CPR Assignment

Although Marissa seemed a bit nervous standing at the podium as she casually swayed, she introduced herself and set up the context immediately. Marissa gracefully explains the honor felt to be the maid of honor as the husband's close friend while adding humor with the fears or work associated with speech-making. Compliments, adoration, and well wishes are showered onto the couple. Then, Marissa shared a light-hearted, personal story to illustrate exactly why she admired  Brent. The speech ends with Marissa specifically addressing the bride.

Brent will be Brent.
Brent will ensure everything is how he wants it to be.
Brent will practice his French speaking skills his way.
Brent will stop at nothing to cherish the time and experiences he has with friends.
Brent will meet the girl of his dreams.
Brent will hook her for life.
Brent will have the craziest and wildest adventures with the people he loves. 
Brent will have every wedding attendent wishing him and his new wife the best.
Brent will be Brent.

Marissa clearly respected and demonstrated excitement for the couple.  When telling her story, her tone was much more casual and her hand gestures became effective at engaging the audience. I believe Marissa's strength lies in conversational speeches where she can make eye-contact with her listeners, joke, and speak "off-the-cuff". Her little "I don't know why..." quotes added character to Brent and lightened the mood. Toward the end, Marissa out-right stated what she like about Brent--a very effective and clear purpose for her speech. By specifically addressing the bride to conclude the speech, Marissa represented her relationship and support for both the bride (as a cute girl-to-girl talk) and the groom as she wished them the best.

The sentences in the speech were well-defined, however I would have appreciated more time to process what Marissa was saying. For example, immediately after she said, "...and he actually hooked her for life," I would have liked time to reflect on the promise and commitment the couple made to each other at the wedding. I enjoyed the comparison of the relationship to a seed. To be artistic, that metaphor could be extended throughout the entire speech. At the beginning, there is a hint of an "up-tone" but Marissa gains confidence, that behavior subsides and the speech is very enjoyable.

Alexander advocates to use poetic/artistic responses to evaluate student performances because he believes in the power of performance. The holistic aesthetic impact of a work is often overlooked or not properly acknowledged today. Everything that entails recreating a performance forces an audience member to be more sensitive to the performer as well as more thoroughly reflect upon the accumulations of experiences, interactions, and symbols that caused the audience member to feel what he felt. CPRs specifically are a way to build trust within a classroom.