To wrap-up this experience, you are each to write one final blog post. This is a required reflection, but I hope that you will find it a meaningful way to pull together your 3 weeks of writing, editing, and speaking. Overall, our hope is that Project Soapbox was not just a "summer school" experience, but rather was a time for you to feel like you really did make gains in improving your writing and public speaking skills.
In the comments section, please write an extended, thoughtful reflection in the designated post that considers these questions as a starting point:
- How helpful was the writer's workshop in helping you improve your writing? Where did you improve? Where do you still see room for improvement?
-Did you find the blog useful? Did you enjoy posting on the blog and responding to your peers?
- How else did the workshop impact you?
- How helpful was the writer's workshop in helping you improve your writing? Where did you improve? Where do you still see room for improvement?
-Did you find the blog useful? Did you enjoy posting on the blog and responding to your peers?
- How else did the workshop impact you?
-Do you see yourself as a more confident speaker?
-Do you feel the workshop helped you develop an understanding for effective communication?
-Do you see yourself now as an agent for change? How else did you grow?
- If you were to redo this workshop, which activities would you be sure to keep? Which would you change? What would you add/subtract? Why?
- Do you believe that you will continue to take action on your issue? Are you motivated to go forward and pursue the change you spoke up for? Why/why not?
Please go beyond just one sentence responses to each question - instead, use these questions as a springboard to deeper reflection. Remember you are SOPHOMORE Scholars now, and we continue to have high expectations for you, as you should for yourself.Now, check out opportunities for further action from the Mikva Challenge, the foundation that created Project Soapbox and has inspired you all to speak up for social change in your communities.
- If you were to redo this workshop, which activities would you be sure to keep? Which would you change? What would you add/subtract? Why?
- Do you believe that you will continue to take action on your issue? Are you motivated to go forward and pursue the change you spoke up for? Why/why not?
Please go beyond just one sentence responses to each question - instead, use these questions as a springboard to deeper reflection. Remember you are SOPHOMORE Scholars now, and we continue to have high expectations for you, as you should for yourself.Now, check out opportunities for further action from the Mikva Challenge, the foundation that created Project Soapbox and has inspired you all to speak up for social change in your communities.
I had never written a speech before, much less presented one. This workshop helped me realize that not everything has to be an English essay or sound like one. Since I had never written a speech before this workshop helped me improve my writing in that aspect because it introduced me to something new, but because this was my first speech I obviously have a long way to go and still have many improvements to make(especially on the presentation part). Not only did the workshop introduce me to a new style of writing it also impacted me in a different way. It introduced me to all of the problems our community and our country has and has made me want to look more into some if not all of them.
ReplyDeleteI most definitely see myself as a more confident speaker. After my speech I reflected on my growth and realized that I have come a long way. I went from fearing to speak in front of only my peers which made me feel supported in the time when I felt most nervous(thanks guys:)) to being able to seriously present my speech in front of the whole auditorium. The workshop also did help me develop an understanding for effective communication. I learned that not everything has to be a debate or an argument because one can just state their opinion, give their reasons, and then accept the opinions of others. Now, I do see myself as an agent for change. I have brought what I believe to be one of society's most important problems to light and has given solutions to this problem. Now it is up to the community as well as me to make this problem disappear.I have become more aware to the problems in my community like the 40% dropout rate and have taken an interest in trying to contribute to the fixation of these problems.
If I were to redo this workshop I would keep the videos of the different types of presentation styles for speeches as well as the speech of one of the Round Lake scholars.Maybe I would add one more speech from one of the RL scholars.These speeches made me feel more confident about myself as opposed to the ones of the teens I didn't know. I would also keep the the breathing and exercising along with the tong twisters because they helped me calm down. One thing that I would change would be about the topics. I think that no two people or more should have the same topic,each topic should be unique to each person because after a while the facts and what is said gets repetitive. I really want to take action and pursue the change I spoke about because if I, the person that demanded change does not take action than other people that listened to my speech will not take me seriously and also will not take action. Even after my speech I found myself saying "there's nothing to eat" but I stopped myself and I thought about my speech and how I must be the change.
I agree that everyone's topics should be unique so it doesn't get to repetitive.
