English 101
December 10, 2013
Public Speaking
The
educational system in America was founded on strong fundamentals, by those
seeking to create an intellectual, bright and prosperous county. Over the
course of years there has been a significant shift in the thinking of our
leaders; the educational system has been moved down on the list of importance. This
has forced a reduction of funds, forcing educators to often do only what is
practical, instead of doing whatever it takes to help students develop the
skills they need. The K-12 schooling system has misled students; Children are
told that to succeed in life they need to succeed in school. As Gatto states
about the realization from the students “When they go for the big interview
they’re flummoxed to find that their education didn’t cover the essential
skills for this job — being able to calm yourself and regulate your emotions in
a variety of situations”. These skills are important in the outside world along
with communication skills. The educational system, kindergarten through twelfth
grade, needs to add more rigorous life preparing courses like communication,
into graduation requirements. For this to be a reality the legislature must
approve a reasonable budget so the courses can be properly funded, developed
and ran. So that we may ensure that students will be prepared for the
challenges of work and adult life.
Throughout
the schooling years students are required to present in front of the entire
class, as students age presenting becomes more and more intimidating. The
student presenter feels uncomfortable and self-conscious in front of their
judgmental peers. Adding a public speaking class would help students to learn
the essential skills of being confident, speaking clearly, and knowing their
material. Learning the skill helps you portray yourself, no matter what the
situation. This is one of the most valuable skills that you can teach as it
will help students to be successful with everything they do, whether it is
personal or school or work related. This
required course would ensure that “young people get an engaging and challenging
education” Because it would being pushing the self-conscious teen out a safe
zone and help them to grow into an adult with a well-rounded skill set. The
skill of speaking in front of a crowd is hard to acquire on your own therefore
the public schools should help students learn this skill. Requiring this class
would not give the same response “They said the work was stupid, that it made
no sense, that they already knew it” as some do in their other core classes.
Already
having the public speaking skill under their belt, students will have a new
found confidence in their life. Employers will recognize the communication
skills possessed by the applicant. This confidence will allow the student to
excel in job interviews, communicating with co-workers, and customers.
As
of now at the age when children start kindergarten they learn to color inside
the lines which later on in life this directly relates to driving inside the
lines. Children “encounter a world that seeks to educate them for conformity
and obedience only… better to choose obedience over self-awareness and
self-determination, or in schools where independent thinking is not acceptable
behavior”(Hook Bells). Creating conformity and decreasing independence makes
learning public presentation skills even harder because to passionately speak
on a subject you have to pick a side. Conformity encourages students,
especially girls, to be the same. Because everyone is different but strives to
be the same it lowers self-confidence, which can also make public speaking
harder. Talking in front of people is more than just reciting a speech “During
your public speaking course, you may learn terms that apply to your speeches
and your daily activities. Credibility, which is trust that you earn from your
audience, stems from goodwill, or caring about and considering your audience’s
interests as you prepare and present your speech. When you speak to your class,
your demonstration of ethics and focus on the audience makes you credible
because your speeches revolve around your listeners, instead of yourself.
Furthermore, if you relate to your audience by establishing common ground and
conversational quality, then your listeners feel connected and want to tune
into your presentation.” (Everyday life)
Recently,
in Keith Gilyard’s article Children, Arts, and Du Bois.,
“had the enormous pleasure to visit for several hours an after-school creative
art program… shortly after my visit, I learned that the program would probably
be discontinued due to lack of funding. No music in that time-space slot. No
poetry, no lyricism, no singing, no visual arts, no drama. A point of immersion
in the humanities would be eliminated, thus possibly constricting perspective.”
(Children, art, and Du Bois). This shows how much a decrease in the budget
directly affects the children. Budget cuts also decrease the teachers ability
to interact with students on an individual basis. With class sizes on the rise,
teachers tend to be unable to communicate every day with children and must often
resort to reinforcing conformity to merely keep control of the outrageous
number of students in the room. The budget also affects the curriculum; without
the funding a public speaking class will not be possible.
To
help children in kindergarten through twelfth grade succeed in life a public
speaking course should be required for graduation. In order to do this the
nation must remember the importance of education the citizens and remember that
schools are growing, developing and setting the foundation for future leaders
of this country.
Work Cited
Gatto,
John. "Against School - John Taylor Gatto." Against School - John Taylor
Gatto. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
hooks,
bell. “Critical Thinking”. Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. 8. New
York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. 2009. Print
Gilyard,
Keith. "Children, Arts, and Du Bois." National Council of Teachers
and English. September 2012. Print.
Freire,
Paolo. "The Banking Concept of Education." Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
Chapter 2. 1970. Print
Rose,
Mike. "Resolutions Someone Should Make for 2011." The Answer Sheet, 5
Jan. 2011. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
"Should
Students Take Public Speaking Classes?" Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
Dec. 2013.
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