What I Learned in Speech

While I always enjoy teaching Speech, some weeks are more interesting than others. Students were asked to do an impromptu speech pertaining to a school rule (or something about the school) that they would change, why they would change it, and how they would do so. One stipulation was that the changes must be reasonable.

Of course, I didn't get 100% participation in the "Reasonable Category" -- but I did get some interesting persuasive speeches. I'm not sure James convinced me about the need for a mandatory nap time -- nor did those students who spoke about homework convince me that less homework is the answer. I mean, really... students are in individual classes for less than 4 hours per week (approximately 15 hours per month). Time must be spent outside of class in order to acquire the information necessary to progress to the next level of study. The main reason for lessening the amount of homework seems to be sports and extracurriculars. Sorry, but I'm not convinced. Sports and extracurriculars are important, but they're not the purpose of attending school. That's why they're called "extracurricular."

As Leah pointed out, school is the "child's workplace." Her speech was on uniforms. I'd have to say that uniforms seem like a great idea to me. Nothing fancy or plaid-ish... just a specific shirt and brand/style of khaki pants. Might decrease the confusion over the dress code, too. Of course, not everyone agreed -- several students believe the dress code is too strict and that their self-expression is limited. My response is: If your only means of self-expression is through your clothing (and not your actions, your mind, your heart, and your mouth), then you're really limiting yourself. Giovanni says: No slippers!

Others spoke about the need for more AP (Advanced Placement) courses--specifically in the social sciences (history, political science, etc.). Sounds like a great idea to me. Another student felt that religion classes should be taken for two years instead of four (or 1/2 of each year--rather than the full year).

One of the most spoken about topics: iPods in the classroom. It's not that these students want to use them all the time... just during study hall or in class after a test (when teachers expect them to *gasp* be quiet until everyone else is finished). I'm an English teacher... I say "read a book" -- but, this answer never seems to suffice. At any rate, the arguments for iPods were persuasive. As a teacher, I can see the use of iPods swirling out of control -- if students should use them more often than permitted, the volume is too loud, etc. I have an iPod and a cell phone and I don't use either one in the classroom. What kind of teacher would that make me? Same goes for students... bring something to work on after tests. After all, teachers are apparently assigning tons of homework, right?! :P

Another topic of concern was exam exemptions. Currently, only seniors are exempt. But, argue my sophomores, if anyone is getting an "A" in a class, don't they know the material sufficiently? Why should 9th - 11th grade students have to test if they maintain an "A"? These speeches were convincing, as well.

Okay, so that concludes my long-winded post about Speech class. Other topics were discussed, but these were the main ones. Thanks for such great participation this week, folks.