Sunday Morning Assignment - Updated

You thought homework ended years ago. Well, here is your Sunday morning assignment. You are now a judge for The American Legion's National Oratorical contest. All you have to do for the A is watch and listen and hope your choice agrees with the real judges. Updated - You may have missed the exam but there's still time for a make-up test. You were given this assignment on Saturday evening for Sunday morning. I don’t know how many of you actually completed the assignment then but it really doesn’t matter for your grade since we are using the honor system anyway. I'm not going to give you an introduction or explanation to the contest. For that you can go back to a post from some weeks ago when I helped judge our state contest. Suffice to say that each contestant gives an 8-10 original oration based on the US Constitution and then comes back for a 3-5 discourse on a particular topic from the US Constitution, either an article of the document or an amendment. Really you should go back to that original post because I still want you to choose who you think did the best job. Just remember, this contest is two more levels above the one I judged. If I succeeded in convincing you that was tough, then this really is up there. OK so pretend it’s Sunday morning, April 11. The contestants are about to come on stage, one at a time for their presentations. They are looking at an audience of 250-300 people, a packed house. They have walked out on this stage and tested the acoustics but the seats were empty then. I don’t know if you have ever worked in front of a packed house but the adrenaline really starts to flow, adrenaline that can be used to help you give your best performance ever but that must be controlled in order not to overcome your performance. Anyway here they come, one at time first for the prepared oration. Watch and listen, form your opinion and then see how much, or how little, you agree with the judging panel. However it comes out, you will have watched three outstanding young people. Remember their names, you may hear from them again. I will give you the winner later. Now they each come back for the assigned topic. That topic is Article 5, the article that lays out the process by which the Constitution may be amended. Remember that it is important they speak on this specific subject.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Now if I just had a drumroll I would cue it here because the contest is over and the winner has been decided. You will see and hear a little more from her in a minute. I can say her without giving anything away since all three finalists were female. Before you scroll down and discover who the seven members of the judging panel crowned as the champion, think for a moment what over $20,000 in scholarships means for any student as they look toward leaving high school and starting college. It is not going to buy a college education but that amount will go a long way down the road to one. Enough from me, scroll down and you will meet the The American Legion's 2010 National High School Oratorical Contest champion. We will see her again at the podium this August in Milwaukee at our National Convention. | | | | | | | | | | | Miss Tori Beth Black from SC