The girls in my Girl Scout troop are putting on a one day event (the actual event will last for 2 hours) for the service unit as their Silver Award Project...(at the risk of being redundant, the Silver Award is the highest award a Cadette Girl Scout can earn). The actual event has been broken into various parts, with each girl having the responsibility for completing their specific parts of this project. They are also allegedly working together to help each other out...at least that's what they're supposed to be doing. Twelve and her friend Eventempered have been involved, so far, in making registration and promotional fliers for the event. They have worked well together and can now check that part off of their "Things To Do" list.
Another item on Twelve's "To Do" list was promotion of the event. One of the things that Twelve had to do was contact the troops who had not signed up for the event to see if they might be interested in attending. I think that speaking on the phone can be a difficult thing for some people, calling a stranger can be quite intimidating...especially for a twelve year old. So Twelve and I spent some time reviewing proper phone etiquette and then I placed one phone call so that Twelve could hear the conversation and make her "script".
As we started, Twelve was very nervous. She sat right up against me (under the auspices of wanting to hear what I was saying...but I think being near me helped calm her nerves.) The first couple of calls that she made were tough for her, but great learning experiences. As she continued with the calls I watched her body posture and confidence increase. At one point I watched as the "aha" light bulb, lit up above her head, and her voice and speech went from tentative to exuding confidence. Now that's what Girl Scouting is all about!
Can you remember any of your "aha" moments? Are you willing to share?
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I was an ultra-shy child, teen and college student. I avoided oral presentations in school at all cost. Then, during a class in graduate school, I discovered that an oral presentation of a written paper was a requirement. I liked and admired this particular professor and worked really hard at researching and writing my paper. When it was time to present in front of the class, I got up, took a deep breath and then proceeded to wow them. It was my defining "aha" moment.
Like Joan I always hated oral reports in school.
Nearly 10 years ago I was taking a graduate level course (my husband called it 17th grade) and was part of a group project. At the time I was considering a career change.
It was a debate (not my forte) but apparently I was prepared and did well enough to earn an A-, while some of my younger teammates didn't do as well, getting Bs.
I definitely have that "shy gene." I'm a writer, not a talker.
But, I guess that was an "aha" moment for yours truly.
Thanks for bringing back a good memory, Lynn.
I've watched Mister Hombre stumble through conversation before. As soon as the conversation shifts to a subject that is his forte, he transforms into a confident, knowledgeable man.
The Missus tends to be guarded, making it harder to recognize aha moments. One of hers involved construction of the back yard fish pond. The Mister did the research, ordered the pump, chose the location, designed the reservoir and waterfall and chose the landscaping stone. The project was complete, but they had not achieved the finished "look" they were hoping to achieve. They decided to think the project over for a few days. when the Missus had a moment of enlightenment flipping through the pond book in America's favorite reading room. Eureka.
She called the Mister that evening to inform him that they "did it wrong". Correcting the situation meant removing eight hundred pounds of rock, re-digging a section of the pond while the liner was in place (thousand gallons of water was in place", swapping out the eight hundred pounds of rock for more appropriate rock and re-leveling the walls. Problem solved.
As a homeschooler, we have a lot of "ah ha" moments. The most recent being with learning rounding. I connected the lesson to something she's already very familiar with...shopping. My first example was when something is priced $1.99 how we round that up to $2.00. The lights went on and she was set.
As far as confidence...I think she's been really nervous about her upcoming test...so we did a practice test...just to see. She got a 87% on it and the only things that she missed were things she didn't understand or we hadn't covered yet. I'm very proud. We went over the things she missed and are now ready for the real thing...which looks so much easier than the practice. Makes me wonder about the standards.
BTW: we do a Presentation Club in our homeschooling group so the kids can get used to public speaking. DD has always done great (much better than her mom!) and it's great to see the other kids doing so well too.
Joan - You may have been an ultra shy child, but you have definitely come into your own as an adult!
Patti- I remember an undergraduate course (aptly titles "Speech")in which we had to give speeches (I know that's quite a stretch)...The professor "loved" my speeches and how great my eye contact was...I never remembered looking anyone in the eye... Of course you have the "shy gene"...Joan and I have it too...it must run in "our" family!...Right sis!
Patches - Your aha moment was quite practical in nature...how great that you were able to make the necessary changes, even though it involved so much extra work.
Renee - Isn't it great to see those "aha" moments in our kids? I love seeing that light go on when I am able to explain/show something to Ten or Twelve...and they really "get it"! Sounds like Darly is more than ready for her test!
Lynn if you ever had a "shy gene" I must have missed it while we were living in different towns. You are the most outgoing of all of us just like Uncle B was. Joan has had more than a few shy moments and so have I but both of us seem to have overcome them.
What a great thing to do for your daughter. I used to do pretend phone calls with mine before she had to make calls too.
I guess my aha moments come from the public speaking i did for a while at work. "Damn," i thought, "i am actually GOOD at this." Who would have thought?
Only Oldest - I was "outgoing" so that I could hide my shyness.
Meno - Based on the way you write and the things you write about, I am not at all surprised that you are good at public speaking!
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