In the most recent podcast, Episode 204, Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker discuss the second of the four language arts: speaking. A student has described Andrew as “the funny man with the wonderful words.” Andrew does indeed infuse wit as well as humor in his many presentations delivered all around the country. Listening to this podcast is especially interesting in that he explains why speaking is such a critical component of the language arts.
During the podcast Andrew relates an event where he noticed a turn of the century report card posted as art on a wall. One of the subjects he noted was called elocution. Notably absent were the subjects social studies and health. The subject of elocution focused on developing a student’s ability to stand in front of an audience and speak well. And it is this ability that Frederick Douglass cultivated for himself when he reached the North and freedom. His incredible talent for speaking was hewn from his practice of memorizing great speeches from history.
Do you desire to cultivate speaking skills in your students? Listen to this podcast to learn of a pathway that you can follow beginning in the preschool years and continuing throughout high school to achieve that goal. And be sure to tune into the other podcasts that discuss the other language arts: listening, reading, and writing.
