Imagine you are getting prepared to give the biggest speech of your life. Your palms are sweating and your stomach is in knots. When you get up there, you freeze and the words just won’t come out. You know what would have helped? Taking speech class freshman year. However, it wasn’t a requirement.
Speech class was a graduation requirement for all Marist students before the Class of 2028 joined the student body. Students took half a semester of speech, which was a terrifying experience, however it allowed students to feel more confident in their public speaking.
Rather than using an in school class period, students had the option to take speech class over the summer, allowing them to have a free class period to take a different credit. The current juniors also had the option to take Intro to Theatre in place of the traditional speech class.
Currently, from the Class of 2028 and beyond, students do not need to complete any form of speech credit. This should not be the case. According to a poll of 51 Marist upperclassmen conducted by the MHS Media Staff, 72.5% of the students polled say underclassmen should have to take speech as a course requirement.
Some upperclassmen may be resentful towards the underclassmen because these newcomers do not quite understand the crippling fear of a public speaking class. The idea of 30 judgmental teenagers staring at you as you try to keep your voice from cracking still haunts me to this day.
However, this is a rite of passage for high school students. The palm sweat that occurs when trying to complete a speech is an unmatched level of controlled fear that every student should have to face.
On top of the unfairness which upperclassmen want to avoid, the class itself is quite beneficial. In my sophomore year, I took Intro to Theatre as my speech class credit and while I walked into class with a pit in my stomach each day, I had so much fun. I met some great friends and learned valuable lessons on public speaking, which boosted my confidence.
Some may argue that the class is a waste of time or that it isn’t beneficial. Many believe that public speaking isn’t an important skill to have mastered. However, 76% of polled upperclassmen say that speech class helped them in some way.
While the class may seem stupid or unnecessary, I strongly disagree. Students should tell our principal and counselors to bring back the speech class requirement. We can convince them that the class brings out a new, confident side of students. Let’s help underclassmen learn how to be confident speakers.
