He Speaks Well

Today, for my ELL observation, I went to a teen leadership class. Teen leadership is a class that helps high school freshman develop a better sense of themselves and makes them more comfortable with public speaking. today, the students presented 2 minute speeches based on whatever topic they wanted. My ELL student gave his speech today. His speech was based on his move from South America to the United States. He spoke very clearly and articulated his position very well. The teacher gave much praise and the class voted his speech the best out of the 10 or so speeches given.

The classroom environment was very safe. The kids in this class were very informative and were extremely personal in their speeches. They disclosed personal histories that best friends seldom hear. The teacher gave his own speech before the kids did. His speech was interesting and very personal as well. The students really take to his personality because he shows them the respect that he wants from them. He spent a good amount of time praising my ELL student for the progress he made over the semester.

In reflection,  I am going to build that same safe environment that I saw Mr. M build today. I can see why he is so successful. The kids trust him and he trusts his kids. He is honest with the kids and he is willing to accept their honesty as well. It doesn’t seem like many teacher except students opinion of their environment. If you believe in your students, they will believe in you and any message you send them.