One of the biggest fears college students have according university studies is speaking in front of a group. You would think they were facing a firing squad! That’s really sad when you think about it. In the early years, most elementary students loved the show and tell part of their lessons. They could bring in their favorite toy or something they thought was interesting and tell the class all about it. Most young students loved doing this and with no sign of fear. I had a 7th grader stand up to give his talk about the local cow breeder that visited his farm on a regular basis. To this farmer’s son, there was nothing wrong with this topic. Unfortunately, I suggested he return with a different topic!
It makes you wonder what happened along the way. The answer may be the fact that speaking in front of class in the upper grades has all but disappeared. Of course, students get more self conscious as they get older and that plays into the fear of speaking too.
What would happen if “show and tell” or some version of it became a regular part of the classroom all through the grades? I think that would have a positive effect overcoming the fear of speaking in front of a group. Wouldn’t that be a valuable life time skill?
