Summary

A science and technology teacher recounts overcoming their fear of public speaking to deliver a personalized graduation speech in the ancient Roman amphitheater in Jerash, Jordan, highlighting each student's leadership qualities.

Abstract

The author shares their experience of being chosen to give the graduation speech for the American Community School's class of 1996 in Amman, Jordan, at the historic Roman amphitheater in Jerash. Initially terrified by the prospect, the author, through the encouragement of their spouse and a visit to the amphitheater to experience its acoustics firsthand, gains confidence. The speech is crafted to celebrate individual acts of leadership demonstrated by each student, which captivates the audience during the ceremony. The author reflects on this memorable event as one of their most cherished moments from their teaching career and invites readers to explore other historical sites in Jordan through related Medium articles.

Opinions

The author initially felt overwhelmed and unqualified to deliver a graduation speech, given their background in science and technology rather than literature or drama.
Revisiting the Jerash amphitheater and experiencing its remarkable acoustics provided the author with reassurance and a sense of connection to the speaking tradition of the space.
The author's approach to personalizing the speech by recognizing each student's leadership qualities was well-received and considered effective by the audience, including parents and school administrators.
The experience of delivering the speech in such a historic setting is remembered fondly by the author as a significant personal and professional achievement.
The author expresses a sense of pride and satisfaction in overcoming their fear of public speaking and in the positive impact their speech had on the graduation ceremony.

Speaking in a Roman Amphitheater in Jerash, Jordan

I was terrified but I did it.

We were all excited. The graduation ceremony for the American Community School high school class of 1996 in Amman, Jordan was going to be in a new location — a huge Roman amphitheater in Jerash, Jordan.

I was excited until the principal asked me to be the graduation speaker. I had been one of the advisors for the class throughout their time in high school, so he thought I should do the graduation speech. I was terrified. I didn’t know if I could do such an important speech. I felt overwhelmed.

My husband asked me that evening what was wrong. I was obviously upset about something. I told him that I had been asked to do the graduation speech. I didn’t know if I could do it. I’m a science and technology teacher, not a literature or drama teacher. I could speak to classes but speaking in a formal setting like a graduation speech seemed beyond me. He encouraged me and reassured me that I could.

I said I wanted to revisit the amphitheater again. I wanted to view it from the perspective of the floor looking at the circular seating around where I would be speaking. Maybe standing in the amphitheater and looking out at the seats would make it more real and less frightening. My husband agreed to drive the 50 km from Amman to Jerash after school the next day, so we could walk through the amphitheater again.

The Jerash amphitheater is one of the best-preserved ruins outside of Italy. It had been gradually filled and covered by desert sands but it was rediscovered in the early 1800s. The excavation was begun in 1925.

“Built during the reign of Emperor Domitian, between 90–92 AD, the South Theatre can seat more than 3,000 spectators. The 1st level of the ornate stage, which was originally a two-story structure, has been reconstructed and is still used today. The theatre’s remarkable acoustics allow a speaker at the center of the orchestra floor to be heard throughout the entire auditorium without raising his voice. Two vaulted passages lead into the orchestra, and four passages at the back of the theatre give access to the upper rows of seats. Some seats could be reserved and the Greek letters which designate them can still be seen.” (International Visit Jordan)

On our visit that afternoon, I stood on the speaker’s stone, at least that is what I call it. The amphitheater's acoustic design was based on the limestone seats and the curved space around them that carried the voice from the speaker’s stone on the floor in the lowest part to the far reaches of the auditorium. When I stepped on the stone and spoke, it was like speaking into a microphone. Stepping off the stone and moving just a few steps away, the microphone effect was gone. Step back on the stone, and you could be heard speaking in a normal volume to the top of the seating. What fun to experiment with it.

Somehow I really was more comfortable about the speech just because I had revisited the site, but that didn’t mean I knew what I was going to talk about. What lofty goals could I set for them? What great ideas could I highlight?

Finally, I picked the topic “leadership” and started writing but I decided to make it personal for each student in the class. I came up with at least one example of leadership that each student in the class demonstrated during their time in high school. I encouraged them to continue to be leaders as they graduated from high school and moved on to the next phase of their lives.

The graduation ceremony was chaotic. The families were amazed that we were in the Jerash Coliseum. The administrators made several attempts to get the crowd to stop talking and focus on the graduation ceremony. The problem was that the coliseum was so big and people were so spread out that they seemed to feel that they could just keep talking.

During the graduation speech (photo by Gerad Carrier)

Then I was introduced. As I started speaking, the audience continued to speak within their small groups. However, as soon as I mentioned the names of the first students and described their leadership skills, the audience quickly stopped talking. Within two minutes, the entire coliseum was quiet. They were listening to see if their son or daughter would be mentioned also. They all were.

I got a round of applause when I was done. The principal told me later that it was the best graduation speech he had ever heard simply because I talked about the students. Many parents thanked me for the speech at the graduation party back in Amman.

I did it. I overcame my fears, wrote the speech, and spoke to a crowd of parents and students in a Roman amphitheater. It is still one of my best memories from all the years I taught.

We taught for 12 wonderful years in the school in Amman. We have so many wonderful memories of the people we met there. We also have so many awesome memories of the many archeological sites we visited there. I’ll write about some of them when I get back to my photos in a few weeks.

In the meantime, you can read about historic sites in Jordan right here on Medium. Here are a few:

Petra: Jordan’s Historic Cave City by Darren Weir — Great description and photos of the fabulous Petra site.

A Place You Should Visit: The Roman City of Gerasa (Jerash, Jordan) — by Sight Black — many photos of the awesome city or Jerash

Jerash and Ajlun: Strategic Imperatives — by technotrekker — Great descriptions and photos of Jerash and Ajlun.

Amman, Lost in a Circular Maze — by technotrekker — Interesting description of Amman and the Roman remains there.

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