The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.
Right Start Blog
The Importance of Public Speaking in School
Country School students learn to be comfortable in front of an audience early on and build upon these skills as they rise through each grade.
American schools largely place emphasis on students excelling in literacy and math, as these skills are most commonly tested and considered the building blocks of learning. Unfortunately, this focus often overlooks the value of communications skills. It is critical that students learn to communicate their thoughts and ideas to others, as this skill set will serve them well throughout not just school but life. Yet communications strategies are rarely taught with the same structure and regularity as other aspects of a curriculum.
At The Country School, students begin their public speaking journey in first grade. Each year, every grade performs in a class play and every student has a speaking role. Teachers have creative license to design the play to coincide with a unit they might be working on to further reinforce the lesson. The children learn to work together as a whole and ultimately see their hard work appreciated by their audience: the whole school. Plays have ranged in topic from being kind to the environment, to science fiction, to holiday-themed productions, and they never disappoint.
Lower and Upper School students may participate in our fall and spring talent shows to demonstrate their skills in front of their peers, parents, and teachers. Some children perform in groups with dance routines or gymnastics, while solo artists belt out their favorite tunes or showcase acting or martial arts skills. The talent shows, in addition to class plays and in-class presentations, offers students myriad opportunities to practice and fine-tune their communications skills.
Lower and Upper School students may participate in our fall and spring talent shows to demonstrate their skills in front of their peers, parents, and teachers. Some children perform in groups with dance routines or gymnastics, while solo artists belt out their favorite tunes or showcase acting or martial arts skills. The talent shows, in addition to class plays and in-class presentations, offers students myriad opportunities to practice and fine-tune their communications skills.
Students also participate in a great deal of group work within their classes, which are small enough that everybody gets to know everybody else, and the teachers are well versed in the personalities and strengths of their students. Consistently reinforcing the importance of cooperation, teamwork, and presenting themselves with poise is a theme at The Country School and prepares children for challenges ahead.
Date Posted 
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Harshita Arora7/23/2018 @ 7:45 AMNice Blog! I think more schools should take such initiatives of teaching public speaking and provide other co-curricular activities for children to participate in.
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Sukhman Kaur7/23/2018 @ 7:26 AMGreat, its really important to include public speaking as a part of education.
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