subtitled: Speech and Debate should be required for all students and lawmakers

Morning Joe and Norm Ornstein

As I watched Morning Joe this morning, I was pleased to see a segment about students at the Norm Ornstein Speech and Debate camp in New York, and a discussion of how this activity is so valuable.

As it turns out, I was a Speech and Debate coach for nearly twenty years in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. At first, my then school had not ever had a team, so one of my administrators asked me to start one. Back then, I was highly agreeable. Why? They would pay me extra to do it, and I always had a keen interest in arguing! If you know me, you’ll surely agree.

So, I did a lot of research, went to a “Coaches’ Camp” in Iowa City, and formed a pretty strong team. We traveled all over the country to compete in tournaments. I have detailed the experiences I had in that team in my upcoming teaching memoir Red Pens, Blue Screens : A Teacher’s Three-Decade Memoir of Educational Changes, Technology, and Politics. (Don’t hold me to it because the subtitle may still change,)

We Need People Who Are Trained in Speech and Debate

I believe students should be required to take at least one year of Speech and Debate for so many reasons. Here are some of them:

1. They will learn how to speak clearly.
2. Their writing and researching skills will improve by leaps and bounds.
3. They will meet many people with whom they may disagree, and they will still become friends.
4. They will learn not only to listen to, but even to represent all sides of important issues.
5. They will be able to read, write, argue, question, and banter in a non-threatening, non-emotional way.

As I said in my chapter about Speech and Debate in my book and previous blog, I only wish that all legislators, all judges (including the Supreme Court), and all members of any given “Executive Branch” should be required to know how to do these things.

If we would only elect qualified, competent public figures, we would not be in the state of constant turmoil that we now find ourselves in. I feel fairly certain that Adam Mockler, one of the brightest lights in the world of current political punditry, either dabbled or excelled in debate.

In my teacher store, “Literary Ladder Lessons” I have several SPEECH and DEBATE lessons available. Anyone can use them, but especially middle/high school teachers or coaches. Here they are with their links:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Intro-to-LINCOLN-DOUGLAS-DEBATE-for-Competitive-Speech-and-Debate-Grades-9-10-11-14927989

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CONGRESS-BUNDLE-Pts-1-AND-2-writing-speeches-research-Speech-and-Debate-14670032

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Speech-and-Debate-Bundle-with-Full-Lessons-on-Congress-AND-Lincoln-Douglas-14478754