Joto High School Speech Contest

Last Saturday, two of my NELP students participated in the Joto High School Speech Contest. My second grade student unfortunately did not go on to the final round. However, my third grade student not only went to the final round, but came home with first place.

I was extremely proud of BOTH of my girls because they both did such a wonderful job. They put a lot of heart and personality into their speeches, and they really used their voices and facial expressions to add meaning to what they were saying.

It was kind of funny because my third grader had originally written two different speeches, and when we first started preparing for this speech contest, she had brought me the OTHER speech. I looked it over, and it was a good speech, but out of curiosity, I asked her what her other speech was about, and when she told me, I got all excited and said "Yeah! Do that one! Do that one!" I'm glad she chose to do the speech that she did.

My second grader wisely chose a topic that was very personal and important to her, but which also had a good message for other people. I'm really looking forward to working with her next year, because I'm certain she'll be able to take home a prize next year.

I always tell me students that it's not about the trophies. I tell them that a few years from now, a junior high trophy won't mean that much because they'll go on and do bigger and better things. I stress to them that the most important thing is to develop their public speaking skills because being able to speak clearly and effectively in front of a large group of people is a skill that will be of great value to them for the rest of their lives. However, I do really like to see my girls receive recognition for all their hard work and dedication and spirit. Naturally, we're building leadership skills for their future, but a little immediate validation is also pretty sweet.

Here are some photos from the contest:

My second grader at the preliminary: