Suggested Title: Have Speech Will Travel By Dr. Jeffrey M.

Bowen When I became a high school freshman in Laconia, New Hampshire in the late 1 !"#s, the school was alrea$y a star in the worl$ of the National %orensic Leag&e 'N%L(. )he main reason was *&th +stes who ta&ght Latin an$ a$,ise$ the $ebate an$ speech cl&b. Mrs. +stes ha$ g&sto an$ an &nben$able will. -he wo&l$ accept nothing less than yo&r best performance. I was intereste$ in $ebating, b&t I str&ggle$ to &n$erstan$ the Leag&e topic for the year. I ha$ little ability to intimi$ate opponents with cle,er repartee. .fter a few $efeats, Mrs. +stes $ryly commente$, /Well, what happene$ to 01234 I $efa&lte$ to speech. I fig&re$ yo& co&l$ win there with something memori5e$ ahea$ of time. )he big speech e,ent in o&r comm&nity was the ann&al 1#-hea 6ri5e -pea7ing 8ontest which allowe$ st&$ents to $eli,er either h&moro&s or $ramatic interpretations. 0o& ha$ to memori5e a 1"9min&te slice from a play, an$ then perform it while $ramati5ing all of the characters in t&rn. My mother, who was pretty $ramatic herself, enth&siastically became my home coach. I won the 1#-hea contest e,ery year as I learne$ to play $ifferent characters with ,oice inflections, a t&rn of the hea$, an$ s&n$ry han$ gest&res. Later on in high school, I $eci$e$ to compete in /original oratory4 where yo& co&l$ write a speech, memori5e it, an$ try to $eli,er it pers&asi,ely. I fo&n$ that p&tting $ifferent characters into a speech an$ playing their roles wor7e$ really well. )he $ebaters an$ I went to competitions all o,er New +nglan$ an$ on to two national championships in Misso&la, Montana an$ Ho&ston, )e:as. I fon$ly remember sitting with o&r team on a ,ista$ome train o&t west, eating bag l&nches Mrs. +stes insiste$ we bring. My personal tri&mph was reaching the finals at Misso&la. +specially when n&ns were among the ;&$ges, my moralistic an$ patriotic themes ma$e a big hit. Nowa$ays I reali5e that my orations inspire$ a lifelong commitment to .merican ,al&es an$ character. )he N%L ta&ght me the importance of engaging in school life, an$ how to hol$ my hea$ &p, pro;ect my ,oice, an$ ma7e eye contact. I also learne$ that teamwor7, especially when foc&se$ on c&rrent iss&es, b&il$s share$ p&rpose, social an$ emotional competence, an$ moti,ation < all 7eys to aca$emic learning. Deca$es later I became s&perinten$ent of 6ioneer -chool District in northern 8attara&g&s 8o&nty. Loo7ing for lessons ta&ght me by the National %orensic Leag&e, I fo&n$ an array of st&$ent e:trac&rric&lar acti,ities, an$ reso&rcef&l, caring coaches an$ a$,isors. I was really please$ to $isco,er

that speech9gi,ing ha$ en$&re$ in the form of competiti,e paper presentations sponsore$ by the %&t&re %armers of .merica. Li7e the National %orensic Leag&e, the %%. as7s st&$ents to e:ercise their p&blic spea7ing s7ills. By no coinci$ence, the %%. n&rt&res yo&ng self9 starters who can organi5e themsel,es an$ e:ec&te plans, an$ whose e:pertise will propel them towar$ e:cellent careers. Before I retire$, the %%. ma$e me an honorary member. )heir pla=&e always remin$s me that e:trac&rric&lar acti,ities are a ,ital e$&cational asset. .mong many similar after9school acti,ities, those of organi5ations li7e the N%L an$ the %%. stan$ o&t beca&se they &ni=&ely celebrate comm&nity priorities an$ tra$itions. Best of all, they teach o&r yo&ng people how present themsel,es well an$ to comm&nicate a positi,e message to the p&blic. 9>9 Note? Dr. Jeffrey Bowen recently retire$ after ser,ing as s&perinten$ent of 6ioneer an$ %illmore school $istricts. He marrie$ a member of the Laconia, N.H. high school $ebate an$ speech cl&b who recently retire$ as s&perinten$ent of West @alley school $istrict. *eporte$ly, $espite his oratory, she still wins the $ebates. Note: Published in the Laconia Evening Citizen, Laconia, N.H. as a eatured opinion, and in The !u alo Ne"s as #$% &ie"' on the opinion page, (ece)ber *, +,-..