Why Debate?

Debate unlocks opportunities and unleashes students' potential in any sphere, cultivating leaders from Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X to Sonia Sotomayor and Elizabeth Warren. The Ancient Greeks acknowledged the transformative force of oratory; their veneration of speech and debate retains its relevance today. Debate fosters dynamic students adept in the 4 “Cs” of 21st century skills: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity—and a 5th "C," civic awareness.

1: Debate Promotes Social Awareness

Through debate, students engage with pertinent local, national, and international issues from the voting age and recall elections to foreign relations with Saudi Arabia and free trade to genetically modified foods and social media immunity liability. Debaters accrue rigorous understandings of controversial political, social, and economic issues that policymakers must contend with, thereby moulding themselves into informed citizens equipped with both the knowledge and analytical framework necessitated by considering the dynamics that envelope us. In addition to thoroughly investigating social issues that impassion them, debaters, by researching a diverse array of topics, broaden their comprehension of the inner workings of society.

2: Debate Encourages Students to See Both Sides of Issues

Persuasion is Power

In the Middle School Public Debate Program, debaters invariably formulate arguments for and debate in favor of both sides of every topic, which impels students to consider and acknowledge positions that they dissent from. By investigating both sides of social issues, students realize the inherent nuance of controversial debates masqueraded by the tendency to consider issues in a dichotomous, black-or-white fashion. Thus, debaters learn to critically examine and question the narratives that they encounter, counteracting the echochambers that bedevil modern political debates.

3: Debate Instills Students with Confidence in Public Speaking

Whether during school presentations, thesis dissertations, or business pitches, students and workers in the 21st century must engage in public speaking in order to convey their positions or persuade audiences. Debaters, by delivering speeches in a competitive environment, accrue confidence at the podium while refining their oratorical techniques in order to establish a foundation for public speaking. As they garner experience, the podium transforms from a source of trepidation to a source of power, with debaters learning how to present e subject matter and themselves.

4: Debate Improves Articulateness

5: Debate Deepens Critical Thinking

Throughout the process of conducting research, devising arguments, articulating contentions, and addressing others' argumentation, debaters must apply critical thinking skills, analyzing content in order to derive judgements. By encouraging students to thoroughly engage in inherently nuanced issues and synthesize information, debate develops students' ability to systematically investigate and consider issues before establishing informed conclusions. These critical thinking skills serve students in every aspect of life, from standardized tests to job interviews.

6: Debate Sharpens Quick Thinking

7: Debate improves research skills

As Scott Fitzgerald once established, "the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." Debaters must do exactly that. At the podium, students must formulate arguments while contemporaneously devising ways to undermine their opponents or vice versa. Since the format of the Middle School Public Debate Program encourages continued engagement between the two teams, debaters must promptly address the other team's argumentation and objections, seamlessly incorporating their responses into cohesive speeches. Thus, debate hones students' ability to think on their feet and improvise at the podium.

The readiness is all: robust research underpins successful debaters. Prior to competition, debaters must perform extensive research into the relevant topics, garnering evidence to buttress their assertions and reasoning. Through the research process, debaters ameliorate their ability to locate information, evaluate sources, synthesize condensed content, and convert their research into cogent arguments, skills in which most middle and high school students exhibit shortcomings. As they confront future research-oriented tasks such as academic papers or employment searches, debaters can draw from a wealth of experience in conducting comprehensive research.

8: Debate Enhances Collaboration Skills

Fundamentally a collective endeavor, debaters must coordinate with their teammates not only during the research process but also in the midst of debates. Debate impels each team to exploit the strength of each member by rewarding efficiency throughout preparation; students learn to both equitably allocate tasks within a team and collaborate efficiently. Through teamwork during fast-paced debate rounds, moreover, teams develop seamless nonverbal chemistry, which each member can apply beyond debate.

9: Debate Facilitates Academic Success

As Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education under the Obama Administration, contended, "debate. . .boosts your college readiness and your chance to succeed in life." Through debate, students accrue skills conducive to high achievement, whether in middle school, high school, or beyond. Due to the extensive benefits derived from debate, debaters have higher grade point averages than comparable non-debaters, score higher on all sections of the SAT and ACT, and are more likely to meet the College Board's benchmark for college readiness according to a study published on the peer-reviewed journal Educational Research and Reviews.

10: Debate is fun!

In addition to bolstering human capital and enabling future success, debate elicits unparalleled satisfaction. Debate is unimaginably fun. From collaboration with teammates in order to conceive cunning refutation to the thrill of delivering speeches, nearly every aspect of debate thoroughly engages and attracts students. A type of mental chess, debate simultaneously functions as an academic pursuit, an art form, and an interpersonal game. The exhilaration of debate comes second to none.