DeleteBeing able to write a speech and present it to a public audience was indeed a new experience for me. Initially I felt overwhelmed with it, but was able to cope with the time frame while being able to enjoy it. Thanks to Project Soapbox, I felt as if it refreshed my knowledge in writing, and enhanced it to a great degree. Specifically, I improved in working without a guideline for writing - allowing my mind to become more versatile and liberal when writing to an audience. I still feel as if I can improve in my structuring, for I felt my speech format was quite cumbersome. This blog was a great resource to understand what other Scholars were thinking, and to use this as a very loose guide for my speech. Though I did not respond to other Scholars, I was able to understand their individual thought processes and in turn apply as feedback towards my work. This workshop helped to bring out a more commanding aspect of myself, and presented an opportunity to finally speak up for once - as opposed to being silenced. Without a doubt, I feel exponentially more confident in speaking to a crowd. In fact, I feel excited about speaking in front of many people, as it opens more opportunities. I did learn more about proper communication - especially during our practice sessions where I learned about minor details that I never noticed as I spoke. Not just in the future, but even now I feel as if I can produce positive changed in our society. My mind and voice matured to a much greater level than before I spoke, and now I feel on par with public speakers! Overall, I feel as if this project needs no change whatsoever. Each and every activity served its own individual purpose - which all bolstered specific traits we have. In turn it helped make our presentations such resounding successes. It's very possible that I will continue to support my stance on Indian Reservations, for I still can get in contact with Joe Rose, and will do everything in my power to help him win this battle. There is nothing that can truly stop me from fighting for what I believe in, and this would serve as a great learning experience. Even now I feel different, and empowered to pursue my cause. I feel so strongly about this, because that was one of the few places I felt at home with, and I know the Ojibwe will not stand for their land to be taken. I''m honestly tired of sitting at home all day with absolutely no cause to believe in, and for once I'd like to get involved with helping solve our problems. There are countless problems in society, and we can't ignore them forever. By helping solve this one problem, we can begin to help others. We may not eliminate every problem - that's essential in the definition of life, but being able to remove some can change our lives for the better. I cannot express how grateful I am for this project, it helped me understand who I am. It amplified my spirit and willpower. Through this, I hope to be able to make my voice heard in an effort to fix the many wrongs that continue to plague us. As a future mechanical/electrical engineer, it's in my nature to want to solve problems - that's what it means to be an engineer. Thus, I will choose to take steps forward in winning my battle.
ReplyDeleteAt first I felt intimidated knowing that I would have to write a speech and knowing that I would have to present it in front of the public.However, this was different because I learned from Writer's Workshop that writing a speech is completely different from writing an English paper.Writer's Workshop taught me how to advance my writing into a form that speaks to an audience so I believe my writing has improved in that department.However, the way my writing flows still needs work and can be improved.The blog over all was a useful tool because I got to see what everyone else though on subjects and it was very interesting to go to this blog each night and see what everyone else thought.Although I barely replied to my fellow scholars it was still enjoyable because I always like giving feedback.Without a doubt I feel WAY more confident now speaking than I did before thus giving me better communication skills as well.Through this Workshop I feel like I can bring about change for our society but of course maybe I am not quite ready for that but still possibly in the future I see myself bringing about positive change.Even so I have grown a lot during this 3 week project not only in the way I speak but in the way I think.I now think of the long term effects of things and overall I feel like my mind has expanded to new heights.In my honest opinion I feel like Project Soapbox served its purpose through each and every activity but if there was one thing I would change it would be to add more speech videos.After giving a passionate speech on my issue I asked myself should I really just stop there? Well my answer was no because I want everyone to succeed in life and I feel like it's my job to do something for the better of not just this community but society as a whole.I will continue my quest to motivate students and to better our society and this won't end until everyone succeeds.I thank Project Soapbox for giving me this great experience that I will cherish for thee rest of my life and I will continue my journey towards a better future.
ReplyDeleteThe writer’s workshop was very helpful for me. I improved on organizing my writing so I wouldn't get lost that much, helped find ways of calming my nerves, and found a voice to speak up for what I wanted to say. Although my improvement was amazing I still believe that looking at the audience more and not at my paper would be a helpful tool I could work on. Maybe more hand movement too so I won't seem as stiff and actually look like I am comfortable. This project taught me a different way of writing and made me realize the problems in my community. The blog helped me a lot to organize my details, which took me step by step to building a strong topic. Not only did I learn from myself, but taught me the different opinions of my peers and in a way shared the same opinions. They also made me open my eyes to other topics that never crossed my mind. The workshop helped in my writing and speaking skills. For writing I learned that it doesn't have to be in paragraphs, but could be in lines, bullet points, and note cards. In speaking I was taught to relax and let everything come out normal, loud, and proud. This was needed to help me better my communication. I believe that the first step is being heard and when we presented our speeches to the ones who were present and received our message, from now on they will be aware of the actions they decide to take. So I do see myself as an agent for change. For this workshop every single activity we did was very helpful because it served a purpose to get everybody to where they wanted to voice their problem. I do believe I will continue taking action of my issue. What is the point of wanting to be heard if I am not passionate of what I am voicing for. In this workshop of 3 weeks I learned a lot of new things that I will always use because they will be very useful in my future.
