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News & Photos
Mr. Van's Speech
"The King's Speech" may have won the Academy Award for best picture this year. But it's "Mr. Van's Speech" that takes the prize at McDonogh.
Directed by John Van Meter, the recently-concluded winter term English elective Speech is a favorite among seniors.
Students learn how to prepare and deliver engaging recitations, announcements, and full-length speeches. The class culminates with the classic, after-dinner monologue, Toastmasters-style. Even the meek become more confident in the process.
At the center of it all is Van Meter, who has been teaching the course for 20-odd years."What. A. Character." writes Sara G., punctuating for emphasis."He is definitely one of those teachers EVERYONE has to have at least one term."
The 38-year English department veteran and former drama program director teaches to receptive, eager audiences. "He is very funny in class. But even with his jokes, he knows what he is doing and we all respect his opinions and comments," adds Brooks L.
Well-enunciated, clever turns of phrases merit his demonstrative favorite, "Ooh, la, la!" Speaker and classmates alike dissolve in laughter every time.
Not only does Van Meter discourage stammers and "um"s, he insists that students purge the overused "like" from their oration."Mr. Van says it like it is, whether we like it or not. But what makes it even better is that he uses elevated diction and words we have never heard before," writes Courtney.
Some words are Van Meter's inventions, like "mousebergers," a label for speakers with small, high-pitched voices. "Mousebergers Syndrome" was the topic of one student's after-dinner speech, to her teacher's delight.
The phrase "Yes, Virginia" often makes its way into students' original recitations like an inside joke. All are required to read aloud the same three-minute "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" early in the term so they can compare stylistic approaches.
To encourage and motivate, Van Meter often refers to memorable efforts from previous years. For the "speech to demonstrate" assignment, reports Van Meter,"snakes and hairdressers and shavers and guinea pigs have attended. Last year we even went outside to the parking lot for Leon to change a tire."
Sara G.'s favorite class moment this year came when Nicole M. used her well-trained black Labrador retriever as a prop."He even fetched a newspaper while everyone was distracting him because they wanted to pet the cute pooch."
Despite their intent to deliver unforgettable speeches that Van Meter will describe to future classes, the current seniors' work pales in comparison to Van Meter's personal favorite: "When James Sewell '04 set up a 12-foot rubberized swimming pool in the classroom for his speech of demonstration (the fine points of tanning at the beach). It took him most of a morning to fill the pool with buckets of water from a nearby custodian closet, and most of the afternoon to empty it."
One can only imagine Van Meter's response to that one.
"The King's Speech" may have won the Academy Award for best picture this year. But it's "Mr. Van's Speech" that takes the prize at McDonogh.
Directed by John Van Meter, the recently-concluded winter term English elective Speech is a favorite among seniors.
Students learn how to prepare and deliver engaging recitations, announcements, and full-length speeches. The class culminates with the classic, after-dinner monologue, Toastmasters-style. Even the meek become more confident in the process.
At the center of it all is Van Meter, who has been teaching the course for 20-odd years."What. A. Character." writes Sara G., punctuating for emphasis."He is definitely one of those teachers EVERYONE has to have at least one term."
The 38-year English department veteran and former drama program director teaches to receptive, eager audiences. "He is very funny in class. But even with his jokes, he knows what he is doing and we all respect his opinions and comments," adds Brooks L.
Well-enunciated, clever turns of phrases merit his demonstrative favorite, "Ooh, la, la!" Speaker and classmates alike dissolve in laughter every time.
Not only does Van Meter discourage stammers and "um"s, he insists that students purge the overused "like" from their oration."Mr. Van says it like it is, whether we like it or not. But what makes it even better is that he uses elevated diction and words we have never heard before," writes Courtney.
Some words are Van Meter's inventions, like "mousebergers," a label for speakers with small, high-pitched voices. "Mousebergers Syndrome" was the topic of one student's after-dinner speech, to her teacher's delight.
The phrase "Yes, Virginia" often makes its way into students' original recitations like an inside joke. All are required to read aloud the same three-minute "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" early in the term so they can compare stylistic approaches.
To encourage and motivate, Van Meter often refers to memorable efforts from previous years. For the "speech to demonstrate" assignment, reports Van Meter,"snakes and hairdressers and shavers and guinea pigs have attended. Last year we even went outside to the parking lot for Leon to change a tire."
Sara G.'s favorite class moment this year came when Nicole M. used her well-trained black Labrador retriever as a prop."He even fetched a newspaper while everyone was distracting him because they wanted to pet the cute pooch."
Despite their intent to deliver unforgettable speeches that Van Meter will describe to future classes, the current seniors' work pales in comparison to Van Meter's personal favorite: "When James Sewell '04 set up a 12-foot rubberized swimming pool in the classroom for his speech of demonstration (the fine points of tanning at the beach). It took him most of a morning to fill the pool with buckets of water from a nearby custodian closet, and most of the afternoon to empty it."
One can only imagine Van Meter's response to that one.