Every year at Bloomfield Christian School, the upper school students take part in an annual speech meet competition. It stands as an iconic tradition that promotes the development of essential public speaking skills, interpretation and consideration of timeless classic pieces, and of course, friendly competition. The student is given the allotted time for presentation, 4-6 minutes, and their general categories are set, but selection and interpretation are up to them. The pieces presented take four unique categories: speech, poetry, dramatic prose, and narrative prose. These four rich and diverse categories allow the student to be immersed in multiple types of writing from many various eras and cultures.
I myself have presented works from quite a variety of genres in my time at this school. One year it was Winston Churchill’s iconic "Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat" speech, the next it was T.S Eliot’s fascinating poem "The Hollow Men," this year it’s J.R.R Tolkien’s timeless "Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold" taken from The Hobbit. Every year I have been given a new perspective on the great works and ideas of the ages through these various categories and authors. Another factor that makes speech meet stand out from any other ordinary recitation is the interpretive factor it possesses. For example, in my time at this school, I have heard at least four different presentations of "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes, but each time it has been delivered and interpreted by the presenter differently. Whether it be in the stress of the syllables and pronunciation of the words or dramatic tone and gestures, each time has been a unique and fascinating experience for me the listener.
Plenty of preparation time and a dedicated workshop day make sure that the student is fully prepared and ready for presentation. Once the final presentation day arrives, students are placed in separate rooms based on category and present their piece in front of a predetermined panel of judges, usually teachers or outside sources of expertise and insight. Students are scored on various categories for their presentation, whether it be something as simple as memorization, to something more complex, such as hand gestures or vocal tone and inflection. Once all students have finished presenting, the judges confer and award first, second, and third placements and awards for each separate category and room. These awards give the student a sense of completion and pride in their efforts and study. For me personally, Speech Meet at Bloomfield Christian School is a timeless tradition that will always be one of my finest memories, and something that I will miss greatly when I graduate this year.