The Afternoon after the speech contest

A speech contest is really important at our school. Lots of pressure to do well, for the students and us. Most parents come to the speech contest - especially in the lower level elementary. This is really different than my experience in Hawaii. It was tough to get parents to come to a class in Hawaii. In Taiwan, at this school parents come to class. Of course they bring with them their concerns which is also good. But sometimes it can go awry. I'll see. I've been warned of parents with too much influence affecting classes. I'll see soon.

So here are a few of us celebrating the end of the speech contest. My biggest problem was that students showed up with big bags of props to use in their speeches. Huh? These are first graders. They never practiced with the props. I mean, I have a hard time using new props without practice. They're first graders for ***** sakes! It actually ruined some of the student's speeches. Oh well.

This story is not over. I have to choose two from each of my classes to go on to the finals. I do have a big star in one of my classes. And many good 2nd candidates that with a little more coaching and practice could end up a "star." The unknown factor is the parents and the school's reaction to the parents. The final is in two weeks and the finalist will be picked in a couple of days.