctly spelling the word appoggiatura, an embellishing note, usually one step above or below the note it precedes and indicated by a small note or special sign. As I have said two days ago in the Side Kick, I love to watch the Spelling Bee. I especially pay attention to Asian spellers (Chinese and Indian). Some how I feel that there is a connection between me and them. We both grew up in Asian culture and Asian parenting, which emphasizes on the importance of education and achievements in the classroom. My parents were no different. I was encouraged to study hard to get good grades in school. I was told I'm a good boy when I accomplished in school. Man! I feel for the Asian Spellers. There are kids who study very hard without ever questioning themselves why they are doing so. I'm not saying study hard is not a good thing. I was just like them (although nowhere close to their accomplishment) until I broke out of the box some time in high school. The top two finishers in this competition are Indian-American. The Runner-up is Samir Sudhir Patel, 11, of Colleyville, Texas. Indians has done very well in the competition in recent years, winning in five of last seven years. This is the landscape of the American academics. The Asian way of educating kids (in America mostly by parents' home teaching, aside from school. Most top spellers in the competition have parents as coaches) facilitates the children to do well in academics. I wonder how Americans of other ethnicity look at this trend. Do they just read about this story and forget about it, praise the Asian-American achievements, think the Asians are smarter, think that they are hard worker, or just consider they are geeks? You must think that the winner Anurag must be so busy practicing spelling, he would have no time to IM with friends. Quite the opposite, Anurag does use instant messaging at home to chat with his friends, and even use IM to practice, "I got quizzed by my friends online," Anurag said.

6.3.05 photos: Jason Reed/Reuters