The middle school cohorts of the Pedrozzi Young Scholars Program recently took their annual trip to Las Positas College to meet with the award-winning Forensics team, the Las Positas Talk Hawks. Each year, the Scholars learn about public speaking.
The cohorts traveled to LPC via a Wheels bus. After arriving on campus and getting settled into a classroom, Jim Dobson, coach of the Forensics team, shared about the speech and debate competitions and tournaments that the Talks Hawks participate in. After sharing helpful information, Jim invited the Scholars to suggest topics for an impromptu speech by one of the Talk Hawks. Brennan Mock, a Pedrozzi Scholarship recipient at LPC, used the Scholars’ suggestions in an entertaining speech. This speech served as an example for the speeches the Scholars would all be giving later.
The Pedrozzi Young Scholars were split into teams to have a mini-tournament. Each team had randomly assigned topics to argue. Some examples of topics the Scholars debated included cats vs. dogs, roller coasters vs. water slides, Disney vs. Universal, Marvel vs. DC, and more. After many rounds, three winners were awarded trophies.
This fun format allowed the Scholars to learn about and practice public speaking in an engaging and exciting way. The Pedrozzi Young Scholars had a great time at this event. A huge thank you to the Las Positas Talk Hawks for hosting!
