On Saturday, Mississippi’s top young spellers will compete in the Mississippi Spelling Bee on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. The field will include 42 local spelling bee champs from 40 counties, ranging from grades 2 through 8.

One thing these young people have in common is their obvious disagreement with Andrew Jackson, our nation’s 7th president, about the importance of proper spelling.

It was Jackson who famously responded to criticism of his own careless spelling by saying, “It’s a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.”

There is also the old story of a coach whose players were constantly making bone-headed mistakes and thoughtless errors.

“I’m not saying they’re dumb,” the coach mumbled to reporters after another inept performance. “But when I tell ‘em there’s no ‘i’ in ‘team,’ they just have to take my word for it.”

The 42 young people who will compete at Nissan Auditorium provide a stark contrast to those examples, fortunately.

In the almost 600 years since the invention of the printing press, there is no power greater than the written word, and proper spelling is an essential element of that power.

In casual communications, some latitude is provided in our spelling. We often use abbreviated or phonetic spellings, especially on social media, and no one is the worse for it.

But there are times when our writing demands accuracy. When we are trying to articulate an important idea and persuade others to our position, proper spelling is not optional. In those instances, few things undermine the credibility of the author of a written communication more than sloppy spelling. For example, you might have great credentials for a job, but if your resume is littered with misspelled words, you’re far less likely to get the job.

For the uninitiated, spelling bees might be considered as little more than memorizing the spelling of difficult and obscure words.

But when you consider the hours of study these young people have devoted in preparation for these competitions, you understand they are learning more than that. As part of the preparation, they are not just learning the spelling of the word, but its origin and definition. In doing so, they are expanding their vocabulary, which gives them a multitude of tools to express themselves. As Mark Twain wrote, “The difference between the right word and almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

Because there is a symbiotic relationship between spelling and readers, good spellers are almost always good readers, and a well-read person often has a distinct advantage over his or her peers.

Given that, it’s likely that these 42 students will have a head start on many of their peers as they approach high school and beyond.

Saturday’s spelling bee is set for 10 a.m. at Nissan Auditorium and the public is encouraged to attend (organizers urged spectators to be in their seats by 9:30).

We encourage residents to attend, not just to support these young people, but to be entertained and inspired.

To all of the spellers: Welcome to Columbus and to the Mississippi Spelling Bee!

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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