Public Speaking

As adults, many of us have experienced the joys of public speaking. Mike regularly speaks in front of groups that may have as many as 200 people. I occasionally give talks in front of groups of 20-30 people (or in rare cases a couple hundred). I still remember a college class that required speaking in front of the class of 15 students and the difficulty some of my classmates had screwing up the courage to present.

At Connor and Fiona's schools, Dexter and Southfield, public speaking is a regular part of the curriculum beginning in kindergarten. Events are attended by several other grades, as well as parents and other family members.

Fiona had her annual public speaking on February 28. She was all ready to go, looking very public speaking worthy.

Her class talked about the moon. There was a program made specifically for their presentation that included a bibliography on the back page.

Fiona did a spectacular job. She delivered her lines very clearly, made excellent eye contact and hit the points for her positions on speaking. You can see a video here. The video is below.

Connor had his public speaking the following day. As luck would have it, that was Leap Day. So that was the topic of their talk. He looked very good in his school clothes despite having to deal with his sling.

The art teacher created a impressive collage for the event (Fiona's speech also had a collage -- of Goodnight Moon; Connor had a program, also, I just didn't care for the art).

Connor spoke very clearly and delivered his lines with perfection. We were all very pleased. You can see a video of his speech here. The video is below.

I am so excited for them to have the opportunity to develop strong public speaking skills that will serve them for a lifetime. Good job, guys!