FBLA

FBLA or Future Business Leaders of America is a reputable organization that I have become involved in. Today was our regional competition. A few months ago we were given a list with the information about all of the divisions of competitions ranging from Java to Grammar to Speeches. I chose Public Speaking one. My friend (Kayla) and I were both competing in that category representing Bethel Park. Last week on Tuesday January 10 we were given the "prompt" for our speech. It was as follows:

Competencies:
The content of the speech must be of a business nature and must be developed from one or more of the FBLA-PBL goals.

FBLA-PBL Goals:
Develop competent, aggressive business leadership;
Strengthen the confidence of students in themselves and their work;
Create more interest in and understanding of American business enterprise;
Encourage members in the development of individual projects that contribute to the improvement of home, business, and community;
Develop character, prepare for useful citizenship, and foster patriotism;
Encourage and practice efficient money management;
Encourage scholarship and promote school loyalty;
Assist students in the establishment of occupational goals;
Facilitate the transition from school to work.

And yes that was all they told us about what the speech was to be on, we were also told that the speech was to be between 3 min 31 sec and 4 min 29 sec.

I started brainstorming about this the moment I received the prompt. I started to actually write my speech on Friday and I worked on it diligently. Yesterday I put on some finishing touching and corrected a few words. Kayla however just started her speech last night.... At least one of us was well prepared.

I was very confident in my speech it was creative it was clear it was concise.... I was very excited about it until we got into the room where we waited to be called into the speech room. Kayla and I sat down at a table with four other people. After talking with them I decided that I liked them a lot, they were all very nice and seemed very into business. I knew however after meeting Tom that I was doomed. Tom is a natural speaker; he has many business connections and is obviously well practiced at this type of competition. After hearing him practice his speech I could have not said mine at all and no difference would be made. He of course won first place, and none of the other places were announced. I still have no idea how well I did. In my opinion I did very well. Trying to be modest...I think I would have received second place, although there were only about 6 competitors in my competition. Oh well thats life. Good news is I have now become determined to become better connected in the business world. Look out because here i come. Ambition has just gone up 10 notches. (Below is my speech if you care to read over it, to see what I did with such an odd prompt)

Over the years this world has changed a lot, education and work preparation are handled very differently now than they were a hundred years ago, Future Business Leaders of America or FBLA is working hard to ensure that students transition as flawlessly as possible from school to work.
From the beginning of time up until the time of the industrial revolution children would start attending school at age 6 and by age 13 it would be time for them to move on to the next step in life. Girls would find suitable husbands, get married, have children, and keep house. Meanwhile the boys would begin to work with their father’s. With the plans to, eventually, take over their fathers’ business when he retired or was in any other way incapable of continuing work. If the father were a farmer the son would become a farmer. If the father were a blacksmith the son would become a blacksmith. This system would have worked perfectly if the son was happy taking over his father’s position.
Unfortunately for the boy, at this time, taking over his fathers’ position was the only available option. To solve this problem the idea of apprenticeships’ were born. If a boy wanted to become a blacksmith but his own father was a farmer he could become the blacksmiths apprentice, learning and working under the supervision of the professional. This opportunity brought forth a huge amount of hope for the economy. Instead of just having jobs done halfheartedly by people that really wanted to be doing something else, jobs were done by people who were happy because they were doing what they really wanted to do and not just what their father did. This system worked well for years and years.
More years were then added to the required schooling. This extra schooling gave students a clearer view of which occupation they wished to embark upon. These extra years for thinking about jobs were necessary with all the new jobs that were now available; their selection went from only a few to a multitude of offerings. As time went by more and more jobs were becoming available and more information needed to be learnt for each of these jobs.
Thus colleges began, colleges slowly started to replace apprenticeships. Having a degree stating that u had just spent four years studying a certain subject became more valuable than apprenticeships. While colleges can offer amazing educations, and are a great way to transition from high school to the real world, colleges just don’t offer hands-on experience like apprenticeships do. People learn best from their mistakes. Without hands-on experience no real world mistakes can be made. In a perfect situation no mistakes would ever be made but since life isn’t perfect mistakes will be made, disruptions from the ideal circumstances will occur, but with hands-on experience one can learn how to handle these the real world way instead of the ways it would be taught in a book. A wise man named Archibald McLeish once said "There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience."
FBLA works as a kind of apprenticeship, teaching students how the business world works, using hands-on experiences and challenges to strengthen the student. This greatly helps the student’s transition from schooling to the working world. Knowing how the business world works gives these students a step above the rest, as they know how to approach different situations from interviewing to entrepreneurship because of hands-on experiences they have had during their time working with FBLA.
This world has changed a lot over the years, education has become more and more necessary, and the importance of hands-on experience has been phased out. But now businesses are starting to realize that mistake, and as the need for hands-on experience is phased back in FBLA will remain here to help the future generations of students attain the business knowledge and experience that they need to bridge the ever-crucial gap from school to the real world.


Luv ya all!