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THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF SPEECH AND DEBATE

From the Experts

Statement by Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, on the value of debate:

• “ the value of debate teams is both so great and yet so under-recognized.”

• “Like other competitive sports, debate teams make school more engaging and challenging. They give kids a reason to be excited about coming to school.”

• Joint study from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago: “ It found that competitive debate significantly raises graduation rates, ACT scores, and students' GPA—and that's even after controlling for student self-selection in to competitive debate.”

• “To succeed in debate, you also have to be a creative thinker. You have to spot the gaps that other people don't see—and then fill in those gaps. Finally, you have to communicate your position clearly and persuasively to judges from different backgrounds and perspectives—whether they are teachers, parents, community leaders, or college students. And you have to communicate in a collaborative manner. You work with your team. It's so important that our youth increase their global competencies and become globally-aware citizens in the 21st century—and debate is one fantastic means of doing so.”

Professor Minh Luong, Yale University

• “Luong cites a study by the Wall Street Journal on the impact of debate on college admission:
  The Wall Street Journal report did specifically highlight a ‘consistent trend’ – one that forensic coaches have known for a long time – that dedicated participation in drama and debate has significantly increased the success rate of college applicants at all schools which track such data. State and national award winners have a 22% to 30% higher acceptance rate at top tier colleges and being captain of the debate team ‘improved an applicant’s chances by more than 60% compared with the rest of the pool,’ according to the report. This is significantly better than other extracurricular activities that tend to recruit from the same pool of students as forensic teams such as school newspaper reporter (+3%), sports team captain (+5%), class president (+5%), and band (+3%). Even without winning major awards, participation in speech and debate develops valuable skills that colleges are seeking out and that is reflected in the above average acceptance rate for forensic students (+4%).”

Opening Doors, Changing Lives: The Perspective of the National Forensics League

Comments about “What Did Debate Mean for You”, Solicited 1/28/13 from former FHS students

Colin Bovet, University of Colorado Student, Fairview ‘10

For me, Speech and Debate developed the ability to give coherent arguments and to analyze the logic in others' arguments on the fly. It also definitely developed my speaking abilities, and has helped me succeed at college class presentations. I made some great friends through debate, and I still keep in touch with some of them three years later. Debate also helped improve my work ethic, as it was my major academic extracurricular. I still remember those days when we spent 10 hours at a school prepping, competing, and going to debate awards - so much fun!

Daniel Weidlein, Music Producer, Fairview ‘08

For me, debate was such a wonderful way to put into practice methods of formulating and articulating an argument. Add to that learning and assimilating great public speaking skills and you can do anything. It really doesn't matter what profession you're in, those are skills that are invaluable. As a musician I feel so much more comfortable speaking in front of a crowd confidently and off the cuff thanks to my time in debate. And as a music producer, I think my ability to give well thought out critique and to argue for why a certain direction should be taken has a strong foundation that was built during my time with Fairview debate.

And above all else, I had a blast doing it. I may not have been the most dedicated debate student, but I don't think that has to be what it was about. I had so much fun going in and arguing with people in a sanctioned forum for doing so and it was really fun to develop that skill with the others on the team.

Kelsey Piper, Stanford Student, Fairview ‘12

I started Speech and Debate sophomore year, and it was undoubtedly the most important academic experience I had in high school. High school English classes focused on literary writing skills, so it was from debate that I learned research skills - how to draw together information from a vast variety of sources, understand their biases, and frame them to make a compelling argument. That skill has served me countless times here at Stanford.

Debate also shaped my public speaking skills. Instead of laboriously memorizing my speeches for public presentations, I can now speak fluidly and shape a coherent argument on the spot. I would never have gotten these skills (or the confidence to use them) without Kristina and Isabelle, the Fairview debate coaches, constantly listening to practice speeches and giving detailed advice and criticism. My coaching and the competitions taught me that public speaking was a skill to be refined, not an ordeal to be endured.

