Politics and Education

This year is going to be an incredible one for our students. The world's population is at boiling point, and thanks to the internet, we have a wealth of resources (unless they suddenly disappear, like some have already) right at our fingertips. Our students can write important, topical discussions that engage both with literature and the world around us in real time!

With oral presentations this year, we have an opportunity to do something I don't think my kids get enough of: look at pretty bad speeches. We tend to lean towards exposing them to the most powerful (rather than the mundane), encouraging them to "have a dream," but perhaps forgetting to show them the effects of poor speaking (other than on their marks, that is).

This week has offered many good examples (inauguration, anyone?), but I'm going to start with this one: the new president's speech to CIA staff (video). Then we're going to compare it to Obama's speech to the same purpose (video).

I'll let you know what they think!

What is a task you'll work on in Term 1?