Spelling. S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G. Spelling.

What a splendid job ABC and Scripps did with the National Spelling Bee finals.

The primetime competition took time to show the kids as kids, not just as juvenile bookworms. Viewers met the contestants in fun and flashy segments, Nickelodeon-style. Even Erin Andrews got in on the act.

Spelling is cool. Who knew.

One of the final four contestants outlined his strategy: "I just spell as I go." Quite a trick, considering most humans have never heard the words in the National Spelling Bee's final rounds. I knew exactly one, gnocchi, because I cook. Alas, the kid who drew the word wasn't a hungry Italian.

At that level, knowledge of the word isn't necessary, oddly enough. These young champs operate on the rules of spelling in numerous languages, including Greek, Latin, French, Japanese, Italian, German and Spanish. All of those came into play in the final round.

The rest of us, fortunately, can write well just knowing the rules of spelling in English.

Ever notice how so many people declare themselves lousy spellers, as if that were an incurable disease? Anyone can learn to spell at any age. Doesn't even take long, maybe a couple of hours a day for two weeks. (Grammar is another story.)

I always loved to write, but for many years operated without a fundamental grasp of spelling and grammar. Like a rock musician playing by ear, I got by. Usually. Somehow I ended up an editor and a teacher, and so became a student of the language in my mid-20s. Wasn't easy; wasn't hard. Just took time.

The confidence that comes with solid spelling skills shows up in the writing. Knowledge is power, as the Schoolhouse Rock folks made clear in "Grammar Rock."

Here are a few books aimed at adults that cover the basics of spelling. They're all available on Amazon:

• "How to Spell Like a Champ" (Spelling Bee bible)


• "Handy English Encoder Decoder: All the Spelling and Phonics Rules You Could Ever Want to Know"


• "1001 Commonly Misspelled Words: What Your Spell Checker Won't Tell You"

As always, I recommend the language classic "The Elements of Style," one of the great books on any subject.