Sunday, January 10, 2010

Voices of Youth - Youth Speak Out



This past Thursday evening, Wilde Lake Middle School held our first Voices of Youth Charity Fundraiser. If you missed it, 30 seventh graders were selected by their peers to read their three-minute speeches that they had created in their English classes to an audience of over 150 people. The audience was made up of parents, families, staff and friends. The self-selected topics ranged from the killings in Darfur, animal cruelty, childhood obesity, standardized testing and the NCLB Act. It was great to hear the passionate opinions of our students about the topics they they had chosen.

During the event, there were various refreshments and items to purchase. As a result of this event, more than $500.00 was raised for Howard County Animal Advocates.

After hearing the 30 speeches, the audience members were asked to vote on their favorite speech. While a deserving winner was selected, it was obvious that the real winners were everyone in attendance and all of the talented WLMS orators on display that evening. This event underscored my belief that middle school students do have an understanding of current events and more importantly a have a passion to make the world a better place.

I want to congratulate Ms. Swank and Ms. Miller for doing such an outstanding job organizing and running this amazing event. Way to go!!!

1 comment:

DocHorseTales said...

Congratulations to the teachers, the principal, and the school! This activity exemplifies effective English instruction and learning because it engages us all in caring and working to make our world a better place.