Translator: Aari Lemmik Reviewer: Denise RQ
Wow!
So this is it.
This is what the majority of adults worldwide fear:
public speaking.
I'm a little bit scared.
But that fear is not a legacy that I want to leave for my children.
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening!
At what age could we begin training our children
in the skills of public speaking?
The nature of education in our primary schools
has already changed a great deal since you and I were there students.
A few months back,
I asked James, six years old, to spell the word "house."
He replied quickly and confidently, "Why don't you Google it?"
(Laughter)
I believe, the purpose of education
in our primary schools should quite simply be
to train our children to stand,
to stand up, to stand out,
and when they get knocked back in life
- as they will -
to choose to stand again.
My youngest son Philip started school two years ago,
and in true impulsive, impatient four-year old style,
he wanted to master everything immediately;
or as soon as possible
Yesterday, if not sooner.
So can you imagine his frustration
when after two whole days, he quickly realized
he still couldn't read, write, or play football like the big kids.
And then, worst of all, a teacher told him to stop talking.
(Laughter)
Stop talking?
The one thing he knew he could do, and he was being told to stop talking.
Of course, we adults know why
a four year old might be told to stop talking.
But what if the message received
is different to the message intended?
Philip will retire, if he's lucky, in 2074.
If there's one thing the last 23 years in education has taught me,
it's that I haven't a clue what the world will be like in three years time.
As a parent, a teacher, a principal,
how can I prepare Philip and his friends for a world I don't know;
a world in which they'll most likely have jobs
that haven't yet been invented?
I believe strongly
that the very best I can do
is to train them to stand and deliver.
Do any of you remember in primary school being told to stop talking?
Well, here's my idea.
It's simple, so simple.
It only took me 23 years in education to come up with it.
What if instead of telling our children to stop talking,
we said, "Talk! And keep talking.
We'll give you the skills, the structure, and the safe supportive environment
in which to plan, prepare, and practice talking.
Talk when intention.
Talk to investigate.
Talk to inform.
Talk to learn."
I've seen it, time and time again,
from personal and professional experience:
when our five year olds come to school, they have it.
They have the readiness, the rapture,
the ravenous appetite to learn and use language orally.
They want to talk,
they want to be heard,
they want attention.
This is a clear strength of theirs at this time.
Use it or lose it.
Do we use it? Or do we allow them to lose it?
Why don't we, at this stage,
begin training our children in the skills of public speaking?
Skills we know are bound to benefit them in their futures?
Think of the remarkably rapid race
at which they've already acquired our language to date.
In the first five years of their lives
from zero to wow!
It's as if they're already in the fast lane
when they come bursting through the gates of our schools,
and we tell them to slow down or sometimes, to even stop.
Stop talking. Why?
A few years ago, when the staff of my school and I were engaged
in the process of school self-evaluation,
we identified oral language
as the area of literacy most in need of focus and attention in our school.
And when I discussed this with other school leaders,
it became clear that this was, in fact,
the case for many other primary schools out there, too.
So, I decided to take a closer look, and what I found out was interesting.
Because in recent decades, there has been
a clear and unambiguous recognition of the importance,
the fundamental importance of oral language
for learning and literacy skill acquisition.
This has resulted in an increased focus on oral language development
which is manifest in the curriculum and policy documents
of education systems not just here in Ireland but worldwide.
Here in Ireland, we're told, in terms of literacy in the curriculum,
oral language is given an equal weighting with reading and writing.
Firstly, I'm not convinced about the wisdom in this equal weighting
because we all know: oral language is a child's first
and most frequently used medium of communication.
So, as such, is it not the building block of literacy?
Secondly, as a teacher and a principal,
I can state categorically
that this so-called equal weighting is definitely not reflected
in the amount or the clarity of the resources available
to support us, the teachers,
in delivering the oral language strands of the curriculum.
And what is absolutely lacking is a resource that focuses explicitly
on developing public speaking skills in children.
In fact, despite having searched far and wide,
I wasn't able to find one.
And so, I began to design one myself.
You see, I am scared.
A few months ago,
my daughter invited some of her friends over to our house to play.
And as I passed by the toy room, I stopped, delighted to hear
the sweet sound of laughter coming from within.
I popped my head around the door to see
if I could steal a glimpse of the source of this humor.
You know what?
My heart sank.
Each of the four female friends, my daughter included,
were engaged on individual devices,
laughing at individual contacts on individual screens.
I admit, I don't understand this!
Bob Dylan's advice comes to mind,
"Don't criticize what you can't understand!"
But it's hard.
You see, I'm neither technophobic nor anti-technology.
But am I alone in wanting my children to be more present?
And to enjoy more fully the company of their real friends?
Those friends who are there with them, in the flesh.
Yes, I am afraid, and more than a little worried
for my own children's communication skills.
