Young speakers' poise inspires
Kerri Thoreson
I said “yes” to teacher and friend Daniel Connelly when he extended an invitation to judge Summit Christian Academy’s speech meet last week. Daniel is one of those people who is absolutely doing exactly what he was born to do ... teach young people. Fellow judges, Dustin Ainsworth, Keith Boe, Kay Poland, John Thomas Sinclair and I were awed by the poise and preparation of over 100 speakers in first through sixth grade.
The children selected from several general topics to memorize and present. I’ve judged speech competitions of older students and many of these elementary students would definitely hold their own among them.
Two young men chose topics that I’m quite familiar with ... Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I was moved by third grader Luke Johnson and fifth grader Micah Brumbach. Not only did they recite flawlessly, they seemed to connect with and understand the significance of the iconic words spoken by long-ago presidents.
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