As the staff and students of north American

As the staff and students of north American schools say goodbye to their long summer break, here is one young student who has been doing more than just hanging around the skateboard park over the holds.

• An exceptionally charming Dalton Sherman recorded his infamous convocation speech for the Dallas Independent School District, asking his audience. lieve? ”. o you be “D Since winning a big oratory competitio n in Dallas, he has spok en at numerous ch urches and events all over Dallas

The Dallas Independent School District which according to the Council of the Great City Schools is “one of the nation’s fastest improving school districts, ”. With 230 schools and more than 157, 000 students, Dallas ISD is home to the top two public high schools in the country.

• 20, 000 delegates at the Dallas Convention

• Dalton repeats the signature phrase 11 times during his keynote speech. These lines emphasize the central theme that teachers and students need to believe in each other.

• 1. “Do you believe in me? ” [0: 43] • 2. “Do you believe that I can stand up here fearless and talk to over 20, 000 of you? ” [0: 51] • 3. “Do you believe in me? ” [1: 12] • 4. “Do you believe in my classmates? ” [2: 05] • 5. “Do you believe that every single one of us can graduate ready for college or the workplace? ” [2: 15] • 6. “Do you believe in your colleagues? ” [4: 32] • 7. “Do you believe in yourself? ” [5: 50] • 8. “Do you believe that what you’re doing is shaping not just my generation, but that of my children and my children’s children? ” [6: 01] • 9. “Do you believe that every child in Dallas needs to be ready for college or the workplace? ” [6: 40] • 10. “Do you believe that Dallas students can achieve? ” [6: 50] • 11. “Do you believe in me? ” [7: 45]

• Sherman uses other repetitive figures of speech. Among these, here are two of the most powerful: • “I can do anything… be anything … create anything … dream anything … become anything … because you believe in me. ” • [1: 28]

• “We need you” is repeated five separate times in the speech, making this a secondary theme (along with “Do you believe? ”). • [5: 47, 6: 34, 6: 58, 7: 02, 7: 10]

• Sherman makes the speech personal by calling out specific groups within the massive audience. On every instance, his reference draws applause from that segment of the audience. • “Let me ask you a question, Dallas I. S. D. ” (Dallas Independent School District) [1: 55]

• He refers to the different educational roles in sequence. Nearly everyone in his audience should fall into one of these groups; the effect is that his message seems personal for everyone. • “So whether you’re a councilor, or a librarian, a teacher’s assistant, or work in the front office, whether you serve up meals in the cafeteria, or help keep the halls clean, or whether you’re a teacher or a principal… we need you. ” [5: 15]

• Dalton Sherman delivers most of his speech with a loud and energetic voice. However, on four different occasions, he slows down and lowers his voice to deliver key points. This vocal variety is a signal to the audience that important words are coming, and the lines become more memorable as a result.

• • 1. “… is to believe that we can reach our highest potential. ” [2: 55] 2. “As you know, in some cases, you’re all we’ve got. ” [3: 50] 3. “… who love us when sometimes it feels like no one else does. ” [4: 10] 4. “If you don’t believe — well, I’m not going there. ” [7: 22]

• The premise of this speech — a 10 -year-old fifth grader giving the keynote address at a teachers conference — seems wonderfully absurd, and this fact alone provides much implicit humor in the speech.

• In addition, Dalton’s speech includes a couple explicitly humorous lines: • “You better, because next week, we’re all showing up in your schools — all 157, 000 of us. ” [2: 32] • “We all know, that sometimes, we kids can make it tough. ” [5: 00]

• The classic speechwriting Rule of Three technique is present a couple times in this speech: • “You’re the ones who feed us, who wipe our tears, who hold our hands or hug us when we need it. ” [4: 00] • “Believe in them. Trust them. And lean on them when times get tough. ” [4: 50] (refers to colleagues)