Revamping "Say it Out"

Dear all,

Christina, Yu Jen and I had a meeting this evening to examine why our "Say it Out" sessions didn't work out and the ways we can improve the session.

We all agreed that the fundamental purpose of the session, i.e. to develop confidence in the children to speak up, should not change. I spoke to one of the students at Movie Night and he told me that "Say it Out" is a useful session and he enjoyed it very much. That's very comforting.

We postulated the following reasons the students voted against "Say it Out" in the last session:

1) Too much teaching. They loved the games, but when the teaching gets too long, we begin to lose them.

2) No focus. We did not introduce the topic at the beginning of the lesson, but jumped straight into the activities expecting the children to know what we are trying to get across.

3) Peer pressure. We'd like to believe that not all who voted against the session really meant what they say. They could be seeing this as a challenge and wanted to display their disregard of our authority over them. Some did so because they are influenced by their friends.


Thus, instead of coming out with a entirely new programme, we think it's more practical to refine what we have now. We came up with the following points:

a) More games. One game to start the session and another to end it. We should also make known the agenda for the session at the beginning.

b) Alternate sessions of debate, lesson and "mini-toastmasters". We can experiment with different methods of delivery.

c) On-going Competition. We divide the students into two groups competing against each other in debates and "mini-toastmasters" for a group prize at the end of the year. This will give them a sense of belonging to a group and incentive to attend the programme.

d) Group Leaders. Leaders of the two groups are elected for a three-month term by popular vote. They have the responsibility of reporting attendance, leading discussion for debates, etc. This will make the programme less facilitator-imposed and more student-initiated.

e) Angel & Mortal. This is suggested by one of the students. A volunteer can act as angel to a few student-mortals, exchanging messages and small gifts with them. Participation is voluntary.


We propose to hold our next "Say it Out" session directly after the June holidays (6 July or 13 July). We'll not be giving them a lesson, but we'll be providing them with an overview of what we will do for the rest of the year. This will let them know that we value their opinion.

We can hold the election of group leaders, form the two groups and assign angels to mortals in the first session.

We appreciate any more ideas to improve our 'Say it Out" sessions. Please let us know if you have any more points to add.

Thank you!