shanvan Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Ds (13) is obviously gifted at public speaking. Wherever we go he volunteers in discussions, uses elevated vocabulary, and presents his points with confidence. I constantly receive compliments on his speaking ability. He has an opportunity to give a public presentation for 4H yearly and always receives excellent awards. He has been asked to speak on various topics to our local county health department and to the county Kennel club. As we are approaching high school I wonder if he should have more outlets to continue to develop this skill. I have investigated the local ICC chapter twice in the past few years, and I do not like the tone of the leaders and children participating, so I would not want him there. At one point I was tempted to sign him up and just make do with the situation, but we have resolved that it would just add unnecessary drama and stress without a whole lot of learning. It's a long story, but many of the ICC students attend a co-op we left b/c of various issues and it seems those issues are also present at the ICC group. He can progress to giving 4H presentations at the State Level, but, again that is once a year. Anyone have any ideas about what else he can do with his speaking skills? Any other organizations he can join? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Toastmasters? I don't know if it's still around, or whether it's accessible to high schoolers, but when I was growing up, my dad had lots of trophies from Toastmasters. eta, http://www.toastmasters.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 This is on my mind, as well. Looking forward to the veterans' responses! My son gets public speaking opportunities through Civil Air Patrol. He teaches classes on aerospace education and moral leadership, and was recently the youngest-ever cadet teacher at a Leadership Academy for the entire region. I'd like him to have non-CAP speaking opportunities, though. We need options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I was thinking Toastmaster as well. Also, is there a speech & debate program in your area? http://www.ncfca.org/ Also, does the public school in your area have a speech & debate team or a mock trial team that he could be a part of? Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 It is great you are tapping into 4H programs. Here are a few other ideas and I hope some work for your public speaker. The national YMCA has Youth in Government programs. This is a program where students meet in a model government with other students in their state. Here are some examples. http://www.ymcayg.org/ymcayg.html Model UN - Many states have model UN programs. They are much like the YMCA Youth in Government programs. Students learn about their nation and meet together in a simulated UN. Lots of public speaking built in to that. http://www.unausa.org/modelun Toastmasters doesn't allow students under 18 in the regular group, however many locations offer Gavel Clubs that have looser rules and can admit students under 18. http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/MemberExperience/SatellitePrograms/GavelClubs.aspx Check your local Rotary Club. Some offer speech contests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightside Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 My son started a teen political club. It has afforded him numerous public speaking opportunities. If you would like PM me for the details. He was even on the front page of a large newspaper section earlier this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Also, is there a speech & debate program in your area? http://www.ncfca.org/ :iagree: I ditto with the NCFCA. There are regional, local, and state competitions. Right now is the time to think about Debate Summer Camp too. He may enjoy forensics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 :iagree: I ditto with the NCFCA. There are regional, local, and state competitions. Right now is the time to think about Debate Summer Camp too. He may enjoy forensics? tex-mex, my son would LOVE to do NCFCA, but my initial impression is that it will take a huge outlay of money for travel expenses. Is that true in your experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 I was thinking Toastmaster as well. Also, is there a speech & debate program in your area? http://www.ncfca.org/ Also, does the public school in your area have a speech & debate team or a mock trial team that he could be a part of? Brenda If I enroll him in a class at a local Christian academy he would be eligible to join their debate team. Dh and I haven't decided yet and still need to visit the school. The local homeschool Mock Trial team has quite a waiting list (and incidentally, is mad eup of many of the kids at the ICC group). I need to look into it further and also think about what other extracurriculars he may have. I haven't ruled it out yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 tex-mex, my son would LOVE to do NCFCA, but my initial impression is that it will take a huge outlay of money for travel expenses. Is that true in your experience? I like the looks of NCFCA, but I'm having trouble understanding how it works. Are there local chapters that meet? On the site it seems like the parent coaches the child and then enters various competitions. Is that how it works? I'd like to know about the costs as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nissi Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 My dc. have been participating in NCFCA for a couple of years. Each tournament costs approximately $200 if you have two children participating in Debate and multiple speech events. This includes meals for the three days of tournament. Most tournaments offer host housing. You can decide on the number of tournaments you want to participate in. We usually do two state qualifiers and if the children qualify to the Regional tournament and the National we have done them too. But there are families who join a club and choose to participate in only one tournament. It is totally upto to you. This has been a great experience for our children in every way. Totally worth the expense for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 My dc. have been participating in NCFCA for a couple of years. Each tournament costs approximately $200 if you have two children participating in Debate and multiple speech events. This includes meals for the three days of tournament. Most tournaments offer host housing. You can decide on the number of tournaments you want to participate in. We usually do two state qualifiers and if the children qualify to the Regional tournament and the National we have done them too. But there are families who join a club and choose to participate in only one tournament. It is totally upto to you. This has been a great experience for our children in every way. Totally worth the expense for us. Thank you for the info. Can you share any more info about how you got started? Were there any seminars, camps, support meetings, or resources that helped you know what to expect and how to instruct your children? