When You Look Back in the Mirror, and the Image is Somewhat Changed

For the many people who believe a public speaking class can't really improve the way a person can present in public, this opinion was proven wrong based on the amount of growth I have made in my own public speeches halfway through the semester.  

One of my very first goals for this class was to be able to speak more confidently in front of a large number of people.  I had stated that I was not a poor speaker, but that I was never confident that what I was saying was interesting or correct.  Today, I made a speech about my summer when I pursued my venture, granted to me by the venture grant committee in school, and this is where I saw the most growth for me so far in the year.  Like normal, I was very nervous to go up and I fantasized every way in which my presentation could go wrong.  Although I was nervous, I was confident in my abilities to speak in front of an audience.  When I went up to the podium, I had PowerPoint presentations to look at and notes, but I was confident in the story I was telling and was able to keep good eye contact with my audience and speak from the heart rather than from reading. This was one thing I noted in my third goal that I improved.  I showed significant growth in my confidence, I didn't stutter, I didn't take long pauses that showed I lost my thoughts and I spoke loudly, clearly and at an okay pace.  The only thing I feel like I still need to work on is my pacing.  I was in a pressure situation today, so the pacing was okay to be a little rushed, but next time I would like to focus on speaking a little bit slower to make sure everyone understands me completely.  

I also improved my second goal.  I blushed but it wasn't as noticeable, and I didn't show uncomfortable body language.  I was able to make good eye contact with the audience and even though I used my hands a lot, it was not to play nervously with them, but to emphasize my passion for the topic I was discussing. 

One goal that I have for myself for the rest of the class is to continue projecting my voice loudly and confidently.  I have a tendency to be a very quiet speaker and when I'm nervous I present my speech like I'm not confident.  I'm doing a much better job with this already and want to be able to do it perfectly by the end of the class.   Another goal I have for myself is continue memorizing my speeches and have them come from the heart and memory.  I felt that my presentation today was powerful because I was clearly speaking not from what the slides behind me were saying but from my memory of the summer and how much I loved talking about what I want to do in the future.  The audience could feel my passion and by telling most of the facts by memory, people could tell I was credible giving my speech.  Although this is one of the harder and scarier tasks when speaking publicly, it is almost the most important.  Overall I am overly pleased with my progress and can't wait to make more as the class goes on.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble....It's Debate Time

My personal positions on the chosen debate topics are:

-homework should NOT be banned

-video games ARE too violent

Homework Being Banned: Pros and Cons

Cons:

-promotes good studying habits 

-reduces time watching tv, playing video games, texting, etc(using any form of technology which is less beneficial for the brain)

-gives practice for the lessons learned in class so that a student can get used to the material and also perfect it (muscle memory)

-helps students to get better scores on tests

-let's parents see what their children are doing in school

-life is always filled with things we don't like to do but we have to do them in order to get better or we have to follow rules

-teaches self discipline, time management and many more non academic life skills

-helps in preparation for standardized testing, which school systems are obsessed with (the results and scores)

-helps students think more deeply on subjects, reviewing notes 

Pros:

-students get frustrated if homework is not graded quickly and they cannot learn what they did wrong or if they are doing the material right

-causes stress and is more of a burden than it is helpful, most students just do busy work and are not really trying in their homework to understand, just want credit and good grades

-can interfere with family life and spending quality time with certain people (friends, family, boyfriends or girlfriends) and can also get in the way of helping out around students' houses (chores, shopping, etc.)

-students can cheat on homework and have family members, friends or tutors do it for them

-homework prevents students from sleeping enough, students go to bed too late doing homework or wake up early to finish, most students are too tired from the day to do more work and don't perform to the best of their abilities

-adolescents need to also have a social life to experience the younger, easier times in life( play sports, work, community service, hobbies like music, etc.)

-studies show that homework has no direct effect on performance on testing and grades

-takes the joy out of learning for students, makes school a second shift and students are less enthusiastic 

Video Games Being Violent: Pros and Cons

Pros:

-many kids know the difference of reality vs. fantasy so it is merely a form of meaningless entertainment

-if used in moderation, they can enhance motor coordination and can also help children to analyze a situation quickly and react even quicker

-can be a form of stress relief for children 

-helps concentration on visual ideas and images

-can help children with an interest in any division of the armed forced to get a sense of what they are about and can also prepare them for what being enlisted entails 

Cons:

-gives children a cold-hearted view of th world and people, may produce aggressive thoughts, actions and attitudes

-whe the game presents an image of the player being the shooter, it allows for the child to be desensitized in the sense of killing another living being( shooting, knifing, etc.)

