High School Debate Scene

Making it Matter

Here’s what I expect will happen.

My School of Tomorrow recognizes the critical skills added by Speech and Debate culture to the high school curriculum. Yes, my views were shaped by my own experience, not as a debater in high school, but as the parent of a debater in high school, and thereby a judge (not of my own kid’s events) and chaperone (our team won state championship and went to nationals in Indianapolis that year, Dallas another year).

So picture this: high school teams, from the US and Russia, on social media debating current events. Resolved: Russia’s attack on Ukraine was unprovoked. Something along those lines. The judges will be from an international background.

My school in the Philippines, ISM, is likely to be involved. Judges will be adults. But then the audience will get their say and commentators, just like with the debates we just saw on ABC and CNN.

So how will the USA team get ready? Let’s say the format is Lincoln-Douglas. They’ll have to do a lot of research and homework, that’s for sure. The Russian team will be well prepared.

My concern is the USA team as of now is far from ready, as they’ve mostly not been encouraged to have an adult perspective. The 3rd parent, the TV, has been all into “Putin is a bad guy” or “Russia is evil”.

That kind of kindergarten level nonsense isn’t going to fly with adult judges. Our team will need real coaching. I suggest more think tanks get involved. Drop me a line if you want the USA team to win. What it looks like now is pretty grim.

You might be thinking: why haven’t we seen this already? Why aren’t high school debates telecast as a sport right now?

But if you do some digging, you’ll find high schoolers are indeed engaged in these activities and the YouTubes are already out there. You just might not find them debating current events all that much, especially with teams from outside the US. This is because of television, not social media platforms.

I have no interest in showing these debates on cable. If you work for cable, don’t reach out.

Remember the rules of debate: as a team, you’ll be expected to be prepared to argue either side of the resolution. The US team could well get the job of trashing the resolution, vs upholding it.

So if you’re on the US team, my advice is you learn to think like a Russian and vice versa. People who only know how to think on one side are just morons when it comes to Lincoln-Douglas face-offs of this type.

That’s why Speech and Debate is so essential, to high schoolers aspiring to reach adulthood.