Behind every great student is a great teacher. These teachers make learning fun by thinking outside the box and creating classroom experiences that resonate with their students. They serve many roles in their schools, as spelling coaches, school bee coordinators and judges; more often than not, they are motivators who encourage their students to be the best they can be. In the “Teacher Feature,” we celebrate these educators and their commitment to their students' education.
Now that Final Local Bee season is upon us, the impact that teachers have on students and spellers all over the world is even more apparent. Teachers already wear so many hats throughout the year, but as students prepare for spelling bees, they are asked to take on more roles: study buddy, spelling coach, cheerleader, word nerd. When members of the Bee team visited Accra to celebrate the 10th spelling bee in Ghana, we met one such teacher who reminded us just how lucky we are to have champions of our program in classrooms around the world.
When she won this year's Spelling Bee Ghana, Lily Tugba had a crowd of family and friends supporting her. One supporter who stood out among the group was Naab Jude Aawulenaa, a teacher at Solidarity International School in Ashaiman. Not only had he attended many grueling hours of onstage spelling competition to support the thirteen students from his school, but he also wore a shirt made from the special cloth that had been designed to celebrate a decade of the Ghanaian spelling bee.
Lily's spelling bee journey began four years before her victory when Mr. Aawulenaa began a spelling bee club for his students. That year, no one from Solidarity International School advanced to the national finals, but many attended the spelling bee in Accra to experience the competition and give the students a goal to strive toward. After a year of Mr. Aawulenaa's spelling club, Lily earned a spot at the Ghanaian Bee Week, an achievement she would repeat for two more years before her hard work and perseverance paid off. In May, Lily will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete in the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee would like to thank Mr. Aawulenaa for his steadfast support of Lily Tugba and the other students at Solidarity International School in Ashaiman. By giving them a goal to work toward, he taught his students the importance of hard work and determination to overcoming obstacles and achieving dreams.
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