10th Grade Speeches: The Way I See It

“The Way I See It” speeches have been a yearly tradition in AISG’s 10th-grade history class. The assignment requires students to construct a four to eight-minute speech over a 3 month period about anything the student is interested in.

Starting April 16, students listened to their peers’ speeches for seven class periods. Each students’ speech is about four to eight minutes long and at the end of each speech, there was a short Q & A session.

The tenth grade social studies teachers, Ms. Partee and Dr. Escalante-Mead, have decided to let students conduct a research paper and a corresponding speech about anything that interests them in recent history. These topics vary from serious historical events such as: “How did the Nanjing massacre affect Japan’s relationship with other countries?” To fun articles such as: “To what extent has CGI impacted the film industry in the last 10 years?”

Dr. Escalante-Mead stated, “Overall the speeches went well. The quality of the speeches given by students was quite strong, and I was impressed by the breadth of topics that were of interest to our student body. Certain topics inevitably are more popular because of our host nation.”

Dr. Escalante-Mead also said, “Speaking is an essential skill for our modern society; not only within an academic setting. Business, media, and even digital interactions all require information to be processed, evaluated, ranked, and presented orally. Knowing how to interact with an audience, physical or dispersed through the electronic miasma, is a highly valued communication tool.” I agree with Dr. Escalante-Mead’s statement about public speaking being important as communication is the backbone of our society. Without communication, the ability to communicate and innovate would be impossible.

After getting the teacher’s opinions, I decided to interview some students about their feelings about the event. Paoping Y., a sophomore who had recently done her speech, commented, “I was really nervous during the speech to the point where my hands were shaking. However, I think this assignment is very helpful for the future because we’ll definitely have the opportunity the speak in front of a big audience and it teaches us to manage is time as well as get used to talking in front of an audience without panicking.” Through my own observations, I was able to see the nervousness students had from the fast-paced talking or the multiple stutters in their speech.

Lillian L., another sophomore who was one of the first students to do her speeches, expressed her nervousness prior to her speech by saying, “I felt very nervous at first because I have stage fright. But through the support of my peers and friends, I feel less nervous, and they gave me suggestions on speaking slowly, clearly and take a few breathes to calm myself in front of the audience.” I believe the support from peers really does help lessen the anxiety on stage. However, I also believe that some peers may try to distract the speaker by laughing throughout the speech. Some may describe that experience as “annoying and frustrating.”

After each session, students were required to rank the speech givers in order that they think is best. The top two students from every class are given the opportunity to give their speech in the Garden Hotel to parents and staff on Thursday, May 9. These speakers include Rahul S., Josh H., Caeley K., Maya H., Ishita A., Sofia V., Andy H., and myself, Dylan W.

Wish our speakers good luck at the Garden Hotel!