Speaking – To convey thoughts, opinions, or emotions orally, to express yourself.
My rationale is built on the premise that to be a better public speaker, one needs to feel free from the fear of the act itself ; and the more experience at it, the better.
History
America – The land of freedom
Most modern Americans can trace their roots to their immigrant ancestors, who came to America to be free.
The immigrants were seeking freedom from religious persecution, economic troubles, political oppression, famines. Others who were brought in forcefully (as slaves or deported criminals), stayed on even after they were freed.
America’s policies throughout time have been democratic and have encouraged immigration (barring recent years).
India – The land of culture and society
India, on the other hand, has always been bound by culture and traditions. (I am not labeling this as good or bad. It just is.) Each person’s value was as estimated in the eyes of society.
Our inherent closeness to our family and friends has meant that almost everything we generally do or say takes a second thought to think about how it will be perceived in society.
We look, and rarely leap.
Even our freedom movement was driven by rebelutionary individuals rather than the masses. We fought for freedom from the English oppression, to go back to our culture and traditions.
Education System
America – Flexible, Fostering independent thinking. Historically, no of opportunities > no of people.
America’s education system encourages students to choose their subjects right from high school. It also happens to be a system designed to boost self-esteem in classes. (Although getting everyone to pass in school lowers standards in high-school and so on, that’s not the focus of our reasoning.)
An effect of this choice for students is that many opt out of mathematics (which builds a foundation for logical thinking), and as a result Americans tend to do and say impulsively, rather than rationally.
This system encourages and demands independent thinking and ability to express opinions. Even relationships with professors are engaging, almost as if they are equals.
India – Methodical, Herd mentality. Historically, no of people > no of opportunities.
In India, the education and social system is hard on students. If you dont perform (which is largely dependent on how well you memorize stuff), you are labelled stupid and looked down upon. This memorization approach does not recognize or encourage independent thinking.
Classroom discussions are conspicuous by their absence. Even teachers are treated as Gurus with respect, raising barriers to open and engaging communication. (That teachers tend to use their dictatorial powers to harm students who oppose them does not help either.)
Effectively, Indians tend to be deprived of a platform to express their views.
As a result of these, Americans are better speakers than Indians.
This post is guilty of generalization (of course).
MIAMI – Florida International University is creating a database of fluent Haitian Creole speakers willing to volunteer their time to help with a number of ongoing efforts to support South Florida’s Haitian community in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Haiti last month.
Interpreters are needed right away to assist the College of Law’s Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic as it helps Haitian immigrants apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). FIU also is responding to a number of requests from its community partners who need Creole interpreters.
This need became evident during the first meeting of the FIU Haiti Relief Task Force, a group of leaders from around the university brought together by FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg for the purpose of coordinating the short, mid- and long-term efforts of the university in response to the Haiti disaster.
Throughout FIU, various departments are identifying and harnessing the knowledge and skills of faculty, staff and students to address the medical, infrastructure and other relief and recovery needs for Haiti. FIU also is committed to assisting its students with ties to Haiti who are experiencing hardship as a result of the earthquake.
The task force’s chairwoman and coordinator, Senior Vice President for External Relations Sandra Gonzalez-Levy, said she was impressed with the number of efforts already under way and wants to support them by creating a centralized database of Creole speakers that can be called upon to assist on different projects over the next few weeks and months.
“We have a very generous university community that wants to help, including eager students who were quick to respond to the call for relief” Gonzalez-Levy said. “This committee will support and amplify those efforts by identifying resources, leveraging partnerships and facilitating information.”
College of Law Dean Alex Acosta explained that the TPS application process is quite detailed and it is imperative that law students and faculty who volunteer to help local Haitians fill out the paperwork have the support of fluent Creole speakers as interpreters.
“We need reliable interpretation because people’s right to obtain TPS status hangs in the balance,” Acosta said. “I’m certain that within the university community we have the people to fill this need.”
Anyone interested in volunteering may fill out the form on the FIU Hope for Haiti:Doing Our Part website. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the South Florida community are welcome.
Media Contact: Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234.
-FIU-
About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu.
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6x9 speaker
