Sreya Rayaprolu

Sreya is an undergraduate student in Computer science at UC Berkley.  Sreya has taught courses on public speaking and persuasive writing. She has been involved with teaching and tutoring for six years. Sreya is passionate about teaching critical thinking skills to youth. She emphasizes engagement and critical thinking in her lessons and is particularly skilled at teaching kids to dig deep to develop the reasoning that supports their arguments. Sreya has a heart for teaching children to critically evaluate information and understand opposing viewpoints so they can create informed opinions that will impact the world around them.  She deeply values the skills that come with debate and has a passion for teaching it to young people to inspire them to participate in school debates and beyond. 

Debate:

In this debate class, students will

• Learn the fundamentals of Public Forum debate with the goal of preparing for and competing in a tournament.

• Learn the importance of communication skills, as well as strategies to improve their persuasive speaking.

• Learn about how to craft an effective argument, then how to defend their ideas in a fast-paced debate round, while also critiquing their peers and their own arguments for improvement.

• Classes will cover analyses of past and current topics, practice debate rounds, and different public speaking and debate exercises.

• Students are expected to spend some time out of class to prepare their cases and research and will have the opportunity to learn, practice, discuss their research, and ask questions in class.

• Students are also expected to be willing to work with other students in the class due to the collaborative nature of the debate.

 

Speech:

This class will prepare students to deliver a well-organized speech to any audience while building their self-confidence and public speaking ability.

• Students will write several speeches in this class (ie. narrative, persuasive, expository), with writing workshops and lectures dedicated to crafting cohesive, well-written speeches.

• Students will also learn and practice different communication skills through speaking exercises and by presenting their speeches to the class. Through teacher and peer feedback, students have the opportunity to bolster their strengths, improve their weaknesses, and make their speeches even better.

• Classes will also include practice in the style of different competitive speech events, research exercises, and exposure to news and current events.

• Students are occasionally expected to spend some time out of class to write and practice their speeches but are always expected to be kind to one another to ensure everyone feels comfortable stepping outside of their comfort zone.

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