Public Speaking at WMS with Mrs. Kaschak and Mr. Guidetti has had an impact on WMS students this year.
Mrs. Kaschak, one of the elective teachers, explained how much students should practice. She said, “So for practicing I tell them [her students] that they should practice at least 3 times every day, and sometimes I tell them to practice to themselves, or I tell them to practice to a mirror, or record themselves and listen to themselves back.” Kaschak also emphasized the importance of live practice in front of a group.
Kaschak went on to discuss when she began teaching. She said, “So, originally, I was a little nervous to teach. I did the curriculum and wrote what we actually do in class. But, I got to see different sides of kids in public speaking. I had one girl in my first year that was so quiet and so reserved you would have never thought for her to do public speaking. But when she got up and did her assignments, she did them amazingly.”
Kaschak expressed that her favorite assignments consisted of how-to-speeches and ceremonial speeches. She then compared the two and why she chose to assign these assignments. On one hand, the how-to-speeches gave her insight on the students on their identity and the things they love to do. In the ceremonial speeches, they chose someone to honor and explain their ideas through public speaking.
Another public speaking teacher, Mr. Guidetti, expressed his thoughts on why he teaches public speaking. Guidetti explained that he has a liking for the “freedom” and “the artistic, the creative” side of things. He further proved his point by saying that the students were given an assignment where they were currently coming up with their own ideas, showing their creativity and ability to express themselves.
When asked what are some important aspects and skills needed for public speaking, Guidetti said that there are plenty of careers where public speaking is important especially when handling a business. “You need to be confident when you’re speaking. Like even when you’re having a conversation with someone,” he added.
Guidetti additionally explained a hypothetical scenario where the world wouldn’t have public speaking, “If public speaking didn’t exist, some people would be happy with it because then they wouldn’t have to speak in public. But people would miss out such as actors or people who teach public speaking. There would be a lot less communication.”
A fellow WMS student that took public speaking as an elective, Armani Uribe, also shared his thoughts on public speaking. He affirmed that public speaking is important since one day you’ll have to speak in front of a large audience or group of people.
Uribe also expressed when he first began taking public speaking, “Definitely when I first started, I was pretty nervous. After I started gaining my confidence, I got way better at speaking.”
Uribe shed some light on some methods and tricks he learned as a student taking public speaking. He stated that it’s best to “have good eye contact” and “try to look confident” so that the audience that you’re speaking to can stay engaged & interested.
