The teacher's voice: Show‐window of personality

Abstract

T human voice is one of the most important factors in the educative process. The teacher's effectiveness depends upon richness and variety of tone fully as much as does the actor's. Their respective types of artistry can be given adequate expression only through the development afforded by the instruction and guidance of a qualified speech teacher. The vocally untrained teacher, prospective or in-service, needs to understand that in the absence of physiological, anatomical, or psychological limitations he possesses a reasonably adequate vocal faculty. He needs to be reassured that for the most part the disparity he observes between his skill and that of his favorite radio announcer is to be attributed to differences in training. The teacher needs to be impressed with the availability of expert diagnosis and with the prospects for development if he engages in a program for improvement under the guidance of a competent speech instructor and if he himself exercises the sustained effort essential to make new muscular skills habitual. The teacher, in other words, must understand that the voice is akin to other physical potentialities. Although they differ from person to person, these possibilities of the individual can be realized through the application of personal effort.