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Maybe he could start up a 4H club focusing on public speaking and or debate. Our local extension office has helped significantly in starting up a new club (ours was robotics). Good luck in your pursuits. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) I like the looks of NCFCA, but I'm having trouble understanding how it works. Are there local chapters that meet? On the site it seems like the parent coaches the child and then enters various competitions. Is that how it works? I'd like to know about the costs as well. It depends. Some members of our local chapter do not participate in the state competitions and only local/regional. If one does choose to do state competitions, then yes, travel costs are expensive. Our NCFCA has a homeschool club that meets weekly for lessons and homework. Homework is very intensive with papers (i.e. speeches or topics to research) being due at each meeting. Older students work in teams or groups. There is a fee (like a coop) for families to participate in our NCFCA group. Not all members participate in regional/state competitions. Many do use the semester or year program for credit in high school as Speech/Debate. Look at the NCFCA website and use the regional contact person to direct you to a local hs support group who meet weekly in your area. Visit the group locally for more info. Every group has its different rules and fees. But visitors are welcome and they will be happy to help answer any questions. Edited February 24, 2012 by tex-mex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 My dc. have been participating in NCFCA for a couple of years. Each tournament costs approximately $200 if you have two children participating in Debate and multiple speech events. This includes meals for the three days of tournament. Most tournaments offer host housing. You can decide on the number of tournaments you want to participate in. We usually do two state qualifiers and if the children qualify to the Regional tournament and the National we have done them too. But there are families who join a club and choose to participate in only one tournament. It is totally up to to you. This has been a great experience for our children in every way. Totally worth the expense for us. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourOaks Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 If you would be interested in CCA (Christian Communicators of America) please pm me. We started our own local club this year and it has been an amazing blessing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nissi Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thank you for the info. Can you share any more info about how you got started? Were there any seminars, camps, support meetings, or resources that helped you know what to expect and how to instruct your children? TIA Sorry, I just saw this today. We got started by having my son attend a tournament. He liked what he saw and expressed interest in participating in Debate. So we had him attend a debate camp and then joined a local club for a couple of years. Monument Publishing puts out a lot of material that helps you to learn about each event that is very helpful. You can go to the NCFCA website to learn about more resources. Also, there is a homeschool speech and debate board : http://www.homeschooldebate.com which provides a wealth of information. Families who do not have access to a local club have found this board very helpful. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Sorry, I just saw this today. We got started by having my son attend a tournament. He liked what he saw and expressed interest in participating in Debate. So we had him attend a debate camp and then joined a local club for a couple of years. Monument Publishing puts out a lot of material that helps you to learn about each event that is very helpful. You can go to the NCFCA website to learn about more resources. Also, there is a homeschool speech and debate board : www.homeschooldebate.com which provides a wealth of information. Families who do not have access to a local club have found this board very helpful. HTH! Thanks for answering. I completely forgot I asked this! We are still deciding on activities for next year. There isn't an NCFCA club that is local enough for us (45 min drive each way). We may attend a tournament this spring if it looks like we will be focusing on speech and debate next year. From what I'm reading we would be able to participate in tournaments even without a club. That might be doable for us. I am attempting to make Ds narrow down his extracurriculars, but he is interested in too many things, so NCFCA may not be possible. He also has me looking into local theater opportunities. This kid is driving me crazy with his interests! If he keeps up with all the activities he is pursuing currently he will have to get his public speaking through 4H. There just won't be enough time for anything else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My children have been able to be on the ps speech and debate team. One child in particular does particularly well at public speaking. Now that she is in college, there are many more opportunities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.