111/180 Public Speaking 101

Today was our Talent Show.

I signed up the class to perform spoken word and a song.

Nearly half of my class receives speech and language services,

Promoting and using oral language is key in ECE and especially for students with speech issues.

Another reason why I like to "push" my students to perform publicly is because I grew up very shy.

Public speaking or even speaking up, was not something I was comfortable doing.

It has taken years of practice to gain confidence in myself as a public speaker.

I want my students to start developing that skill now.

While some of my students are confident and outgoing, 

many of them are not. 

Some will not speak up when they need help.

Some are not able to express themselves.

Some choose to pass on their turn to share.

I want to create strong, confident, and verbal students.

*I would have video taped the following, but needed to direct them on stage. Oh well.

"Martin Luther King, Jr had a dream."-Victoria proudly states.
"We have dreams too!"-Julian adds.
Every student was asked to share their dreams with the audience.
(I did not influence or change their words... after all it's their dream!)
We got a lot of ... "I want to be a mermaid!" "I want to be a Power Ranger." and a few "I want to be a vampire."  The audience was amused, after all, they are 4 and 5 year olds... let them have their dreams!

Other favorites of the day included:
"I want to be a pizza maker."
"I want to ride a horse."
"I want to make cakes."
"I want to be a princess and a singer."
"I want to be a power ranger and a lawyer." -I think mom might have added the later.
"I want to be a rock star."

Then they sang a song about Martin Luther King, Jr.
After they had completed their performance, they wanted to do it again! ... confidence.
Next up, International Day Dance!

After school, I drove across town (about 20+ miles) to Santa Monica to speak at the Milken Family Foundation. Was happily surprised to make it in 30 minutes. (Different story on the 2 hour drive back home!)

I was asked to share the impact the Milken Educator Award had/has on my life.
I was asked to speak for 10-15 minutes, but since my friend Shannon was ill, I could take as much time as I needed. For someone who has been sick for nearly 2 weeks and had a coughing attack during lunch, I wasn't so sure that 10 minutes would be a good idea.

I won't go into everything now but just know...
I will always say yes, if possible, to the Milken Foundation.
They are family.
I will promote teaching every chance I get.
It's easy to talk about what you do and love, and the people that inspire you.
It's a privilege and honor to represent my profession...
And I get a bit better at public speaking the more I practice.
I think I took up a good 18-20 minutes and I didn't even cough!