Incidentally, 'embarrass' was one of the words that my parents started me on in the first grade, prompted by the 'D' I received in spelling. They LOVED to pop-quiz me, especially while at the grocery store. ('Grocery' was also one of the words.) It could have been one of those tricks parents pull to keep kids tame while in public. But they also were dedicated to pop-quizzing me and having me memorize lists of factoids in general--the order of American presidents, world and state capitals, name-that-symphonic-tune. (Handel's Water Music! Copland's Appalachian Spring!) My knack for the factoidal carried on through high school, where I competed in the Knowledge Bowl amongst the Central American consortium of American schools. Unfortunately, it all fell out of my brain upon freshman year at Humboldt State.

Before we make any assumptions about an inherent Asian-ness to all of this, both my white and Asian parents were really into providing me with this sort of classical, well-rounded education. That's just the way they rolled. And I suck at math. My science knowledge was really about memorizing the terms, since I was slow on the calculations. What can I say, I'm a werd nerd.

Despite what I just said about Asian-ness and nerdiness, and by extension SPELLING BEES [heart heart heart], I find stories about young Asian Americans and spelling bees to be among the most compelling ever told. Call me biased.

This week's New York Times tells the story of 13-year-old Kunal Sah, who hopes to win the nationals this month in order to draw attention to the case of his deported parents. They've also produced a video. The parental pressure usually attributed to the success of Asian American kids is of a different sort, that of reuniting: “The anger is pushing me ... The anger is just telling me that yes, this year I have to win.”

Did you watch The Girl Who Spelled Freedom (1986) in elementary school? It's based on the true story of a Cambodian refugee girl who becomes a spelling bee success shortly after arriving in the US. Totally tugs at the American dream heartstrings.