It's a good day to be a speech teacher . . .

[Father Bronze]

In class I'm having my students perform Demonstration speeches. Besides the usual gambit of cookies, brownies, and other treats, one of my students wanted to show how to create a character in Baldur's Gate.

Just to be helpful , I installed Baldur's Gate on the computer in my classroom (the same one I use for grades and attendance). Terribly convenient of me isn't it?

So the next time the technology people come to check my computer I can respond, "Oh that. Well a student needed it for a Demonstration speech and I just haven't gotten around to uninstalling it. Do I play it in school? Of course not." Anyway, that's my cover story.

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Most Subtle Official Straightman of the Laughing Hyenas -- Grammarian Brigade.

"The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the other woes of mankind, is wisdom." -- Thomas Huxley

[Kaz]

Yes that is very convenient!
You teach speech? What is that like?

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Sapphire Dragoness of ALSB
Waitress at Cloudy's Cafe
Guardian of the Temple of Aerie (specialized in GenCon and BG)
Most Illustrious Arch-Magess of the Illuminati
Lux omnis est

[Sazerac]

Hehehe what a cool teacher you must be, Father Bronze! Your students must love you!

Just out of curiosity, for your demonstration speeches, do you allow the use of multimedia in general, like PowerPoint presentations, etc.? Things have changed so much since I was in the school system.



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LOL that funny. And how is it being a speach teacher?

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HADB Clan Rulz


[This message has been edited by www.cffl.com (edited 10-03-2001).]

[Father Bronze]

Speech is basically a public speaking course.

I usually spend the first week or so on how to avoid being nervous. After that, we work on organization and presentation skills.

Speech is a fun class; especially if everyone participates. As a teacher, it gets tough when a student has such terrible anxiety that they can't get up in front of the class to deliver their speech.

We don't do much with multi-media. I ask my students to do an Informative Speech and for that they must use a visual aid (a diagram, picture, graph, . . .). I suppose someone could use powerpoint as their visual aid. Our school does have a computer class that focuses on powerpoint. In that class, the students have to give a powerpoint presentation.

- Father Bronze

[tracey]

wow. it would be even more fun if you taught them to debate.

it seems this art is dying out i schools these days. (despondant sigh)

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offended mistress of the illuminati

[Kaz]

Originally posted by Father Bronze: Speech is basically a public speaking course. I usually spend the first week or so on how to avoid being nervous. After that, we work on organization and presentation skills. Speech is a fun class; especially if everyone participates. As a teacher, it gets tough when a student has such terrible anxiety that they can't get up in front of the class to deliver their speech.

Wow. Can I join? I have terrible terrible problems giving speeches or even talking to a group of people. But your class sounds fun!

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Sapphire Dragoness of ALSB
Waitress at Cloudy's Cafe
Guardian of the Temple of Aerie (specialized in GenCon and BG)
Most Illustrious Arch-Magess of the Illuminati
Lux omnis est

[J.J.]

Hi FB. You are a high school teacher, right? so do you have a mac in the class, or is it windows? What a great reason to install bg right there. When I was teaching freshman speech at montana state, pc's were over 2grand, and you got a 40mb harddrive, could uprgrade to 1mb ram for another 200$, and the processor speed was 12mghz - that was the old epson equity 2+, my friend jim got one from his grandmother, with the 24pin color printer, was just under 2400$
needless to say, computer lab was the only place you could find one in a classroom!
do you have a list of speech topics that have been done so often, they do not get accepted anymore? we had a dozen topics that had circulated thru the greek houses and dorms so much, they were topica non grata when it came time to do it. do your students do an informative/demo, prob/solution, and expository formats? Or do you cover more the mechanics of speaking and the types of organizational format?
I miss teaching sometimes, but not enough to go back and get an m.a. for it!

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Unstinting Gaurdian of Children
Defender of Those Unable To

Official Pin-Up Girl Evaluator/Massager of the O.L.D. C.O.O.T.S. Clan
To Err is Human To Forgive Divine, However Neither is U.S. Marine Corps Policy.

[Father Bronze]

Originally posted by tracey: wow. it would be even more fun if you taught them to debate. it seems this art is dying out i schools these days. (despondant sigh)

Um. Actually I am the high school Debate coach. And I've taught a Debate class for about 8 years now.

Don't worry our program is going strong. Two years ago we had a student place 2nd in the state. In three of the past four years, I've had a student place in the top 50 in the nation.

-- Father Bronze

[Father Bronze]

Originally posted by J.J.: Do you have a list of speech topics that have been done so often, they do not get accepted anymore? we had a dozen topics that had circulated thru the greek houses and dorms so much, they were topica non grata when it came time to do it. do your students do an informative/demo, prob/solution, and expository formats? Or do you cover more the mechanics of speaking and the types of organizational format?

I teach high school Sophomores (age 15-16).

And yes, there are quite a few topics I consider annoying or unacceptable -- legalization of marjhuana, lower the drinking age, AIDS, teen suicide, eating disorders, . . .

We've decided as a department that we will focus on Demonstration, Informative, and Persuasive formats. We also do some impromptu speeches and have the students write a Eulogy.

We are not so concerned with students learning the finer arts of rhetoric (although I'd love to teach that, they get bored when I get philosophical), but rather hope that the students have a positive first experience and learn proper delivery techniques.

Speech is probably the second most valued class I've taught. Most of the time it is former Debaters who come back and thank me for all that I've taught them in Debate, but occasionally a Speech student will do the same. For some reason, my Freshmen didn't come back and thank me for making them memorize the parts of speech -- imagine that ( puzzled shrug ) .

- Father Bronze