Word: skills
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...involve reshaping what it means to work in America. Such a plan would start by changing what it means to be jobless. To begin with, this would require a massive increase in job retraining, one that assured that every laid-off worker had a chance to learn a new skill and years of funding to master it - instead of the six-month shots now generally offered. The Administration's proposal to increase funding to community colleges is a start. But it's only a start. Ideally, the White House needs to propose an omnibus employment-emergency bill that guarantees jobless...
...Many, it seems, do not view oratorical abilities as a skill that can—or should—be taught. While the Expository Writing department offers Expos 40: Public Speaking Practicum in the spring, it caps the course at only 12, likely reflecting the level of undergraduate demand. Compare this to Expos 20, which Harvard requires every freshman to take. Clearly, the powers that be recognize that incoming students, accomplished and talented as they may be, still benefit from an introduction to Expository Writing. And, despite the yearly complaints, Expos 20 does its job. But while public speaking resources...
...pitch their scripts. The list is endless. True, Harvard does not pretend to provide a pre-professional education—we’re not MIT, after all. But learning to speak fluently in public isn’t like studying accounting or journalism. It’s a skill, but it’s a skill with endless application. More likely than not, you’ll find yourself in the spotlight at some point, with a question posed, and all eyes on you. Whether you succeed or flounder in that moment depends quite a bit on practice...
...However, there is a bigger issue at stake here. To think of public speaking as something that can be practiced in an ideal section mischaracterizes it as a pure skill instead of an art form. There’s a big difference between an adequate orator and an inspiring one, and the difference does not lie in avoiding obvious faux pas, like not breaking into a terrible sweat or remembering the rules of grammar. Undergraduates could probably figure out the mechanics of public speaking without lessons. But when it comes to crafting a persuasive message and delivering...
...they run and exert endless energy in attempts to motivate their peers. Yet, on a campus where the majority of organizing occurs via e-mail lists and Facebook events, many student leaders spend more time online than on stage. While this experience is certainly valuable, it exercises a specific skill set that does not necessarily translate to real-time oration...