I have used the abilities I learned in Speech and Debate in every research paper, public presentation and persuasive essay assignment I have had in college. I have also used those skills in jobs and internships. My success in Speech and Debate is one of the first things I'm asked about in job interviews - debate is known across the country as an extraordinary environment to learn focused research and argumentation skills.

Lulu Chaker, American University Student, Fairview ‘12

Sitting here as a recent Fairview graduate and second semester college freshman reflecting on my speech and debate experience, one word comes to mind: life-changing. In fact, I have one regret about speech and debate- that is starting as a sophomore and missing out on an extra year of debate. Throughout my time at Fairview High School I participated and held leadership positions in a myriad activities, ranging from Mock Trial, Model UN, NHS, Student Council, Youth in Government, Knowledge Bowl, Science Bowl, along with other volunteer involvements, all in addition to being an IB Diploma candidate. Although each of these experiences served me positively and received my utmost dedication and passion, I can genuinely say none rival the extraordinary impact of speech and debate. From the practices to the meetings to the tournaments to the fundraisers, speech and debate was an incredible experience that not only allowed me to develop academically, as an orator, researcher, and debater, but also grow as a person.

What I think stands out most to me regarding debate was the community it created. Debate created a community of other students, from upperclassmen and underclassmen, with similar interests and passions, all willing to help each other, challenge each other, create memories together, and share laughs with each other. The coaches always held us to a high level to push us to improve and always perform our best, all while being understanding, caring, available, encouraging, and always a pleasure to be around. While most students may at first find the idea of waking up before the sun on a Saturday morning to spend all day working and competing to be daunting, maybe even crazy, I loved it. It was the ability to immerse yourself in an event, create your niche, and find an outlet for your interests and talents surrounded by people joined with this common passion. Whether it was bonding with other students on the team, no matter their grade or event, or meeting new students from across the state at tournaments, debate allowed me to forge friendships with some of the most extraordinary people. The friends I made from speech and debate are by far the most valued friendships I still hold today. As busy, hectic, or overwhelming a week got, I always looked forward to the Thursday practices, where for that one hour all that mattered was my dedication to the activity and the fun loving atmosphere of everyone involved.

On another level, the skills and knowledge I gained from speech and debate consistently helped me in the classroom and beyond. While in class our teachers always aimed to teach us how to create an argument, research varying topics, and communicate our position, speech and debate allowed us to actually practically apply these skills. To this day I still always find what I learned from my involvement to help me in all aspects of my life, not only academic. Debate allowed me to develop my confidence, hone my research skills, refine my writing abilities, widen my vocabulary, sharpen my critical thinking, improve my communication, enhance my interests, and challenge my mindset. Indeed, it is impossible for me to consider what my life or high school experience would have been like without speech and debate. In fact, I often find myself today still missing speech and debate and nostalgic about the wonderful experiences, memories, and lessons it offered me. I find it especially remarkable how when I find other students in college currently that also participated in speech and debate, we immediately share a mutual bond as we always have similar positive sentiments about the incredible impact it had on our high school experience.

Simply put, I must emphasize that the value of speech and debate can not be overstated. If I had free reign, participation in speech and debate would not only be my number one recommendation to a high school student, but indeed should be a requirement. I always thought that I was putting in so much to speech and debate, only to realize it, in fact, gave me so much more. There are no mere words that can explain the remarkableness of speech and debate, the magic can only be experienced; and I promise, it is unparalleled.

Alexander Atallah, Stanford Student, Fairview ‘10

It's easy to get to the point in high school where you feel like everything you do is about grades and AP scores and getting into college. Debate made me feel like I was actually going to permanently benefit from high school too.

Public speaking was my worst fear coming in as a freshman; going to debate tournaments every other weekend and picking apart arguments pretty much eradicated it. It's like a varsity sport for your brain. Even in college, my debate experience gave me both the confidence to take on scary new opportunities and the comfort of new friends with similar experiences and interests.