23 June 2009
Honing public speaking skills
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Extra-curricular Activities .
Note: One of the longest running activities involving homeschoolers in Kuala Lumpur/Petaling Jaya is the Junior Public Speaking Club. Here’s a post by homeschooler Daniel Dusanjh about the fun the kids (and their parents) have had through the years:
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By homeschoolers, for homeschoolers would best describe the Junior Public Speaking Club (JPS for short). And while the club is young in more ways than one, that does not quite hold true for some of the things we speak.
Fancy a topic about terrorists? Or how about a roundtable discussion on issues affecting Malaysia, with some inevitably heavy political commentary? Coming up next will be a debate on the dangers of Facebook to society. All this with a core group of members mostly no older than 18 years of age. (Click on NOTICES for JPS Debate info).
Every once a month JPS meets. Step by step and sometimes unwillingly, its members conquer the fear that has been described by grown men as “worse than dying”. Some of us take to it like fish in the water while others have to be very gently persuaded to stand up and speak.
Of course, we juniors are wisely guided by our mentors- the mums and maybe a few dads as well. This is where JPS gets its homeschool flavour – parental involvement. Which helps, a little.
Even then, as the club gets older, a group has formed known as the “seniors” – veteran members who have been with the club since its early years. Of course, still not much older than 18.
So we have our speaking aspect, usually involving table topics followed by prepared speeches. But much more than that, JPS is where its members get to speak up in as comfortable an environment as possible – under the watchful eyes of their parents.
It is not all about speaking of course, food and games being the staple extra activities. But there’s more here, for example leadership. Now, JPS is perhaps the only place where you get to be a leader – like it or not.
Everyone older than 14 (age, as always, flexible) has to stand up for the position of vice-president where they have to tell the members why they deserve to be appointed to that position. If appointed, expect to serve a full one and a half years of six-month terms – from vice-president, president to ex-president.
Yes, you do learn a lot here, much more than you would expect. It may sometimes be a scary and tiring experience for some, but it is invariably rewarding.
As its members are young (and must be young!), turnover among members tends to be high. A couple of years back, JPS was aging and losing members to college and relocations. Now, it is best described as teeming with new young members – very young, in fact.
Being a regular at JPS for a little over two years, I can certainly say that the club has had its fair share of ups and downs. But with the fantastic leadership it’s had over the years (by the brave and willing presidents – not to mention the mums who are the backbone of JPS!), expect the club to continue for a few more years to come.
The writer is an ex-President at JPS. The Junior Public Speaking club meets every last Friday of the month, 2:30-5 P.M. at Subang Jaya Gospel Centre. Young ones and their parents are most welcome to join or observe.
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Photos: Upper three – table topics; mid two – JPS in the park; bottom three – National Unity Roundtable, Daniel Dusanj with special guest Tricia Yeoh
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One Comment so far...
Caroline Bryant Says:
24 May 2010 at 12:41 am.
i remember when i was still in high school, i always fear public speaking engagments.::,