ReplyDeleteI have always been told that I am a leader. But being told from a simple character-defining quiz comes no where near the power and confidence gained from voicing and presenting my speech. I feel as if my takeaway from this was greater than those of any other enrichment programs. My peers and I found that we are either good at public speaking or maybe it's just not for us. But I do feel as if this was a great kick start toward our professional futures. I hope this summer program remains because it was really great! I wouldn't change a thing. The gentle push to step outside our comfort zones was very much needed and I appreciate our facilitators doing so. Although it seemed we had very little time because we were all so nervous, I liked how every dead line was clear and we knew what we'd be doing and what was to come. Our little calendars we received kept us in the loop so that we weren't just oblivious to everything. Also, I really liked that we were able to stand up on the stage and get comfortable with the atmosphere. This really made a difference.
ReplyDeleteMost of all, I loved that we were pushed to drop all of what we learned our freshman year such as transition words and body paragraphs because often times this adds its own unnecessary nervousness and room to make mistakes. Instead we were told to just write as if we were speaking to a friend. "No one was going to be reading our papers." With this program I created a great memory and am proud to say that my first time public speaking went great!
Being a cheerleader, it is assumed that I am good with being in front of people and performing anything, and I also thought that I was good at that, but after I was put in front of my fellow scholars to practice, I realized that I was a lot more nervous and less confident than I thought I was. The workshop help me get out of my comfort zone and actually speak my mind about a topic I was actually passionate and felt strong about. I loved how we got to choose our topics instead of being assigned them. That made it better because than everyone could have a certain connection with their piece and actually feel motivated to want to make a change to their problem. The writing part of the workshop was very helpful and very different than a regular English class. I learned that writing a speech is very different than writing any other kind of paper for an English class. The workshop helped me steer my paper in one direction, and helped me develop a theme in my paper and branch off of that theme to keep the paper constant. I saw that I improved in focusing on one idea and then branching off that idea so that the paper would be stronger and understandable. I still see that I could improve in staying on one topic and finding stronger pieces of evidence to make my paper stronger as a whole. In my opinion, I feel like the blog was just aid, it really didn't help us write the paper. But I also feel like the blog helped everyone understand other scholar's topics and get a better understanding of what other people feel strongly about. The workshop also impacted me because it helped me realized that there are so many other problems that other communities are facing besides my own communities' problems. It showed me that other people need help to and its our job to make people aware of it. I definitely see myself a more confident speaker and all together, a more confident person in voicing my opinions and ideas. I feel like now I am more motivated than ever to see change and also be part of the change. I feel like the speech, was just part of the process that each of us will take before we actually take physical action towards our problems. The workshop showed us that you don't have to be violent or even go to the extreme, that all our voices can bee heard if we just build up our confidence and talk about them to people. I would definitely keep the breathing exercises because the really do work and I would also add more actually speaking time, because I feel like that is what most scholars need is to get comfortable on the stage and speaking. I would also keep the part where everyone gets to choose their own topics because then that gives everyone the freedom to express themselves and show everyone what they feel strongly about and what they want to see change to. I believe that I am very ready and excited to take action towards my problem because I feel like now that everyone got to hear what I wanted to say, then maybe others will agree with me and wanted to help me and help each other so we could get some change going. I feel like if we are as passionate about the problem, as we clearly showed it, than it doesn't matter or age or where we are from, no one will be able to stop us from making change to a community that deserves it!
ReplyDeleteBefore Project Soapbox, I have always been too afraid to present my thoughts. Partly because I thought my ideas were too stupid, and also because I felt as if I didn't have a voice, or an audience that would care. But this experience had shown me that I DO have a voice, and that in order to make people care, I myself need to make sure they understand why they should.
ReplyDeleteProject Soapbox has also shown me that the first step in overcoming a problem is to acknowledge it. With us telling our community these issues, these ideas will forever be in the back of their minds. I have also been influenced my fellow classmates, especially by the fact that there are so many problems that are equally important, as well as the multiple perspectives that come with them.
This workshop showed me that public speaking isn't just about going up to a podium and reciting yet another English essay. It's about being confident, knowing your facts, and being able to communicate effectively with your words.
My writing has not improved by very far, only because I wasn't able to participate in the workshop in the first 2 weeks, but I have felt that having learned how to properly format a speech has helped a lot. I have improved on incorporating facts, but not much else. I do need to learn how to edit, and revise my writing.
I have given a few speeches before, but honestly, I never really felt comfortable under the spotlight. But that's why I was eager to jump headfirst into the project; I wanted to learn the proper way of presenting a speech.
I liked how our speeches weren't dominated too much by structure; we were able to come up with our own prompt, one we felt passionately on. This allowed us to dig deeper, and by doing so, we as the presenters have a more prominent connection with the topic, allowing us to think under the surface level to be creative.
One of the things I learned was how to get your point across, and not confusing your audience with too many facts or ideas. Concentrate it down so the formatting is simpler and much easier to understand when spoken verbally. By being able to communicate more effectively, we are able to have more awareness of ourselves and those around us.
