Debate is a club that teaches students about professional disagreements. In this program, you can develop proper argumentation skills, and critical thinking. The club meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00pm to 4-4:30pm, in room G259. It is run by Mrs. Webb, and Ms. Bell.
In this club, you get to do research, and form cases and arguments based on topics assigned on the first day of each month. You can see the topics when available on https://www.speechanddebate.org/topics/.
During an interview with Mrs. Webb, she was asked to explain debating. “A lot of people think debate is having an argument, but it’s really not. It’s being able to disagree with each other, or prove your side with having actual facts and sources.” When asked of the club’s goals, she gave three. “The first goal is always to get people comfortable speaking in front of other people. The second goal is to have the students use their critical thinking skills. The third goal is to have fun. A lot of people are afraid to speak in class, in front of groups, to speak out. Hopefully, being on the debate team will help students feel more comfortable with speaking.”
The teachers use strategies such as going over cases and research multiple times to perfect everything, predicting what opponents from other schools will say, and getting lots of practice with fellow teammates to ensure that students will be confident.
The club is open to students of any grade level, and no prior experience is needed. Many students start without any knowledge of this sport at all, but are able to learn lots. The season has already started, however, anyone is allowed to join at any time.
As opposed to other clubs, debate begins in October, and ends in April. You will not be forced to attend any tournaments or meetings, and you will be allowed to watch tournaments until you feel ready to compete. “Some new people showed up this week, they’re not really sure what they want to do, or how to do it, so they will not compete in our upcoming tournament on the fourteenth. However, if they wanna come watch, that is great.” Said Mrs. Webb. There isn’t any pressure or force to show up, and you will be allowed to work at your own pace.
Mrs. Webb also gave advice for anyone that might be interested in joining, but isn’t quite sure yet. “I would say go to, https://speechanddebate.org. That is the big organization that runs speech and debate. Also try talking to someone that’s already on the team, or come see Ms. Bell or myself. You can even go talk to Ms. Ellis, she used to run the speech team many years ago.”
If you’re interested in joining, go to room G259 upstairs, on a Tuesday or Thursday after school.