On a Thursday afternoon at the West Windsor library, Jaidev Phadke announced he had gotten a tattoo. “Then, I went home to propose to my girlfriend. But, she kicked me in the face?” The class erupted in laughter. Phadke smiled, “And that’s why I was late to work.”
“Why are you late?” — a well-known acting game similar to charades — is just one of the creative ways that Phadke and Jordon DeGroote, both 16, are teaching public speaking at the West Windsor Library this summer. “In the game, students practice using effective body language, improv speaking, and adapting to the audience,” said Phadke.
The free “Interactive Public Speaking” course, offered at the novice and advanced levels, aims to prepare sixth to ninth grade students with life-long speaking skills that can be used for everything from in-class presentations to the “State of Union” address.
“It’s ‘Interactive’ public speaking because you can’t lecture someone on how to speak. They have to practice,” DeGroote said. “Some people think it’s a born talent. I couldn’t disagree more.”
Neither could parents. The novice classes filled up in less than a week after registration opened. The advanced course filled up in just a couple of days.
DeGroote and Phadke, encouraged by high demand, are interested in teaching more students both in and out of the district.
While the district curriculum provides plenty of opportunities for students to practice their public speaking skills through PowerPoint presentations, class debates, and school elections, there is no offered class, elective, or in-school workshop for students to specifically learn these skills.
“Jay [Jaidev] and I are looking to expand ‘Interactive Public Speaking’ classes to the middle school curriculum. It’d be like a one to two-day workshop. We’re also thinking of bringing it down to Trenton at the Young Scholars Institute,” said DeGroote.
But first Phadke and DeGroote have more popular summer classes to teach at the West Windsor library. The completely filled advanced public speaking course starts on Wednesday, August 13.
DeGroote and Phadke, rising juniors at High School South, are both well-practiced speakers as active members and officers of South’s Model United Nations club, the top public school team in North America. M.U.N. delegates compete to represent their country’s interests on current issues, leading committees to mock resolutions through collaborative problem solving and impromptu speeches, sometimes in front of more than 200 participants.
Said DeGroote: “Through M.U.N., I’ve probably given over 100 speeches.” It was also through M.U.N. that DeGroote and Phadke first became friends in ninth grade.
“We counter-balance each other,” Phadke said. “Jordan’s the imaginative one. My goal is to ground him.”
Both interested in entrepreneurship, he and DeGroote originally planned to make Interactive Public Speaking a for-profit enterprise.
“My mom takes a Toastmasters [communication and leader development program] class at her work and she came to me asking for help on a speech,” Phadke said. “I thought a similar class would be a great idea for students to learn public speaking and speech-writing when they’re still young,” Phadke said.
But after running into logistical difficulties, Phadke and DeGroote decided to offer free courses instead.
“Being non-profit really helped us out. Big thanks to the Youth Programming department [at West Windsor Library]. They’re responsible for the PR, the flyers, and setting up registration. We couldn’t have done it without them,” DeGroote said.
As the course’s teachers, the 16 year olds did not expect to be the students in a room of mostly sixth graders.
“[My students] were the toughest crowd I’ve ever faced. It was definitely a personal lesson in public speaking,” DeGroote said.
Phadke added: “Most of the students were registered for our class by their parents because they thought they were shy. For us, who are naturally loud, it was difficult getting our students to speak up.”
“But some students really bloomed when given the opportunity to speak on something they were passionate about,” DeGroote said.
In addition to M.U.N., DeGroote plays football at South. He lives in West Windsor with his parents and has two older siblings, a brother, 25, and a sister, 23. They moved to New Jersey from Texas in 2009. His mom is a substitute teacher while his dad is retired from the reinsurance business.
Phadke runs cross country and track and is on the orchestra council. He has lived in Plainsboro with his parents since 2000 and has an older sister, 22. His mom works in healthcare while his dad works in sales at a software firm.
Phadke and DeGroote took advantage of the small age gap between them and their students. As peers, they noted that they were able to connect on a more personal level than just “student” and “teacher.” For example, DeGroote and Phadke frequently participated in speaking exercises and games right alongside their students.
“From the feedback we’ve received, they [our students] praised the comfortable learning environment,” Phadke said.
“Because we’re still students, we understand the learning process. It’s still fresh in our minds. This is a prime opportunity for us to pass on our knowledge to others,” said DeGroote.