I think the workshop as of right now is pretty okay, but as with what Cristina said before, the speeches get kind of repetitive, when the presenters are talking about the same topic. So maybe try to reinforce more unique ideas? And if the students persist in pursuing their original topic, maybe tell them to focus on a specific part?
I definitely feel more confident in public speaking, and also in my own ideas. I will be an agent for change, and I'll most definitely try to continue to take action for my topic. Since I am involved in the Center for Conservation Leadership, I have access to a lot of environmental resources that
I am excited to use.
The writer's workshop helped me improve on my writing by letting me express more of my ideas on paper. I would never imagine that I would have to write a speech on social justice and present it to an audience. I found the blog really useful because it would keep my work and everything we did organized. I enjoyed seeing what my peers would write on the blog because not everyone has the same opinions and thoughts. The workshop impacted me in many ways. First, i improved my public speaking skill. Now i'm a little bit more comfortable when I speak in front of people. Second, this workshop made me more aware of our problems in our community. We dug deep into our research and found a lot of ways to solve problems within our community. Like I said before, I feel better and more confident speaking in front of people. All the tricks and exercises did help me a lot. This workshop taught me that we need to communicate. These problems are caused because people don't talk. I do see myself as an agent for change. Our community needs good changes. We need good vibes. Now i look deeply into situations of our community. I would keep everything the same for this workshop. Nothing was rushed, we had a lot of time for everything. This workshop opened my eyes to reality. It made me see that everything isn't perfect. My issue wont stop quickly, cyber bullying happens all over the world. But if someone speaks up, this problem can slowly fade away.
ReplyDeleteThis whole "summer workshop" has helped my writing greatly in not just the actual writing, but my confidence to write. I have gained confidence in my writing and have found it very helpful, honestly a great experience. But no matter how well I feel I did, there's always room for improvement, especially in the details of my writing.
ReplyDeleteThe blog was also very helpful because I got to express my own feelings or thoughts to my fellow scholars and vise-versa. This blog was also very helpful in the motivational aspect because of peers commenting on my posts as well as others' posts.
This whole experience has helped me in what I feel is the biggest problem I USED to have, public speech. Even though my speech wasn't perfect, it was a great accomplishment for me, I feel more confident to go in front of a large crowd and present whatever it is I have to say. With that said, I see myself in greater places, making a change because the feeling I had after that night made me feel incredible.
If I were to redo the workshop, I would keep all the breathing exercises because they were enlightening and a great help for the speaking portion of the workshop. I would also keep the blog with links to examples of teens our age presenting their own speeches. I would add like a "guest speaker", or somebody who could greatly boost teens' spirits with personal experiences. The only change I would make is the whole more than one person talking about the same topic because after a while, repetition is not very good.
I am very determined to try and make a change in my community, but actions speak louder than words. So until I actually start making a change, I am part of the problem, not the solution.
Thank you for the new and interesting experience this summer, and enjoy the rest of your summer.
Project Soapbox was extremely helpful to me and my writings. It forced me to break away from the traditional writing style that I had become my default setting due to English class. This program gave me the perfect opportunity to infuse my own personality into my writing which I have struggles with for years. It was easier to connect with the audience and my peers with this very personalized type of writing. However, I still could improve the fluency and moving smoothly from one part of my speech to the next.
ReplyDeleteI thought the blog was a great tool. It really helped me see into the mind of my peers and even extract a few abstract ideas to use myself. It also gave me an idea of why they picked the topics they did. Also, because the post required me to make my ideas understandable to others it helped me organize my ideas into a simple format.
I definitely have become more confident as a public speaker. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be but the breathing exercises helped a lot.
I thought the workshop and all the activities were great and I wouldn't change anything. Everything had a purpose and was effective in improving our skills.
The workshop was helpful to me in many ways. It helped my writing by actually letting me express myself. It opened up my mind to a new style of writing. I saw improvement in my creative side of writing. I could still work on being more comfortable in my writing. As in taking more risks. This workshop really helped me become a better public speaker. It helped me build confidence as well as experience. Actually, the very next day I was able to show off my newly gained experience. My friend had asked me to do a reading at her church. I wasn't as nervous as i would have been before and when i went up there and read I felt really comfortable. After i was complimented by the pastor. At that moment i was really happy we had done this workshop.I feel now that I did in a way help become an agent for change. I actually spoke up and defended something I believed in. Regardless the fact if anybody agreed with me or not, it was a self accomplishment. I think everything we did during the workshop was helpful especially the breathing exercises. They were very relaxing and they helped calm my nerves. I'm not a big fan of blogging but it was a nice experience trying it out. Personally it's not for me but I don't mind using one. I will continue to take action for what i believe. Especially now that i know that there is more than one way of supporting the causes i believe in.
