{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "id": "CC-041",
  "title": "What was reading aloud in class like for me?",
  "topic": "Work, school and relationships",
  "author": {
    "name": "Craig Coffee",
    "id": "https://usedtostutter.com/craig-coffee#person"
  },
  "canonical_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/reading-aloud-in-front-of-people",
  "access": "public",
  "content_kind": "author_published_article",
  "context_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/about-this-material",
  "source_sha256": "993dcc7bd6e2d553b56355dff20cb9287ca0cad640c93c41634639b5bb32b905",
  "source_markdown": "# What was reading aloud in class like for me?\n\nBy [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)\n\nI was new at school in sixth grade. The teacher was calling on us to read a paragraph out loud. She knew by then that I stuttered.\n\nWhen it was my turn, I blocked terribly. I remember it as the worst public blocking I'd had. I wanted to hide below my desk, but I couldn't. I had to live with that feeling.\n\nThat is the kind of [humiliation I remember carrying](/talking-to-family-about-stuttering). An ordinary class task was something I desperately wanted to get through.\n\n## I tried a public-speaking class later\n\nIn tenth grade, I chose to take public speaking. I wanted to talk. I remembered standing in front of about fifteen people and feeling intimidated. I got a C.\n\nThe way I told it was that they didn't have the heart to fail me because I tried. That was how I understood the grade. My speech was still so hard for me.\n\n## The places where I wanted my speech to work\n\nSchool was one of the places I wanted to speak well. Later, I kept trying what I learned in classrooms, at work and in ordinary conversations. I failed many times while working it out.\n\nI also [read aloud on my own](/reading-aloud-and-stuttering) to find what confidence sounded like in my voice. Being made to read in class and choosing to practice at home were both parts of my experience.\n\n## What did another person do when classroom speaking felt too painful?\n\nSomeone on a group call told me he had skipped classes when he expected presentations, speeches or reading aloud. I asked where he went. He said the playground or the gym, or sometimes he called in sick.\n\nThat was his account. I had asked about the most painful part of his experience, and those were the situations he described.\n\n## Related answers\n\n- [How can I prepare without scripting every word?](/preparing-without-scripting)\n- [What happened to my speech when I went to college?](/stuttering-in-college)\n\n[Find your question](/questions)\n",
  "relative_link_base": "https://usedtostutter.com/reading-aloud-in-front-of-people",
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "reading-content",
      "heading": null,
      "heading_level": null,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/reading-aloud-in-front-of-people#reading-content",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "I was new at school in sixth grade. The teacher was calling on us to read a paragraph out loud. She knew by then that I stuttered.\n\nWhen it was my turn, I blocked terribly. I remember it as the worst public blocking I'd had. I wanted to hide below my desk, but I couldn't. I had to live with that feeling.\n\nThat is the kind of [humiliation I remember carrying](/talking-to-family-about-stuttering). An ordinary class task was something I desperately wanted to get through.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "07dbfef56ad12b2a5ffccf8ae0faef21accfd2d852a6607c722c5c71036727ae"
    },
    {
      "id": "i-tried-a-public-speaking-class-later",
      "heading": "I tried a public-speaking class later",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/reading-aloud-in-front-of-people#i-tried-a-public-speaking-class-later",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## I tried a public-speaking class later\n\nIn tenth grade, I chose to take public speaking. I wanted to talk. I remembered standing in front of about fifteen people and feeling intimidated. I got a C.\n\nThe way I told it was that they didn't have the heart to fail me because I tried. That was how I understood the grade. My speech was still so hard for me.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "257a23005c32b1f45a3487ea73cef2d7542e45d8bddc0994e636a21be0bef87c"
    },
    {
      "id": "the-places-where-i-wanted-my-speech-to-work",
      "heading": "The places where I wanted my speech to work",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/reading-aloud-in-front-of-people#the-places-where-i-wanted-my-speech-to-work",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## The places where I wanted my speech to work\n\nSchool was one of the places I wanted to speak well. Later, I kept trying what I learned in classrooms, at work and in ordinary conversations. I failed many times while working it out.\n\nI also [read aloud on my own](/reading-aloud-and-stuttering) to find what confidence sounded like in my voice. Being made to read in class and choosing to practice at home were both parts of my experience.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "6e59e53d9880051ffe4caae10984afd422a2e963c862fde810c83c6c21d7c188"
    },
    {
      "id": "what-did-another-person-do-when-classroom-speaking-felt-too-painful",
      "heading": "What did another person do when classroom speaking felt too painful?",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/reading-aloud-in-front-of-people#what-did-another-person-do-when-classroom-speaking-felt-too-painful",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## What did another person do when classroom speaking felt too painful?\n\nSomeone on a group call told me he had skipped classes when he expected presentations, speeches or reading aloud. I asked where he went. He said the playground or the gym, or sometimes he called in sick.\n\nThat was his account. I had asked about the most painful part of his experience, and those were the situations he described.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "dee4e992cde6a762fe4c11ebf1b958e2653b98065c253e79c72d693d497b3989"
    },
    {
      "id": "related-answers",
      "heading": "Related answers",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/reading-aloud-in-front-of-people#related-answers",
      "role": "navigation",
      "source_markdown": "## Related answers\n\n- [How can I prepare without scripting every word?](/preparing-without-scripting)\n- [What happened to my speech when I went to college?](/stuttering-in-college)\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "620fe01ab9bf5ec4f878c3c0d1eed240f55ad2f74fbff1c6aa1bd154a7c4cb43"
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}