Modesty aside, my eldest son often gets chosen to represent their school in the district and division level competitions so it has become a normal thing for us when he says he will compete and represent their school in a particular contest. I am glad the teachers played a different rule this time. The other students are given the equal opportunity to show off their talents and skills.
Needless to say, I reminded him to start memorizing the piece and practice for an outstanding performance. But he told me that they were not given the piece yet until the teacher/coach calls for a meeting, which happened only after a couple of days.
With two days left before the competition, I could feel the stress because the teacher has not given her word yet as to who will compete for the Oration Contest. She called a practice on Saturday morning and it was only then that she announced that my son will represent their school because he was the only one who was able to memorize the piece well, project a good voice, and show a good performance.
We did nothing during the weekend but practice for his performance. We both cried and argued just to make sure that he will have a perfect delivery during the competition.
During of the competition, we were surprised to see other contestants were wearing costumes and even used props, which is unusual for an oratorical competition. I felt the butterflies in my stomach as I watch them but became more confident that we will win because most of the contestants declaimed.
During the announcement of winners, the judge said, "Oration is not declamation." Just as I thought. She also gave me a stronger feeling that we will win. And so we did! My son won the first place in the District Level!
You can watch the video of his performance in YouTube.
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