The Immigrant Paradox: Why Are Children of Immigrants Doing Better?

The Immigrant Paradox: Why Are Children of Immigrants Doing Better?
Co-champions (L-R) Shruthika Padhy (307) of Cherry Hill, N.J., Erin Howard (93) of Huntsville, Ala., Rishik Gandhasri (5) of San Jose, Calif., Christopher Serrao (427) of Whitehouse Station, N.J., Saketh Sundar (132) of Clarksville, Md., Sohum Sukhatankar (354) of Dallas, Texas, Rohan Raja (462) of Irving, Texas, and Abhijay Kodali (407) of Flower Mound, Texas, hold the trophy for photographers after 20 rounds of competition and won the championship of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center May 31, 2019, in National Harbor, Md. The winning spellers made history with the most number of co-champions in the spelling event history. Alex Wong/Getty Images
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The most recent Scripps National Spelling Bee broke records. The Bee ran out of words for contestants to spell. After the final eight contestants breezed through aiguillette (a braided military decoration), bougainvillea (an ornamental climbing vine), pendeloque (a pear-shaped pendant), and other gems, the MC, Jacques Bailly, announced that the Bee had exhausted its lists of challenging words. All eight finalists earned an equal share of the trophy, the first time the prize has been shared by more than three contestants. The Twitter feed for the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the official dictionary of the Bee, posted a simple Tweet acknowledging “The Dictionary concedes,” listing the names of the Octochamps.
Of the eight winners, seven were children of immigrants from India. Seven out of eight.
Leonard Sax
Leonard Sax
Author
Leonard Sax, MD, Ph.D., is the author of "Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men" (Basic Books).
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