Another 25 years and he may be the next Obama. Very dynamic speaker. What was pretty obvious is that he did not write the speech; it was also obvious that he had been coached a great deal in the delivery of the speech. His body and arm movements looked coached. When I went on line I was able to confirm my observations. The speech was written by school district officials. He worked with an oratory coach for at least a couple of months prior to delivering the speech. He also practiced delivering the speech several times each week at his church prior to delivering the speech at the teachers' conference. Even though he didn't write it himself and he had a lot of coaching and time to practice prior to the actual delivery of the speech, I still am impressed by his timing (pausing to wait for the audience response, his movement on stage, his hand gestures, reflection in his voice, raising and lowering of his voice, etc. What it does show is that practice makes perfect. Teacher(s) taught; student learned. Interesting video clip.
Dalton's speech was a great reminder of the importance of believing in our students and setting high expectations. Teachers have the ability to support or discourage students as they learn. For students to be successful, we must believe that no matter where they start out, all children can learn. It's important for us to remember that what we do every day does make a difference and matters---even if we don't realize it at the time.
Dalton's speech reminded me not only of the importance of high expectations, but also the fact that as a teacher I need to repeatedly verbalize that they CAN succeed.
What a great speaker - especially for a young child. This was a great reminder that teachers need to believe that all children can learn. Even when we think we've tried every way to reach them, we have to keep trying. Sometimes our educational system seems to leave some children behind. A struggling student may not qualify for special services for various reasons. Our challenge is to not let these children fall through the cracks. We need to do all we can to help every child succeed.
I love this video! I had watching it a few months ago and was very motivated by this young man. It really reminded me of the self-fulfilling prophecy idea and how vital it is that we speak positives into our students. This world is too full of negatives, so I believe that as educators we need to instill the "I can" attitude in our students. Within every child, there are blessings to be celebrated!
Dalton is quite the motivational speaker, regardless of the coaching & rehersal. The audience was responsive and I feel that is the purpose of such a speaker. Each year, I find myself sitting through a back to school in-service, listening to a pep-talk from our superintendent. We hear the same thing year after year and I find myself tuning out. This young man's feel good - believe in yourself attitude is inspiring. I bet the school staff in Dallas was off to a good start that year!
WOW..I had to hold back the tears so I could focus on the message. Out of the mouths of babes... It was a powerful message that should be played for every school district in the US. How can kids believe in themselves and reach their potential if we as teachers don't really believe in them? Teaching is definitely not an easy profession to be in, but we do have the power to help future generations change the world. We need to take that role seriously each and every day that we are in the classroom.
Another 25 years and he may be the next Obama. Very dynamic speaker. What was pretty obvious is that he did not write the speech; it was also obvious that he had been coached a great deal in the delivery of the speech. His body and arm movements looked coached. When I went on line I was able to confirm my observations. The speech was written by school district officials. He worked with an oratory coach for at least a couple of months prior to delivering the speech. He also practiced delivering the speech several times each week at his church prior to delivering the speech at the teachers' conference. Even though he didn't write it himself and he had a lot of coaching and time to practice prior to the actual delivery of the speech, I still am impressed by his timing (pausing to wait for the audience response, his movement on stage, his hand gestures, reflection in his voice, raising and lowering of his voice, etc. What it does show is that practice makes perfect. Teacher(s) taught; student learned. Interesting video clip.
ReplyDeleteRick
Dalton's speech was a great reminder of the importance of believing in our students and setting high expectations. Teachers have the ability to support or discourage students as they learn. For students to be successful, we must believe that no matter where they start out, all children can learn. It's important for us to remember that what we do every day does make a difference and matters---even if we don't realize it at the time.
ReplyDeleteDalton's speech reminded me not only of the importance of high expectations, but also the fact that as a teacher I need to repeatedly verbalize that they CAN succeed.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great speaker - especially for a young child. This was a great reminder that teachers need to believe that all children can learn. Even when we think we've tried every way to reach them, we have to keep trying. Sometimes our educational system seems to leave some children behind. A struggling student may not qualify for special services for various reasons. Our challenge is to not let these children fall through the cracks. We need to do all we can to help every child succeed.
ReplyDeleteI love this video! I had watching it a few months ago and was very motivated by this young man. It really reminded me of the self-fulfilling prophecy idea and how vital it is that we speak positives into our students. This world is too full of negatives, so I believe that as educators we need to instill the "I can" attitude in our students. Within every child, there are blessings to be celebrated!
ReplyDeleteDalton is quite the motivational speaker, regardless of the coaching & rehersal. The audience was responsive and I feel that is the purpose of such a speaker. Each year, I find myself sitting through a back to school in-service, listening to a pep-talk from our superintendent. We hear the same thing year after year and I find myself tuning out. This young man's feel good - believe in yourself attitude is inspiring. I bet the school staff in Dallas was off to a good start that year!
ReplyDeleteWOW..I had to hold back the tears so I could focus on the message. Out of the mouths of babes... It was a powerful message that should be played for every school district in the US.
ReplyDeleteHow can kids believe in themselves and reach their potential if we as teachers don't really believe in them? Teaching is definitely not an easy profession to be in, but we do have the power to help future generations change the world. We need to take that role seriously each and every day that we are in the classroom.