The Hopes for Speech and Debate

Find out more about Speech and Debate, and Mr. Iosbaker's high hopes for the restoration of the club.

Stella DeLong '24

The National Speech and Debate Association was started in 1925 by Bruno E. Jacob. MHS has had Speech and Debate in the past, but in recent years has stopped due to lack of interest and staff.

Some people may ask what Speech and Debate even is. For the speech part it is all about the “performance”. How the participant delivers the message and how they can get their it across. For the Debate side of the club, it is the argument happening. They are usually given a prompt and this is the part that they get to argue.

The idea of Speech and Debate is to get people who are passionate about sharing their thoughts on hot topics. It is also a way to get better at public speaking.

This school year, Mr. Iosbaker, an instructional coach and AP Psychology teacher, has started Speech and Debate again, in hopes to expand the program.

“I don't know a lot about Speech and Debate. I tried it in high school but had to stop because I was too busy,” said Iosbaker.

He wants to learn more about the program alongside the students, to gain more experience and provide the best support for the members.

“The whole reason I wanted to start Speech and Debate back up is because I always struggled with public speaking, but you will always have to, so I learned to get used to it. I want to help student get stronger at the skill and also have fun with it,” said Iosbaker.

He has big hopes for this club. They plan on going to watch a competition at Davenport West on December 3rd, to gain more experience. They are also planning to compete at the Iowa State Speech and Debate competition. This will be their only competition this year, in hopes to gain more interest.

“Our first meeting is Friday the 18th. I already see a lot of interest, and I'm excited to see everyone come together,” said Iosbaker.

They will have practice once a week during Muskie time, and then they will have one after school depending on the week. When it gets closer to the competition they will practice more.

Their first meeting is Friday the 18th. Mr. Iosbaker hopes to have the first meeting be a fun opener to the year. “I want it to be laid back and as fun as possible. I just want to introduce the whole idea of Speech and Debate to everybody” said Iosbaker.

He hopes to get the interest level up, and get the word out that Speech and Debate is up and running once again.

His biggest piece of advice he has for anybody who wants to join but is a little scared is “Just come and try. I tried it when I was in high school and hated public speaking. If you want to improve there are a lot of ways to get better, like youtube videos” said Iosbaker.

Make sure if you want to join Speech and Debate club, contact Mr. Iosbaker for more information!