Public Speaking Corner Students who do public speaking, especially those in Extemp and Impromptu, need to be aware of a multitude of domestic and international issues. Not only that, but orators should always be on the lookout for relevant examples that could strengthen their speech. This lesson is designed to encourage student discussion about current events. Prerequisite Knowledge Required: Prior to the class, assign each student a current event. That student should do research and bring five articles on that topic from reputable sources to the class. Common Core Standard Addressed: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. • Welcome the students/bell ringer activity. (5 minutes) • Overview of Activity – Explain to students that you are going to draw names out of a hat to randomly select who gets to provide a two-minute overview of their current event. They should provide an analysis of what’s going on, who is impacted, and anything it may mean moving forward for that person, society, etc. After a student explains, then a roundtable question and answer session will occur. Each current event will be discussed for at least five minutes. The instructor will keep track of the number of questions asked by students and make notes on the effectiveness of the question and the analysis offered by the presenter. Students should take notes of things that they learned throughout the roundtable as it will be used for a follow-up assignment. (5 minutes) • Begin roundtable. (45 minutes) • Closing – Collect the articles from the students who presented. Additionally, notify students that they will continue the roundtable the following day, and every day after until each event is covered. Let students know that they need to be prepared to write a summary of at least three new things they learned and how that might impact their public speaking event(s). (5 minutes) Compiled by Steve Schappaugh, Director of Programs and Education for the National Speech & Debate Association
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Rostrum | WINTER 2016
What We're Reading Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue Author Derald Wing Sue tackles a subject head on that many people already know—that race, racism, privilege, bias, and the like are very difficult topics to discuss for anyone, regardless of their racial identity and most certainly for young adults. Sue unpacks the difficulties many individuals face in discussing racial issues due to psychological and social barriers, and then explains how we must courageously embrace these conversations, because “silence and inaction only perpetuate the status quo of race relations.” He goes on to argue that the idea of engaging discussions with the perspective of colorblindness really means that we are just “color mute.” Sue divides the book into 13 chapters, but further breaks them into six subsections: • Section One – The Characteristics, Dynamics, and Meaning of Race Talk • Section Two – The Constraining Ground Rules for Race Talk • Section Three – Why is it Difficult for People of Color to Talk About Race? • Section Four – Why is it Difficult for White People to Talk About Race? • Section Five – Race Talk and Special Group Consideration • Section Six – Guidelines, Conditions, and Solutions for Having Honest Racial Dialogue This book not only points out problems in the current process by which we engage discussions of race, but highlights the importance of such discussions, in addition to giving clear suggestions, supported by research in the field, to develop strategies to engage, rather than evade, issues of race in our classrooms as well as our daily lives. Compiled by Aaron Timmons, four-diamond coach from Greenhill School in Texas