📬INTRO TO DEBATE - SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!

Dear Debaters,

As you begin your summer, I hope you keep debate in mind! Those of you who attended our three free workshops in May got a head start on embracing public speaking and debate, but, it's easy to catch up! Many of you attended our Open House in April, when we explained the three forms of debate. But, if you've never seen a debate before, you may be wondering what people actually do during a debate!

Still wondering if debate is right for you? We have the answer, YES It's fun. fosters critical thinking, problem solving and more!

I've found three YouTube videos...

that give an example of what each form of debate is like. The first is a taping of an annual Lincoln/Douglas debate hosted by the City Club of Cleveland. In October, the Bellingham City Club, part of the national City Club network, will hold a fund-raiser for the BUDC centering on a Public Forum debate by two BUDC teams. Maybe we will be able to tape that debate and put it up on YouTube as well!

High School Debate Championship 3.11.2016

2016 Hawaii State Debate Championships: Varsity Policy Debate

The Video above...

is of one of the final Policy debate rounds in the Hawaii state debate tournament. For those of you who have been watching these for awhile, yes, it's Punahou again! This is an excellent video to watch if you're interested in Policy debate because the debaters speak veeerrryyy slooowwwlly and you'll be able to catch what they say very clearly. Later, I'll include some examples of more rapid Policy debates to get your heart-beat moving!

2016 AA Public Forum Debate

This Final Video...

is of a final round of Public Forum debate at the South Dakota state high school championships. Excellent debaters come out of South Dakota, in part, I'm convinced, because they have really long winters with plenty of time to prep for debate!

Now for some light reading...

I've included two articles for people who think they would be interested in debating the Policy debate topic for 2017-18: RESOLVED: THAT THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE ITS FUNDING AND/OR REGULATION OF ELEMENTARY AND/OR SECONDARY EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES. The first article provides a very brief overview of what the federal government provides for education in terms of funding and regulation and what the states provide. Since there is no inherent barrier in general to federal funding of education, I think the key to successful cases this year will be found in the "regulation" aspect of the topic, as highlighted by the areas below.

The federal laws with the most impact on education concern:

Equal access to education
Safeguarding students' constitutional rights
Safeguarding teachers' constitutional rights.
Education is not exactly a constitutional right, like free speech and assembly, but it is an important enough interest to warrant constitutional protection. Students are therefore protected against discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or disability, or ethnicity through the 14th Amendment.

VERY BASIC EXPLANATION OF FEDERAL ROLE IN EDUCATION (Click me for file)

Now for the second article

This focuses on the need to ensure that children, especially at the elementary level, are well-fed and how improved nutrition improves education. It could serve as a springboard for an affirmative case that requires the Department of Agriculture to work with the Department of Education to require states to serve nutritious meals to all children at all schools.

SCHOOL_MEALS_CRUCIAL_TO_IMPROVING_LOW_INCOME_CHILDRENS_PERFORMANCE (Click me for file)