ReplyDeleteI would say it was mildly helpful on how you look at it, from a grammatical and form view i didn't improve much, but for content and meaning i think i improved a lot. I learned that the content of a writing can sometimes be more important than how it is formed, especially in the case of a speech.
ReplyDeleteAt first i didn't find it very useful and not fun, but as i did it more i found it more and more enjoyable to share my true thoughts on something and reflect it with my peers. I enjoyed reading my peers comments, and i am only sorry that i did not comment on or let my peers know of things the appealed to me in their replies.
The workshop actually got me to talk with my peers about something that we were writing or creating, and peer edit voluntarily, before i would usually only peer edit if i was asked or told to. But now i am interested to read my peers thoughts and positions and see how they present them.
Before project soapbox i had never really had to speak as intensely before an audience. So I had no idea who i was as a speaker, but after my first practice i saw the pros and cons of my speaking skills and started to work on them with the help of my peers and scholar coaches. After all this i am definitely a better speaker than i was after the first practice speech.
Yes, it helped me truly see all the communities that there are and all that i am apart from. It has taught me to look from an outside view in, instead of an inside view out. When viewing communities, that i am not apart of, i should look at them from an unbiased and understanding view. I have learned that all these different communities can work and interact with each other to make one big effective community
If i really cared about something and was motivated yes, I'd see myself as an agent for change, but if i didn't really care for something then i don't think i would strive to change it. So i guess I'd be a choice driven agent for change.
What would you add/subtract? Why? Actually now that i look back upon all that we have done in the workshop, i see its value and how it has helped me become a better writer and speaker. I wouldn't change anything, i would only add some activities that just help you speak on the spot. i feel that would help with any outlying problems that people may have speaking. The activity that i thought was the most helpful was the group peer discussion, where we looked at everyone's issue and found solutions and counter arguments to it. Although i didn't get to do it, it helped me personally to think of those things when writing and adding content to my speach.
I am still trying to solve my issue for myself, i don't think i spend enough quality time with my family. So i think i need to make it right for myself, before i can try to really convince other people of the influence and good times they are missing by spending less time with their family.
Project Soapbox was so helpful in many ways. It gave me a new way of writing. It was different from my normal English class where i would write a formal essay. I saw improvement in the creative side, and having a different approach. I felt like I could actually write how I talk and that was totally fine. Project Soapbox also allowed me to practice on my public speaking skills in front of a hundred people, which was my first time in front of a big crowd. I was able to practice and see what i needed to focus more on to better myself. It was so useful.
ReplyDeleteI learned writing the speech isn't as important as how it is presented and projected. How well you captivate the audience is key.
In the beginning I didn't find the blog or Project Soapbox useful. Found it rather dull than fun. But as the weeks progressed I learned to much. From my peers thoughts to how many problems our community really had, that we had all neglected. I felt speaking about it was the first step, now it's our turn to actually take action. i do feel like I will continue to find solutions and try to take action in my community.
I liked how the blog connected to what we had learned in the session. The blog helped me collect my ideas before writing. And I saw my peers opinions which was great.
I understood at the end why we did all the things we did, each thing had its purpose.
I am much more confident and feel like I have gained so much knowledge in three weeks. I'm was glad we did Project Soapbox. Great experience it was!
The workshop ended up helping me a lot, though not in the way I initially expected it to. To be honest I had been thinking that we would be covering more regarding speech structure rather that actually presenting the speech. However, to put it simply, I learned that presenting the speech was the structure. I was able to organize my thought and opinions and express them in a manner that was clear and concise yet conversational, so people could actually understand what I was trying to say. I think that I could work more on my word choice. This is because I feel that the quality of speeches and any other written works for that matter also depend greatly on that words you use to enhance it.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I really enjoyed replying to my peers as much as I enjoyed posting on the blog myself. When I posted on the blog I really liked it because I felt like I had the chance to post my raw opinions. I didn't like when we were told to reply to our peers though, because some of the replies seemed kind of forced. I feel it was better when we chose to reply. I haven't really presented a formal speech in front of a large group of people, so I wasn't too sure about my speech-delivery skills. But when I went up on the podium, because of all the guidance I received from both my peers and my coaches, I was actually more confident than I thought I would be up there, and it was fun. So yes, I feel confident as a public speaker now. I also think that by learning to be effective at expressing my ideas and opinions, I can also learn to be effective at making people actually consider them. I see that if I actually try to speak up and let my ideas be heard, I do turn into an agent of change. I realized that by even just influencing our peers or the people around us, even if it's small, change is change. If I were to keep anything in the workshop it would definitely be practicing our speeches beforehand and the relaxation exercises. These activities personally helped boost confidence when we did the actual speeches. The one thing I would change would be what we read as practice for public speaking. I feel that it would be better to read something more.. readable than song-lyrics, mostly because lyrics are in short verses. Everything else was very helpful as well though. Before the Soapbox, sometimes when people made comments that plainly expressed lack of cultural competence, I just let it go because I simply didn't feel like correcting people. Now, I know that in order to really step into my role as an agent of change, I really need to stay strong in my stance, and not let these things slip by, even if I annoy people or make them angry by openly displaying my opinions because I know now that there is always a chance, even if it's small, of trying to influence people towards the better and in turn making our society better. So even in this small way, I will continue working for change, all thanks to Project Soapbox.
