FRIDAY FLYER-Issue 162

‘Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt’- Attributed to US President Abraham Lincoln

‘Speech is silver, silence is golden’- Arabic proverb from the 9th century

As a massive US Politics and History nerd, I am a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln. I find his speeches and actions inspiring, be it ending slavery in the United States or fighting to save his divided nation. When it comes to the above quote, however, I believe he is completely and utterly wrong. In this article I explain how and why this matters to our students at Epsom.

Every teacher at Epsom knows their students well. We know which students are keen, enthusiastic and love to participate at every opportunity. We also know which students are more cautious, but with a bit of prompting will offer interesting ideas and suggestions. Unfortunately, we also know which students are likely to stay silent over the course of a whole lesson. This may be because they are shy, don’t fully understand what is being taught or simply don’t want to do anything which draws attention to themselves. These students may think the best approach is to listen diligently to the teacher, do what is required of them, produce good written responses and achieve success this way. Ultimately, it is these students who often struggle the most. Of course we want our students to listen to our instructions and advice, but often oracy is undervalued by students as a key means of achieving academic and life success.

In July 2023, the UK Labour Party leader (and potentially the next UK Prime Minister) Keir Starmer argued oracy lessons should be taught in schools. He described the ability to express yourself clearly and confidently as a vital life skill. As a History and Politics teacher, I found myself in complete agreement with this view. I judge the success of my lessons as much by the levels of oral contributions as that of the written answers produced. Remaining silent in one of my lessons is one of the worst things a student can do, as it shows me that they are unwilling or unable to engage with its content. My subject is based around debate, different interpretations and presenting an opinion. This is the foundation of so many crucial areas in life, be it defending a client in court, explaining to a patient why a particular course of medical treatment is in their best interests or haggling with a salesperson to get the best deal possible on a product. Put simply, a student who does not develop these skills in school is going to find themselves at a disadvantage in adulthood.

In my assembly based on the theme of ‘collaboration’, I showed KS3 and KS4 students a clip from the British TV show ‘Educating Yorkshire’. In this, Year 11 student Musharaf struggled to complete his English GCSE due to a severe stammer. Inspired by the film ‘The King’s Speech’ his teacher Mr Burton helped him find his voice by asking him to speak while listening to music. Musharaf went on to pass his GCSEs, graduated from university in the UK and now works as a professional public speaker. If he can do this, there is no reason why any student cannot develop and improve their oracy skills. Developing his oracy built Musharaf’s confidence and empowered him to find his own unique voice. This is what I want to see each of our students do at Epsom.

There are other more practical reasons why developing oracy is important for academic success. The human brain is able to process verbal information more efficiently than written language. For example, the average student could write about 40 words per minute. The same student could speak 140 words per minute. Being able to talk about a subject develops your communication skills, helps you develop your thoughts and means you can engage with others in a more meaningful way than through written communication. Oracy is also a key driver of social mobility. There is a clear link between deprived communities and poor oracy. Those who are able to communicate clearly will always perform better in job interviews, social situations and open more opportunities in life.

At Epsom, we want our students to become confident and active learners. We want them to take risks, be curious and participate fully in lessons and in extra-curricular activities. We want our students to be finding their own unique voice, just like Musharaf from Educating Yorkshire. We want this to take place in a respectful manner (speaking when only appropriate to do so), but if a student thinks they are going to be successful by keeping their lips sealed then I am afraid they could not be more wrong.

Abraham Lincoln may have been a great speaker and iconic historical figure, but he and the 9th century Arabs got this one wrong. I will finish with another quote which I think best shows why oracy underpins academic success;

‘Reading and writing float on a sea of talk’

Don’t understand what this means? Then talk about it with somebody and share your own ideas.

Mr Andrew Thompson
Head of Key Stage Four
History & Politics teacher