Roger Dickinson dreamt of shifting education in Africa. He became the founder and CEO of the African Spelling Bee. This literacy programme is growing in strength and has a current footprint in 20 African countries. The spelling bees – a first of its kind for the continent – have been running since 2010.
Have your challenges changed over the last 13 years and what would you say were the biggest hurdles you had to overcome?
The challenges have been different in the various stages for development.
In the beginning it was the usual things: landing an idea and making it into something tangible.
Then it was about growing that idea into activities and events.
Funding is always the challenge at Spelling bees.
Once this became a continental initiative, the relational and logistical challenges are quite significant.
The challenge (and opportunity) now is about growing and nurturing an institution and to allow others (younger people preferably) to run with things.
How do you see the African Spelling Bee shift education in Africa? Would you say there are personal spin-offs for participants, other than learning to spell?
Spelling bees, honestly, have limited educational value. They cater for those who already have a high level of literacy. What they do spark, however, is excitement at school and household levels and give children a different reason to want to read, spell and comprehend. It also gives often jaded teachers and education officials something to get excited about and to promote in their schools and districts in support of broader literacy plans.
The African Spelling Bee at its core, however, is also an ambitious attempt at building real pan-African collaboration around the education of the African child.
You are also involved in remedial reading and literacy programmes in SA. Tell us more about those.
Many years ago we literally stumbled on the fact that Grade 4 was your critical year of reading. If a child can read at grade 4 level they will matriculate. If they can’t, their chances drop by 80%. This was around 2012, before the PIRLS findings became mainstream knowledge.
So we have worked with the Department of Basic Education and other partners, in urban public and rural schools, in trying to bridge that gap.
Currently over 20 countries across Africa participate in the African Spelling Bee. What is your ultimate vision for the competition?
We partner with Spelling Bee organisations in all of those countries to assist in growing those national organisations, which are often run by young social entrepreneurs in very difficult contexts. If every national programme is strong, the cumulative effect will be amazing.
We are also working on launching a possible Spelling Bee World Cup with partners from the USA, China and other places in the next few years.
