A friend of mine, who happens to be a lawyer, told me years ago that if he had to do it all over again, he would have spent much more time in speech, debate, or drama classes. His reason was simple: lawyers who are well accustomed to speaking publicly are much more at ease in trial situations. Others who didn't work on their public speaking skills from an early age were more apt to push papers or have to settle cases out of court.
I've noticed over the years that those of us who are willing to get up and speak in front of an audience (either small or large) are more apt to be those in leadership positions. I've always been surprised at how many folks find speaking in front of a group intimidating.
For the reasons stated above, I have made public speaking a focal point in my homeschool curriculum. From the time my children were young, they were memorizing large portions of Scripture. By the time my son was about 7 years old, he had memorized the first 6 chapters of the book of Proverbs. He would compete in home school fairs in recitation competitions and eventually competed in speech contests. My daughters have, from the time they were quite young, performed in front of audiences of various sizes. The pieces I selected for them to present inspired and encouraged those in their audience. This was not so that mama and papa could show off our little darlings. No, it was practice for the leadership roles we wanted them to assume as they got older.
My advice to parents is to NOT underestimate the ability of their children to memorize lengthy pieces and present them dramatically -- in other words with an understanding of what they are reciting. Even if parents find they aren't capable themselves, they should NOT prejudge their own children's abilities. Take a stab at it and find out just how amazing your young children are.
If you need any suggestions, just email me and I'll supply you with a list of my favorite selections.
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I've heard it said many times that you learn best when you're young, that physiologically the brain is best able to adapt to new stimuli at an early age. I'm always a little depressed when I go to learn something new (eg playing the banjo), because I feel it would have been so much easier if I'd started at a younger age. Nonetheless, that gives me great optimism w/ respect to my year old soon, who, I figure has a great opportunity to learn good things, which I know about but at which I'm not necessarily skilled, but for which I can provide him that initial push. We definitely should not feel that, just because we're not good at something, that our kids can't be great at it!
ReplyDeleteHi, Andrea! This blog is a great idea. I may have overlooked where your email is posted, but I would love to have your list of passages you had your children memorize. I'll make sure to mention your new site on my blog, too ;-).
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Carmon Friedrich
carmon(at)softanswer(dot)com
I totally agree. As a former, secondary public school teacher I also encouraged students to speak in front of the class. It enables them to overcome their fears, organize their thought and influence others.
ReplyDeletePersonally, being a school teacher also honed my skills for public speaking. But the public schools became controlled by the left wing, loonies and imbeciles....so I quit after 3 years.
But like you, I would encourage kids at a young age to overcome the fear of the crowd and to lead by example and scriptual soundness.
For those who have asked about my list of favorites, here they are (in random order):
ReplyDeleteGive Me Liberty or Give Me Death - Speech by Patrick Henry
The following from Longfellow:
1. The Psalm of Life
2. The Village Blacksmith
3. The Children’s Hour (my dad used to recite this to us kids when we were little!)
4. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Women and Children First! (about the real happenings on the Titanic)--by Doug Phillips
Custard the Dragon -- by Ogden Nash
The Fifty Six Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence – Anonymous
The Declaration of Independence
Most of these can be located via an internet search.
I agree completely, especially on the part about memorization. When my son was 11 he asked to be baptized. He was memorizing the 23 Psalm in homeschool and wanted to recite that beforehand. He did it in such a moving way. We were very proud. A few years later an elderly woman came up to us and told us that she had been visiting church that day and heard my son recite the Psalm. She was so moved she gave her heart to the Lord right then and there! It was amazing! God can work miracles through our children!
ReplyDelete