Su23c - Introductory Debate Program

This class is offered as a PHYSICAL class.

Morning Session: 9 AM to 12 Noon - Monday through Friday

New England Academy's (NEA) debate class uses debate as a tool to teach critical thinking and speaking with confidence.  In school, students of today are being asked to use critical thinking skills such as prediction and evaluation to address more nuanced issues of a text.  No longer are student's asked to memorize the action of a particular character in a story, they now must think more deeply with questions such as, was the action given by a certain character justified in light of other considerations of the story?  The ability to reason and problem solve, so critical to success in speech and debate, make the activity the ideal tool to help students hone the skills necessary for similar success in Common Core.

In our introductory Debate Class, we use the Middle School Public Debate Program, a national program, to guide students through structure of modified parliamentary debate and the fundamentals of argumentation, refutation, and speaking with confidence.  Established nearly 20 years ago, modified parliamentary debate is used by school districts, debate leagues, and the English-Speaking Union, and is the most rapidly growing debate format in America today.  It is also the style of debate used by the Orange County Debate League, the fastest growing and the most successful debate league in the country.

This 10 day course introduces three debatable topics, provides articles to help students understand the topics, and offers students multiple chances to debate each topic.  The class focuses on persuasive public speaking, the structure of logical arguments, and how to articulately respond to other's arguments.  Students are given ample practice speaking and improving these skills.

No prerequisite is necessary for this class.

This class is intended for students entering grades 4 and up in the fall.

All materials will be provided.