Speech Notes

Last week students completed a unit on Impromptu Speaking. Throughout this unit students focused on the challenges of unprepared discourse, preparing a strategy for dealing with the need to speak on the spur of the moment, practiced organizing ideas quickly for clear communication, and developed composure for speaking in a challenging setting or on a challenging topic. At the beginning of the unit many students assumed that impromptu speaking was easy, however they quickly learned that nothing could be further from the truth. Students learned that impromptu speaking is extremely difficult, but that there are methods, which if used properly enable the speaker to perform acceptably on the spur of the moment. In all, students delivered approximately five-seven impromptu speeches each beginning with a 1-2 minute speech and progressing up to a 4-5 minute speech. All in all, the students did quite well on this unit.
Currently students are reading (self-selected) books to elementary students. This activity allows students to practice their oral communication skills in a completely new environment. The elementary students really enjoy having the high school speech students share with them as well.

Psychology Notes

We've been reading and completing activities dealing with objectives from Chapter 17: Toward a Healthy Personality this is the last chapter in Unit Five. Students have learned more about how the body and mind interact. (There is a very strong connection between mind and body. Everyone can fall prey to the power of suggestion. Voodoo is an extreme example of this.) We've learned how stress affects the immune system;. ( The key to handling life's problems seems to be either actual control of various situations or at least the belief that one is in control. Helplessness can be the most destructive of attitudes or feelings. The immune system is critical to survival. It is active or inactive as a function of our state of mind as well as of our physical health. Stress reduces the effect of this protective system.)Students learned more about the placebo effect. (Pain is controlled by both mental and physical factors. The reaction to pain is subjective, and there is evidence that we learn at least part of how we react to pain.) We learned about cognitive strategies and how they work. (Cognitive strategies are methods of using thoughts to reduce pain.) Finally we learned about psychological defense mechanisms, which are techniques used to remain psychologically stable,or in balance. (By using them in moderation, we are able to protect our sense of well-being enough to recover from personality defects, mistakes, or problems. But using them often is not ah healthy system for surviving.) Throughout this chapter students have had to take a look at their own behaviors and attitudes to try and determine how much they rely on defense mechanisms in their day to day lives. Students also worked in small groups to create skits where they acted out a specific defense mechanism while their peers tried to determine which mechanism was being used.

Upcoming Due Dates (Not ALL inclusive)
Wednesday, April 22nd- Oral Presentations
Thursday, April 23rd- Chapter 17 Essay Test
Friday, April 24th- Guest speaker- Dr. Ben Lanpher
Monday, April 27th- Oral Presentations
Wednesday, April 29th- Magazine Article Review Du