Importance of the Art of Speaking

Education is an extremely important part of everyone’s life. But imparting education is not enough. Quality education should be our aim when we talk about education. An educated man can deal with all sorts of difficulties in life.

Education teaches us the way of life. An educated man outshines and blooms like a flower. Classroom teaching plays a very crucial role in education. It is important to design the curriculum in such a way that it caters to the needs of the present generation. The curriculum has to be reformed periodically. Like any other classroom, the classrooms in the US usually focus on subjects that are considered key such as maths and literacy. It is believed that these subjects form the base and are foundational. If students do not perform satisfactory in these subjects, they are considered as weak in studies, but apart from these one of the most important skill that should be taught in schools is the art of speaking. Effective communication is very important for each and every individual. Generally, the schools only focus upon other subjects and not the basic need of effective communication. School 21 is a school situated in London. It has made "oracy", the primary focus of everything. The school indulges in inculcating fine communication skills in the students starting from the earliest grades. The students here are taught how to express their opinions, understand other person’s point of view and manipulate their talk. These skills are usually absent in most classrooms. Another major aspect that this school focusses upon is the “well being”, i.e. a social emotional learning curriculum. The school is teaching the students to be kind, moral, polite etc. The students here are free to express, question, debate and discuss things amongst each other and their teachers. The school also organises events and seminars where the students display their oratory skills in front of everyone. This is how children learn from each other and improve themselves exactly where they lack. We usually notice that when children move out of school, they are shy and are unable to express themselves freely. Even the highest scorers are hesitant in public speaking and debating. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to include core communication skills as part of the school curriculum so that we produce confident young people who are ready for facing challenges and moulding arguments, the way they like.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/46546/why-the-art-of-speaking-should-be-taught-alongside-math-and-literacy