Forensics

I don’t understand why more schools don’t offer or even require classes in forensics and debating. I’m not talking about forensic science. I’m talking about the art of public speaking. Think about all the skills you use in your day to day life. When you’re balancing your checkbook or calculating a tip for your waiter, that’s math. When you’re reading and answering your e-mail at work, that’s reading, reading comprehension, and composition. These are things you learn in school. When you give a presentation, that’s forensics. We also debate in everyday conversation and listen to debates all the time on TV and radio between analysts and politicians. Yet these skills are never taught in school. Sure, we may give the occasional presentation in class, but the focus of the assignment is our knowledge of the subject we are presenting, not the presentation itself. So if the goal of universal education is to equip citizens with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in society, why not develop these basic yet vital skills?