Getting to work on Project Soapbox really helped me improve and ultimately grow in many different ways. One of the the areas I saw improvememt on on would be my writing. This 3 week long course really showed me a new way of writing and now I can see the difference between a speech and an essay. I am hoping that this experience helps me write papers better knowing what should go in an essay and what sounds like it should go in a speech. As for the blog I found it very useful. Usually after school I get home and do my homework just by myself. But with the blog, I was able to do my homework with a link to my peers and I got a chance to see just how they are tackling the homework and it really helped me understand how to do things correctly easier. I got to post what I felt and others read it, commented, and helped me revise. I feel like having this resource really helped us all share and give advice or input. I think writing this essay really impacted me into the thinking that everyone has a voice. Before we started and we were watching those videos I didn't think I could actually make a change and get people to listen like those kids did. But after we read the speeches I felt very powerful and in control; I even got a couple of applauses after the event because so many parents and teens agreed with what I had said and that meant a lot to me. After getting to get in front of people and tell them what I had to say, I feel very confident in speaking. I went up to the podium, said my speech with a few studders, and I did it just like all my other fellow peers who did fantastic. My parents had recorded my speech and whenever I watch it I just look so confident and it makes me really proud of myself and my peers for what we had acomplished. I feel like the program gave a good understanding on effective communication. It helped me see that there are many different ways to comunicate feeling. They taught us that while presenting a speech we should have a confident posture, good tone quality, and emphasis on our voices. I never knew so much could go into communicating to an audience! Now that I have gone up and told people how I felt about a certain issue I definitely see myself as an agent for change! If I can get up and say a speech, who knows what else I'm capable of? I could really create a change in my community through my actions and my voice. Who's not to say that we could grow as a community just fom speaking up? If I were to redo this activity, I would definitely keep the part where we watched other kids do the speeches online and I would definitely keep the blog. Another good thing would be to keep the part where we talked about communities and further explaining them and seeking out the different kinds of communities there are and what communities each student is a part of. I would probably change the fact that there were a couple of topics that were the same because we need a variety of issues so that many can relate to so that it doesn't get repetitive. I would also make it mandatory for kids to spend at least two or one of the days in each to week to either stay after or come before school starts to work on the speech. This way the students who are a little iffy on asking for help will get more time with their peers and Scholar Coaches to work. Now that I have gone through Project Soapbox, I do feel as though I will go on with my topic and spread it around because families are growing apart rather than coming together. With the vast expansion of technology, one can only imagine how worse it will get if there isn't a change. Everytime I think of my family I just get so motivated because I just feel like everyone should get to experience the bond a family can have and just how warming and assuring it is to have. I think that my peers and I are really motivated because Project Spoapbox really opened our eyes. For that, I say thank you to Alta and Emily for guiding us, and to Schuler for giving us this experience and showing us that that we definitely have a voice.
ReplyDeleteI felt this was more then a "summer school assignment". I truely enjoyed it. I felt I grew in more percise clified writing, but also think it could still improve. The blog was interesting, but I felt it could be more active. This project helped me gain a deeper understanding of the special needs community that I often work with and helped me identify a large issue it faces. I did gain cinfidence speeking as well.
ReplyDeleteProject Soapbox helped me understand how to do more than just read words of a paper to people. It showed me how to open their minds for new ideas and how to send them a message instead of just speaking words into a microphone. I still think that I could improve on the delivery of my message, and bring more emphasis to the table. I thought the blog was useful, because we were able to share our ideas as well as see what others had to say. It was cool being able to do that, and also being able to reply with feedback on our peers' responses. The workshop definitely opened my eyes to bigger problems. Problems that the whole world is facing, not just a single community. I definitely felt more confident after my speech. I felt like I could speak in front of thousands (probably can't though). I think it helped me understand that I need to find a way to connect with the audience, to get them interested. You need to catch their attention, draw them in, and then they will see, not just listen. I think that I am an agent for change. If I can find an outlet to voice my opinion and help to try to change the world's problems, then I am an agent for change. I grew not just as a speaker, but as a person. This question is always hard to answer, because if things go great, then you don't really know what to change. I guess I would add more time for constructive criticism from peers. We needed more of that, and more people needed to speak up. I think that if I have the chance, I'll definitely try to take action on the issue that I mentioned.
