Elementary School Studehts - Not too Early for Public Speaking

From http://www.brentwoodpress.com/article.cfm?articleID=20974

Contest to be talk of the town in ‘09
Ruth Roberts
Published 12/04/2008 - 1:31 p.m. PDT

Allan Petersdorf figures if he builds it, they will come. Or at the very least, they’ll talk about it.

“Public speaking is an important skill for our kids – well, for all of us really – and I feel very strongly that we need to help our students master those skills,” said Petersdorf, principal of Discovery Bay Elementary School.

And so, in the spirit of elocutional excellence, he has created the Far East Contra Costa County Speech Contest, a round-robin speech competition open to elementary students.

The event, scheduled for this spring, will be hosted at the Discovery Bay Elementary School and sponsored in part by the Discovery Bay Lions Club. The contest, which Petersdorf hopes will become an annual event, is designed to help students in grades three through five hone their oratorical skills.

Modeling the competition on the success of the San Ramon Valley School District, which has conducted academic speech contests for years, Petersdorf figured it was time to take the competition a little farther east. “My kids grew up in the San Ramon Valley School District and they really benefited from the district’s speech contests,” said Petersdorf. “So I’ve modeled my contest on the success of theirs.”

Although he’s still working out the details, Petersdorf said the speeches will be 2½ to 3 minutes long, and students can read or memorize their speeches. Kids who deliver their speeches from memory will have the opportunity to earn more points.

Petersdorf figures that if each eligible school sends six students to the event – two from each grade level – the competition could comprise around 108 students. Factor in the need for approximately 60 to 70 volunteers, not including parents, and he could be looking at close to 300 people involved in the event.

“That’s why I’m getting the word out early, because we have a lot of people to organize and a lot of work to do,” said Petersdorf, who has already sent out competition packages to the local schools. “I already have some sponsors and companies willing to help out, so we’re getting organized.”

Winners will receive medals and trophies, and a perpetual trophy will circulate among the schools with the highest-scoring students.
“Of course, I plan to win that (perpetual) trophy the first year,” laughed Petersdorf. “But really, I just want this to be a fun event. I want the kids to be able to win a medal and hold it up and say, ‘Wow, look at what I did.’ This is all about self-esteem, self-confidence and fun.”

There are practical aspects to the competition as well. “The kids will be in better shape by the time they get to high school as a result of this type of program,” Petersdorf said. “Especially if we get all the schools in Oakley, Knightsen and Brentwood to participate. Private schools are welcome, too.”