> Just wing it. Seriously. > Why is it that so few schools teach children how to speak in public? > It is not difficult, all you need is a debating society. Sp

> Just wing it. Seriously. > Why is it that so few schools teach children how to speak in public? > It is not difficult, all you need is a debating society. Speech and Debate was, by far, the class in high school that has done more for me than any other class. The ability to stand up in front of people and start speaking is powerful. The ability to think of a topic and speak interestingly for 10 minutes on the subject is powerful. Doesn't matter that I still have to remind myself to slow down or stop pacing or make eye contact or whatever else. People ask me how I learned to do that, and I always tell them about my Speech and Debate class. The Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking I did during debate events in high school was wonderful. I still remember may favorite comment on a judges sheet. They'd told me that when I started speaking and shared my position, they disagreed immediately and thought I was wrong, but after those seven minutes, I'd completely changed their mind. That, for me, was the highest praise I could obtain. Today, the ability to speak in front of people on the spot makes me more confident to speak up. It makes me more confident in so many areas of my life. I agree, schools fail to recognize how important that skill is. They don't realize how often it becomes useful in one's life. I was lucky. My school wasn't the largest, but we had a full debating team, and frequently attended events throughout the year. But yeah, spot on. Get your kids into speech and debate. It will serve them the rest of their lives.