ReplyDeleteOur summer soapbox workshop was fun and helped me learn so many new things. Like how grammar does not always matter and more so that content is key or that there are many issues taking place in our world and it is our job to make the necessary changes.
ReplyDeleteI do believe my writing has improved but in the terms of writing a speech and being able to say what I need to say and not sound like a robot. Of course I still see room for improvement in my writing like being more creative.
The blog was nice because it was a silent way to see what everyone else was thinking. I did enjoy seeing others comment on post because it again was a nice way to see what everyone else thought and to get feedback because we didn't have much time for that in the actual workshop.
This workshop did so many things for me. The most important thing I will take away from this experience is my exposure to the issues surrounding my community and as I said that I have to take the initiative to solve these issues.
Yes I am now a better speaker and just not as far as making speeches go but also just presenting my ideas to a group of friends.
I do see myself as an agent for change. This is because no matter if only one person really listened to my speech and now knows of how teens need more opportunities to voice their opinions or if fifty did either way change has been made for the community of teens in the way that people now know of the issue.
I know that I will definitely try to start a debate program at our school and try to reach out to our board members because I do believe that teens deserving their voices goes beyond just a topic to write about.
Overall the workshop went pretty well but there is always room for improvement. I think that we needed to spend more time speaking even if it wasn't our speeches just to get the practice. I liked the song lyrics because it challenged us to be serious when what we were saying was not serious. Other than that I would not change anything.
To me i felt the workshop was very helpful in helping me improve my writing skills. Im pretty good at free writing but when it comes to organizing my thoughfs i needed alot of help. The workshop greatly helped me to improve and become a better writer in general. Something i obviously need to work on is mu speaking skills, normally i talk very fast & when im nervous..well you know, i talk extremely. I really need to work on speaking slowly in general but especailly in public. I loved the blog, being able to be read everyone's ideas in an organized way not only helped me write my speech but opened my eyes to different ideas. I also liked being able to share my ideas & thoughts with everyone. I think you should definitely do something like this again, i thought it was very useful. Because of the workshop i feel more comfortable expressing my opinions about things i need to be improved although i know i may stand alone. Although my speaking skills still need work i do feel i improved, i wasn't as nervous the day of the speech & i stopped shaking. If i were to have to do the workshop again i would definitely talk to the scholar coaches like i did because when i didnt know how to explain myself they help me find my way & eventually say what i wanted to, id also make sure to spend my time wisely & not to procrastinate because ill be honest i did procrastinate alot. Id like to continue to help my community but i feel like id offend the administration with trying to change the way they run things.. But in the end i feel like slowly i can make change & hope to do so.
ReplyDeleteI found the writers workshop to be helpful in the aspect that I now have new ways layout my writing. I think I improved on the structure of my writing but I still think I can improve on the actual content like being more detailed or making connections. I found the blog useful because I got to state my own opinion and I had an opportunity to look at what my peers wrote too. I had fun with the blog for the same reasons that I found it useful. The workshop impacted me because we dove into topics that aren't really talked about at our age like immigration, racism, deportation and much more. Since we presented such bold topics in front of an audience, I feel much more confident as a speaker! I do feel that the workshop helped me develop an understanding for effective communication, with it it's much easier to get my point out and understand other peoples ideas clearly. One of the activities I would keep would be when we got in a group and talked about our issues in our own communities. It was really helpful getting feedback from group members and also getting ideas for possible solutions. If I could change something it would be limiting the number of speeches for the same topic, during the presentation many of the topics were repetitive. I will continue making my voice heard in my pending issue. With the help from other minds that think like me, I'm very motivated to work towards change because it's a very important issue to me and the change is almost there! Overall, I really enjoyed the workshop and thought it was such a wonderful experience.
ReplyDeleteI found the workshop helpful in the way that it really opened me up to a different style of writing, one in which I had more freedom, and I wasn't just checking things off as I went. Next the blog, personally the blog was useful in the sense it gave me a look into the mind of everyone else, allowing me to set myself apart from the pack, and to attack a serious issue that may often be overlooked; posting on the blog was fun to a certain extent, but I may have started to dislike it a bit because with so many posts, and so little time to go over them, I felt like I was doing it for no reason, and my voice was never really heard. Public speaking wise this workshop boosted my confidence a little in the actual speaking department, but my speech writing confidence has been boosted a whole lot more, mostly because I don't feel like public speaking has been a problem of mine, as long as I'm confident with what I'm saying. I guess you could say I have become an "agent for change" through this workshop because I felt my inner politician come out, as you probably saw with my enthusiasm. A few things I think should be kept in the program consist of the tongue twisters, group activities, and everything that involved speaking infront of people, somethings I think should be removed are the breathing techniques, yeah that's pretty much it the only thing. Me continuing my fight?...lets talk after college, because I have no idea. Anyway to finish things up I would like to say that even though this did cut into my schedule quite a bit, I don't regret doing any single thing because I was surrounded by wonderful peers, and a great coaching staff.
