We are excited to once again pair up with Ready Set Resources to form a debate league within our community. Our Firehawks performed extremely well at the debates last spring and we are looking forward to offering debate remotely again this year. Information about the program is listed below. The program will run from October through December with meetings scheduled twice a month. Meetings will take place on Fridays from 5:00-7:00 PM. There are 2 divisions based upon age. Each division requires a minimum of 6 participants with a maximum enrollment of 12 participants. The program cost includes the registration fee and all meeting fees. Tournaments will have separate registration fees paid directly to Ready Set Resources.
Look over the information below and reach out if you have any questions. Please reply back letting Mrs. Anglin know if your scholar will register for the program in addition to completing the registration sent via email.
Cost: $225
Meeting Dates:
10/9
10/23
11/6
11/13
12/4
12/11
2020 Online Tournament Schedule (depending on number of entries, the Tournament may extend into Sunday).
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Division 1 Ages 8-11 No experience necessary. Division 1 debate focuses on quick, fun, and creative activities, and debate sparring to learn the relevant skills for any format of debate. Debate sparring sessions are short, fun, and easy, one-, two-, or three-person debates on topics that don’t require deep research, e.g., “School uniforms should be required,” “The rise of selfies is a troubling cultural problem,” “Italy vs. England, scoped to food, clothing, and shelter,” etc. Additional activities are used to instill skills like speaking clearly, note-taking (referred to as flowing), thinking on your feet, organizing your thoughts, being creative and adapting, and determining what is relevant in material. Emphasis is placed on structuring a case, referred to as the “Constructive,” developing a “Weighing Mechanism” (or “Framework”) (for how the judge should decide the winner), understanding your opponents’ case through “Cross-Examination,” effective techniques for “Rebuttal”, and how to crystallize and convey your win to the judge in a “Summary”.
Some homework is assigned to help reinforce what’s been learned and to prep for debates.
Division 2 Ages 12-15 No experience necessary. New members to Division 2 debate clubs learn high-level debating skills that are relevant to any form of debate, through our coaching, training videos, proprietary handbook, in-club and home exercises, debate sparring, and full debates. Additional activities are used to instill skills like speaking clearly, note-taking (referred to as flowing), thinking on your feet, organizing your thoughts, being creative and adapting, and determining what is relevant in material. Emphasis is placed on structuring a compelling case, referred to as the “Constructive,” developing a “Weighing Mechanism” (or “Framework”) (for how the judge should decide the winner), understanding your opponents’ case through “Cross-Examination,” effective techniques for “Rebuttal”, weighing “Impacts,” and how to crystallize and convey your win to the judge in a “Summary” speech. A primary focus in Division 2 is to prepare for (and optionally participate in) our four annual tournaments. Tournament topics are chosen through a vote of all Division 2 club members. Typically, members will work on the tournament topic for three meetings, and then interested members can compete on that topic at the online Tournament, either debating with up to two other members from their team, or solo. There is an additional fee to participate in tournaments, to cover professional judges.
Some homework is assigned to help reinforce what’s been learned, and to prep for debates.