We don't need research to tell us
that children nowadays are not spending enough time communicating.
But communication is a skill.
It needs to be practiced.
School is probably the most reliable and relevant place
where our children will have
the opportunity, the audience, and the time
to practice these skills.
So why is it more important today more than ever before
for our children to actively practice their communication skills?
Well, quite simply, you all probably know
that there is an unprecedented abundance of forces out there now
lurking, luring our loved ones into more passive sedentary activities:
excessive use of technology, excessive use of television,
unhealthy treats, unregulated social media,
personal listening devices, DVDs, and cars, and many more.
Intentional or not, oral conversations and language development
are been discouraged by these, and more.
My idea is simply
that we encourage, enable. And empower our children
to stand and present in front of an audience
a minimum of ten times a year
from their very first year in primary school.
Be it an audience of a small group of their peers,
their parents, the class, the school.
Each child would be enabled to speak on a range of topics
chosen from the curriculum,
all the while developing, step by step,
specific oral language communication and presentation skills.
While one child presents, all of the other children are engaged
in the very important communication skills of listening and evaluating.
Feedback is positive and specific.
With such a structured program, I believe the children would take
the bones of the projects we give them
and turn them into something way beyond our adult imaginations.
In fact, this is not just something that I believe,
this is something I know,
because for the last year and a half,
we've been implementing this program in our school.
With the desire and eagerness to stand and deliver,
our students have continuously touched, moved, and inspired us
with their presentations.
Eddie, aged 11, he told us, when he finished his first 10 projects,
that his favorite project was presenting about Ancient Egypt.
Although, I'll never forget the very first time
he stood to do his first project and introduce himself.
In his characteristically serious manner, he said, "My name is Eddie.
People say I don't have a sense of humor. And I don't think that's funny."
(Laughter)
Well, it cracked us all up at the time!
And it still makes me smile today. It was memorable!
You see, we Irish, we do humor really well.
We love to tell jokes and stories, we have a knack for it.
The spark is in there, it just needs to be lit.
So, ten projects a year, from their first year in primary school.
Imagine then, by the time when these children are 13,
preparing for secondary school and their futures.
We know they will have stood and presented
in front of an audience
a minimum of 80 times, 80 speeches.
Wow!
What might that look like
in terms of courage, confidence, and communicative competence?
I don't know about you, but I believe, these are the 13 year olds
our world needs, and not only that.
These are the skills vital for our 13-year olds
to survive and thrive in an ever changing world.
No matter how good they are at texting, emailing, using different technologies,
there will always be a need for face-to-face communication,
won't there?
For relationships, day-to-day encounters, oral exams in secondary schools,
interviews, debates, workplace presentations.
Technology is truly amazing.
It may well be able to connect people's minds,
but it cannot yet do what only face-to-face human interaction can.
It cannot yet connect people's hearts.
In a world where technology provides us
with instant answers, instant results, instant gratification,
engagement in a structured, fun, and active oral language program
could once again allow our children to go through the process of discovery.
Albert Einstein feared that our technology would exceed our humanity.
But a good structured oral language program could empower our children
to use technology as the tremendous tool that it is,
but to enhance their presentations with a child firmly at the center.
The child as the presenter.
A simple idea: 80 speeches before the age of 13,
making public speaking a habit and second nature
at a time when children most want to talk.
Picture your own son or daughter, in Croke Park someday,
triumphantly delivering that Cup Acceptance Speech.
Or maybe using their practiced and polished public speaking skills
in possible future careers in sales, teaching, journalism,
communications, television.
Or maybe,
just for the day of their wedding, or their sibling's wedding,
or when they're asked to stand and deliver to the very best of their ability
that all important eulogy
for a close relative or friend.
I'm sure you've all heard it before:
the majority of adults, worldwide, fear public speaking on a scale
second only to losing a loved one and death.
And many say they would rather die.
(Laughter)
They would rather be in the coffin
than delivering the eulogy.
Is that really the legacy we want to hand on to our children?
Our five year olds have definitely not yet inherited those inhibitions.
They want to talk, they want to be heard, they want attention!
Why don't we seize the moment?
I was a very shy child.
And in many ways, I still am a shy adult.
People who know me today, and didn't know me back then,
find this really hard to believe
simply because today I choose to speak in public.
But just because I was shy,
that did not mean I didn't have something to say.
Every child, every single child
has something unique and special to say and contribute.
Michelangelo advised, "The greatest danger for most of us
is not that our aim is too high, and we miss it.
It's that it's too low, and we reach it."
We need to raise the bar
and stop wasting this precious opportune learning time of our children's lives.
If we encourage, empower, and enable them to stand and deliver,
I believe the program and the process are simple,
but the potential and the possibilities are limitless.
Thank you.
(Applause)