One may say that having a pop quiz in math may be the most difficult task to date. In truth, nothing comes remotely close to the stress of giving a speech. To a large audience. In the auditorium. For a final grade. With the help of Ms. Pepperman’s Public Speaking and Writing class however, all hope is not lost. As many know, public speaking is the act of delivering speeches to a large audience. In this class, students do not only learn the fundamentals of oral delivery, but collaborate in a tightly-knit classroom environment with the opportunity to foster a united growth between all the students involved.

Ms. Pepperman is very strategic in her methods of teaching her students; I myself was once a freshman enrolled in her course. She effectively targets the different weaknesses of inexperienced speakers through various speeches, each speech building off the current unit she is teaching. For example, in the Sales Pitch speech, where students are asked to sell a real estate property to someone in the audience, the associated activities and lesson plans covered the topic of persuasion. Key aspects such as Ethos, Pathos, and Logos were discussed, allowing the students to build a strong and persuasive character for themselves that others can trust. Using what I learned from Ms. Pepperman’s class, let me solidify my reasons on how efficient her techniques are using Logos.

In an interview conducted with three students currently within the Public Speaking and Writing course at Morris Hills, an abundance of vital information and examples were provided to help understand the structure of different projects and their effectiveness. One student, Nathan Lucas, who is also a distinguished member of the Hilltopper, provided much needed clarification and insider information about the Shark Tank project Ms. Pepperman has devised. The project, Nathan tells us, is “essentially a Shark Tank episode, in which as a group, we come up with a product, design a presentation and make a logo, and then divvy up the speaking where people talk about aspects of their presentation.” Nathan believes that the Shark Tank project was a vital factor to getting him out of his comfort zone, telling us that he found it exciting to “work in groups and specialize in a specific aspect of the presentation, learn how to conduct actual research as well, and be able to communicate and tell our ideas to our friends and classmates.”

Is this Logos enough for you to see my point? Well, Ms. Pepperman definitely thinks it does. Thanks to her class, students across Morris Hills are truly able to form meaningful relationships with their peers and understand the art of strong communication through both oral delivery and non-verbal cues through captivating projects.