Education Unlimited - academic summer camps and pre-college summer programs

Designed to help students build confidence in their public speaking skills, our Public Speaking Institute trains students in public speaking, logic and rhetoric through an interactive and dynamic curriculum that encourages incremental progress through ongoing practice and exercise. Over the course of the program, students will participate in three main courses: Debate, Persuasive Speaking, and an elective.

Note: Overnight and day camp programs are offered at Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, Tufts, Brown and Georgetown. Day camp only programs are offered at Caltech and MIT. Day camp programs do not include evening electives. 

Debate: Learn the art of verbal combat! Students will learn how to construct persuasive positions, defend against and attack each other’s arguments, and cross-examine effectively. Students will debate a variety of age- and experience-appropriate topics, form teams, and pit themselves against their co-campers. Past debate topics have included: school uniforms (elementary school), pre-emptive strike policy (middle school), and the legal drinking age (high school).

Persuasive Speaking: This useful activity teaches students to craft and deliver convincing speeches. Students start by performing a number of pre-written speeches in order to learn delivery, timing, and intonation. When students display comfort with delivery, they will begin to construct speeches based on their interests. Students learn to choose topics, establish captivating introductions, organize speech content, and deliver compelling conclusions! The focus is on speaking in a natural voice, with few or no notes, rather than writing an essay and merely reading it out loud, the form of "public speaking" taught by most teachers. All students end the week by presenting a speech in front of a large group of fellow campers.

Electives: In the evenings, students will get to choose from at least two of the following four elective speaking activities:

• Model Congress: This event provides an introduction to diplomatic and legislative speaking. Students role-play as members of Congress. Persuasive speaking, negotiations, and compromise are all stressed in a forum that allows students to sample the most exciting part of the political process!

• Negotiations: You can't always get what you want... or can you? The negotiations activity stresses public speaking as a business and personal tool. Students will role-play scenarios in which their abilities to compromise and persuade are developed.

• Reader's Theater: In this fun and popular event, students write and perform a short play (or learn and perform a play for younger students). Students create their characters, devise plot twists, write dialogue, and deliver partial practice performances followed by the whole play.

• Improvisational Speaking: This type of speaking requires students to think on their feet to deliver speeches with little or no preparation time. In the opening class, students are given ample time to prepare for short speeches, and over the course of the program the time to prepare will shorten as the speeches lengthen. Fun and challenging topics are chosen, often with hilarious results!

Public Speaking Institute students experience university life during their week on a college campus. Students live together in the dormitories, experience campus dining, and relax on campus with a wide array of sports and arts activities. Additionally, the camp will take one mid-week excursion to a local attraction, such as an amusement park or sports venue. The most recurrent comment made by students after camp is, “ I never knew I would have so much fun!”

Elementary Education at Stanford University

This is a special session of our Public Speaking Institute intended to meet the needs of younger students entering the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Elementary Education students will study the same basic skills as standard PSI students in a setting designed to encourage younger students’ enthusiasm for the activities. Our supportive and experienced staff lead fun educational activities and provide supervision that is appropriate for these younger students. Public Speaking students are given tips and plenty of practice to become comfortable speaking in front of their peers. Past topics include: “Should schools mandate uniforms?” and "Should junk food be allowed in school vending machines?" Classroom hours, recreational activities, and supervision are adjusted specifically for elementary school students. During this session, special commuter and extended care options are available, though students may also choose to stay in the campus dorms. Contact Education Unlimited for pricing details.

SUMMER 2018 ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE SCHOOL OPTIONS

SUMMER 2018 HIGH SCHOOL OPTIONS

“Unlike many summer camps, your staff clearly demonstrates they are subject matter experts, not just bodies filling an open position.” — Nandini Rao, parent

“Carrie was somewhat hesitant to go to this camp, believing speaking publicly was simply something she wasn’t good at. She has now decided to join speech and debate and school.” — Gail Stuart Read, parent

 

Public Speaking Institute - Regular Program - Staff Profiles

Education Unlimited believes in small-group, immersive learning with subject matter experts and experienced teachers. We strive to provide industry-leading instruction to all of our students and hold all staff to the highest possible standards. Staff assignments vary by program and location. Some of our recent staff members for this program include:

Brianna Broady, MA — Camp Director and Instructor

Brianna Broady is a lecturer with a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge in Southern California.  Brianna teaches classes at several Southern California colleges in Communication Studies in her primary areas of interest: performance studies and intercultural communication studies.  A seasoned...

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Stephen Buettler — Camp Director

Stephen Buettler is an instructor and public speaking expert with dual degrees in literature and philosophy from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In addition to roles as lecturer and...

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Macara Nicoll, MS — Camp Director

Macara Nicoll is a school counselor with a Master of Science in School Counseling from California State University, Sacramento.  Macara first came to Education Unlimited as a camper, a step which led her on a path to an undergraduate career at the University of California, Berkeley.  Her love of education and working with youth brought her back...

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Jasmine Ashoori — Instructor

Jasmine Ashoori is a Communication Studies graduate student at California State University, Northridge, where she also teaches two sections of the Fundamentals of Public Speaking. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles.  Jasmine has spent time working with both grammar and...

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Maximillian Brichta — Instructor

Max is a public speaking teacher with a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Cal State University, Northridge, where he also received his bachelor’s degree in the same discipline. He's taught public speaking for the last 3 years, including a year with Communication for Youth Institute at CSUN and two as a graduate teaching...

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Alex Cadena — Instructor

Alex Cadena is a graduate assistant at California State University Northridge, where he is working on his Master of Arts degree  in Communication Studies. He is an assistant coach for the CSUN Matador Speech and Debate Team, helping students learn policy-debate and individual events. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Communication at...

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Sylvana Carmella — Instructor

Sylvana is a middle school special education teacher on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Simmons College, where she received high marks in Public Speaking.  Prior to her current teaching position, Sylvana lived and worked in New York City for five years, where she co-founded Brooklyn Gypsies, an...

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Casey Ann Hayward, MA — Instructor

Casey Ann Hayward is a teacher with a Master of Arts in Educational Theatre from New York University.  As a seasoned performer and teaching artist, Casey Ann has a natural ability to empower students to find their own voice and confidence in front of a crowd, whether it be on stage as a performer or public speaker.  Her background in educating...

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Aimee Newton — Instructor

Aimee Newton is a teacher in the Communications Department at California State University, Northridge where she teaches the Fundamentals of Public Speaking.  Aimee is pursuing her Master of Arts in Communication Studies at CSUN, following a Bachelor of Arts from CSUN and Associate of Arts from College of the Canyons in the same field. Aimee...

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William Russell — Instructor

Bill Russell has spent his entire adult life learning how to craft arguments and present them most effectively. After a successful career as a college debater where he finished among the top ten teams at the National Debate Tournament three times, Bill spent nine years as the assistant director of Debate at Dartmouth College. During that times...

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Marina Shew — Middle School Instructor

Marina Shew is a law student at Columbia Law School in New York City.  She has dual Bachelor’s Degrees in Philosophy and Political Science from Clemson University in South Carolina.  In both high school and college, Marina was the president of her respective debate teams, taking on leadership, teaching, and mentoring roles for younger students....

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Kim Yee — Instructor

Kim Yee is a lecturer in public speaking at San Jose State University, where she is currently pursuing a Master of Arts Degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis on intercultural performance studies.  While completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies at SJSU, Kim spent four years as a tutor and intern for the Ohlone College...

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We will continue to add additional staff members as enrollment and availability dictate. Details are posted on additional staff members as they are confirmed.