ReplyDeleteI thought this workshop helped me improvemy writing skills a lot. This workshop made me move out of my comfort zone (writing Mel-Con) into writing a speech. I actually quite enjoyed the change in writing. I do believe the blog helped me think of better ideas for a topic and also made me think of how to make my speech stronger. I do feel more confident as a speaker, and find myself more able to talk to a wide group of people, whether it be a classroom, or family, or just a group of friends.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that this helped me with communication. I feel more confident in my speech skills, and am able to talk more confidently in front of people.
I don't think there should be anything changed in this program. I did think the tongue twisters and focusing on moving our mouths more definitely helped before the actual speech. I also found the breathing excersizes to be very useful. The workshop itself was a great experience and I wouldn't change it.
After this workshop, I do feel more confident in myself to take action in, not only the subject I focused on, but what other scholars focused on that I agreed with. I definitely want to stand up and change a lot of things in this world. But, I'll start at a soapbox, where I shall preach my ideas and hopefully others will listen to me and agree with me. One step at a time.
The workshop definitely helped me improved my writing. Because I didn't have to write in a very strict format like MEL-Con, I could speak freely and passionately about the topic I chose. It helped me rekindle my passion for writing and the true art of it. I improved greatly in making an argument and getting a point across which is good for analysis and argument papers but I do think I could take it further and better myself.
ReplyDeleteThe blog was a very useful tool. It helped me think and reflect on my topic as well as other topics people wrote about, which opened my eyes. I learned new things thanks to my peers and it was easy to have discussions with them on the blog.
The workshop impacted me greatly. Watching my peers speak out about what they believed in or thought about issues in modern society definitely opened my eyes to the reality of it all. Again, I learned a lot and I want to better myself as a person. The three weeks I spent on this workshop are three weeks of knowledge I gained.
I do see myself as a more confident speaker. I've spoken in public prior to Project Soapbox, but I've never spoken as confidently as I did that night. I felt powerful and proud to share things about myself and the topic I spoke about.
Project Soapbox helped me see things in a different and better angle. Not everything is one-sided, flat or pointless and I saw that through the arguments that my peers made in their speeches. I felt like a powerful public speaker when I stood at that podium. Speaking is one of the biggest ways to communicate, and speaking about an issue that needs to be fixed is always good to do. I do see myself as an agent for change. Project Soapbox showed me a lot about what needs to be changed in this world or in our society whether it be along the lines of nature, self-image or related to how everyone lives their life.
If I were to redo this workshop, I wouldn't change a thing. My experience working with my peers and Scholar Coaches definitely helped me come far and become successful. The tongue twisters was a good warm up, as well as the mini-games we did to get our brains flowing. The little groups we had definitely helped me become comfortable speaking. I will continue to speak out and loudly concerning my issue. I'm motivated to help all people become comfortable with themselves and their bodies, no matter how he or she looks like. Being happy is something that everyone deserves to feel, nothing less. I am sure that my issue has opened up the eyes of others as well.
I think the workshop helped me organize my thoughts in a manner that could be understood. I felt I always had these thoughts, but have never had a chance to write them down, much less present my thoughts to others. It was a welcoming experience that I enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the workshop helped me see what topics reached out to different people, plus it also let me see how some people presented similar topics but in a different manner. It let me see the diversity, and similarities in each of my peers thoughts.
Writing stuff on the blog helped me out a bit I believe in organizing my thoughts. At least it gave me a foundation of where to start at, which helped out in the long run. It felt kind of like brainstorming in order to finally reach the topic I wanted.
This workshop I felt was very well conducted. It was coordinated in my opinion, and the tactics used to try and help us out I thought were in the right track. The only thing I would have changed though, would have been what we used to practice saying our speeches. I believe it would have been more beneficial if we would have actually said a famous speech or something in that area rather than song lyrics. Like I stated before though, it was in the right track, I just think this would have been more appropriate.
I think that I’m a lot more of a confident speaker now than I was before. My problem was always talking, I’m not much of an active talker, I like staying quiet. I think now though, if I prepare a speech I’ll be able to talk confidently.
Now war, my driving topic, well I think I’ve always been one to think that we fight for reasons that are small. I’ll stand by what I said, but what more I can do, I don’t know. Hopefully when I’m older I can be able to make more of impact on this topic and spread it across the world. The difficult part would be having people follow, because people aren’t exactly welcoming to change. But I do think that’s it’s necessary for us to unite and not fight between one another, we’re all human, and yet we kill each other in a horrible manner.We might be able to change, but it’ll take time, at least for all of us to change, or even a majority.