Anthropology professor explains why South-Asian Americans rule the spelling bee

Former Springfield Business Journal intern Katy Steinmetz writes for Time that spellers from South-Asian descent dominate the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

For eight years straight, the U.S. winners are from immigrant families from the likes of India or Pakistan, and the trend continued this year when Vanya Shivashankar, of Olathe, Kan., and Gokul Venkatachalam, of St. Louis, won the spelling bee May 28. In the last 16 years, spellers of South-Asian origin have lost only four competitions, according to Time, and one Northwestern academic says it’s not a coincidence.

Shalini Shankar, an associate professor of anthropology and Asian-American studies, says it’s not a coincidence and she points to a spelling bee circuit for South-Asian youth.

The parents, usually first-generation immigrants, choose brain sports over physical athletics and pour resources into academic competitions. And it’s working.

As a bonus, ESPN covers the spelling action, too.

Read more from Time.