CGS FESA Speech:
IDEAS:
Topic: The challenges of my generation
- Being too obsessed and overly reliant on technology -> older
generations feel angry at younger generations
- Older generations don’t realise that the world is evolving into a
more technologically advanced one -> still stuck in the past
Topic: Things I wish they taught at school
- Sign language
- Self-defence
- Basic skills
Hello, everyone. I am Ayra, and this is my speech about things I wish they
taught at school. However, before I begin, I want you to imagine this. I am
home alone, and just finished all my homework, obviously feeling proud of
myself. As such, I planned on rewarding myself with a nice, hearty meal
when disaster strikes. I realised — what in the world was there to eat? I
didn’t how to cook anything, I would burn the whole kitchen down if I
tried!
This got me thinking — why is it that I need to know how to solve
algebraic word problems, and the history of other countries, but no one
taught me how to do the simple and basic things in life that everyone
should know? At that time, I realised that being 13 years old and not
knowing how to cook? That was a problem that needed to be desperately
solved.
Speaking of this incident, I recently learnt about a new rare word –
abditory. This means “a place for hiding or storing things.” To be honest,
it feels like our education system has an abditory of its own—hiding some
of the most crucial life skills from us while stuffing our brains with facts
and knowledge that we may never use in real life.
Not only that, there is the issue with money. We learn about math, like
algebra, but where is the lesson about how to not go broke? Having my
allowance of $10, which I thought was too much to have, is starting to
prove me wrong. All the spending of the money on food in school and
unnecessary beverages definitely is starting to add up, especially once I
got into Sec 3. I definitely had to learn about how to spend my money
properly the hard way – by seeing my wallet empty. No money inside at
all.
To clarify, I am not suggesting that we should replace Math with cooking
classes or replace Geography with finance classes. On the other hand,
wouldn’t it be great if somewhere between all that chaos, we could learnt
things that actually matter in our lives? A class where we will forever
remember and hone these important life skills? Be honest – most of us
would definitely not need to recite the periodic table every single day in
our lives.
Self-defence:
Good morning everyone,
I am Ayra, and I am here today to share about something I wish they
taught at school. Before I get into it, let me share with you something that
happened pretty recently. It’s late in the evening, and I’m at home doing
my homework when I suddenly get a message from my friend. Her text
said “Guys, I think someone is following. Help, I am scared right now.
What do I do?”. That is when I realised – I didn’t know WHAT she should
do. Should she walk faster? Should she pretend she is on a call with a
person who could scare the person following her.
Speaking of this incident, I learned a new word—latibulate. It means to
hide in a safe, secluded place to escape danger. Why am I mentioning
this? Well, in these types of incidents, you can’t just latibulate. You have
to defend yourself but the question is how? Don’t get me wrong. School
teaches us a lot of things that are good to know - but has anyone ever
taught us how to react if we’re in danger? Not. At. All. That is where the
problem lies.
If someone grabs my arm, do I fight back or let go? If a stranger follows
me, should I run, scream, or pretend I know martial arts? No textbook has
ever covered this. Continuing on with my story, my friend was walking
along a dimly lit road in her neighbourhood when she noticed a group of
random guys following her. At first, she thought it was a coincidence. But
when she kept changing directions and turning all over the place and they
were still there, panic set in. What did she do? She started running on the
road away from the group of guys who were still following her and after a
while, I immediately called her and kept her company until she managed
to enter a crowded area and get away from them.
A lot of people think, “Oh, that kind of thing will NEVER happen to me.”
But the truth is —danger doesn’t come with a warning label. It can happen
anywhere: on public transport, in a parking lot, or even in broad daylight.
Not only that, it’s not just about physical threats—scams, online
harassment, and manipulation are just as real. Yet, school doesn’t prepare
us for any of it.
We memorize formulas for exams, but wouldn’t it be more useful to
memorize ways to break free from a wrist grab? We run 2.4km in PE, but
when have we ever learned a simple self-defense move? Imagine, instead
of making us suffer through endless running warm ups, PE actually taught
us how to escape a risky situation. Now that is a class that is MUCH more
important.
Some people think self-defense is only for martial artists or people who
can ACTUALLY fight. On the contrary, it’s a skill everyone should have—
regardless of age, size, or strength. You don’t need to have a black belt in
martial arts to protect yourself. Sometimes, self-defense is as simple as
walking with confidence so you’re less of a target or being aware of your
surroundings instead of staring at your phone or even just trusting your
instincts—because if something feels off, it probably is.
Most importantly, the most underrated skill: using your voice. Sometimes,
just calling attention to a situation can make a huge difference. If
someone is making you uncomfortable, saying “Leave me alone” loudly
and firmly can be enough to make them back off. Because no one likes
unwanted attention—especially not people with bad intentions
Wouldn’t it make sense to have at least one lesson on self-defense? Just
the basics—how to break free from a grip, how to de-escalate a situation,
or even how to properly throw a punch if absolutely necessary? We
prepare for math exams, but in real life, there’s no time to pull out a curve
ruler when we’re in danger. We need to be preparing for situations that
actually affect our safety, not just our grades.
These skills are VERY important and I think this is something that I wish
schools taught, since it is much more serious than some elements in
Chemistry. And if all else fails, the last resort is latibulating, but better to
know how to defend yourself than running away.
Thank you.
