Students in Mr. Rude's and Mrs. ten Hoeve's social studies and literacy classes joined forces to examine topics of social justice during the annual social justice unit. As part of the unit, the students learn of past events that lead to social and legal changes, argumentative speaking and writing, as well as myriad of other hard and soft skills. The students are allowed to pick a social justice issue of their own choosing, research it using primary sources, and then write both an argumentative essay and a speech on the topic. Each year two are selected to participate in the Fords Theater National Oratory Retreat. These two students travel with Mr. Rude to Washington D.C. for a 5 day, once in a lifetime, experience filled with oratory activities, nation-wide networking, and culminates with giving their speech on the stage at Fords Theater.
Due to the pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year, Fords Theater did not offer the in-person retreat, so we chose to showcase these speeches here and at in-person events in and around New Hampton.
Ali Johnson
Olivia Hoy
Hayden Hackman
Jaxon Eckley
Zoey Dreckman
Karla Pickar