-used to train in the military to get used to killing, not to train young boys for fun

-gets in the way of schoolwork and studying, chores, socializing, etc.

-people involved in school shootings were invested in "first-person" violent video games

-more fearful of the world and people 

-can also affect a child's diet and physical activity, unhealthy

ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html

http://homeworkstress.weebly.com

http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/video_games_cons_pros

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/The_Homework_Debate/?page=2

http://eduflow.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/homework-harmful-or-helpful/

Perfection of Spoken Word Poetry

 This spoken word poetry assignment was extremely helpful, a little more so than the monologue, in getting used to the reality of speaking to a public audience in order to persuade them.  It was less about taking on a character and more about conveying a message or a story to the listeners.  It also shows how powerful music can be when added to a speech or for audience members because it can really emphasize the general mood of the speech, getting the message across more effectively. 

The most effective spoken word projects were the ones where the music fit perfectly with the mood of the poem and whose speakers were comfortable performing along to the music.  For example, Jade's poem was one of the most powerful ones for me.  After getting over the initial struggle of the memorization of the poem, it was more about being comfortable delivering the actual stanzas.   Jade delivered lines from a poem that told a story of the main character of his poem.  His voice rose and fell accordingly with the emphasis he needed on certain lines of the poem, we were able to feel the raw emotion, the sadness and despair of the slave, just from his words and his delivery.  The music was perfect for the poem and really emphasized the sadness of the poem.  He was able to keep a steady rhythm and delivering with a perfect pace.  Jade made great eye contact and seemed confident while performing.  He stood still and used his hands every so often to add emphasis to a line or two.  The memorization was perfect and he really got a handle on what he had to say.  I was really moved most by Jade's performance, it had made great progress from the first try and I enjoyed watching his takes.  

In my own performance I was very pleased with how I progressed from my first take to the final.  I felt better after this project even more so than I did after my monologue.  After finally memorizing all of my lines, which was easier considering I was delivering an original poem that I created, and picking the perfect music that was serious but had an even tempo for the message I was conveying, the rest was all about nailing my performance.  On my first take I stood still with my hands clasped and I wasn't into the true meaning of my poem, and I felt it could have been better.  It was tricky also to remember the words along with the music because it was hard not to get taken over by the speed and volume of it.  I then felt it would be more powerful if I were to move around from stanza to stanza, and also use my hands to act out some of the visuals in my poem.  This really intrigued the audience more and I was able to center my thoughts on delivering my lines really well.  I was able to work on speaking louder and I really was able to project my voice, even better than I did in my final take of my monologue. The only thing I could have fixed more would have been my pacing and my speed.  I tended to see that I rushed or said lines faster than I wanted to deliver them, so next time I would slow it down to get more emphasis and better pronunciation.  

Debate top choices from topics

1.) Animal testing should be banned (#52)

2.) Parents should be allowed to choose their baby's gender (#51)

3.) Video games are too violent (#39)

4.) Students should be allowed to leave for lunch (#11)

5.) Year round education is not a good idea for student learning (#6)

6.) All students should have an after school job (#1)

Spoken Word Poetry- Perfection

http://youtu.be/Va6Aus6nKkk

Perfection

Have you ever experienced perfection?

Not many people have,

and many dream of the different ways in which perfection can be achieved.

Perfection may be different for many people though.

Perfection can be as simple as the stars twinkling bright against the dark-black midnight sky.

Perfection can be the explosion of a firework,

its lasting image remaining high up in the sky, 

admired intimately by its beholder. 

Large grins spread across faces as the familiar echo of the inviting boom is recognized,

and it too is admired with great appreciation.

Perfection, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.

Perfection can be experienced in a moment of pure happiness,

and can be forgotten just easily as it can come.

A long, lost friend once said that perfection can come with a person.

This one person resembled perfection, 

and whenever that person was present, no other moment has ever been more perfect.

Everything at that moment falls into place,

just with the arrival of that one special being.

This next statement may seem crazy, 

but all of these smaller moments of perfection can blend together into one single moment,

with that one special person,

and then and only then,

has true perfection been achieved.

So I’ll pose the question again,

and think intently before you answer.

Have you really ever experienced perfection?