In the high-needs inner-city school where I teach, my debaters are being noticed, not just at the city level, but also on the state and national circuits.
Our team has only been in existence for three years, but in that time the debaters have achieved some amazing feats.
This year, our captain took 1st speaker in the state, and came in top 8 at Harvard where over 200 debaters competed from around the country. Three debaters qualified for the State Championship, and one even won $5000 at a public speaking contest. What's truly amazing is that they have pulled this off with almost no support from our high-needs, financially-constrained public school. My principal doesn't even have the money to supply teachers with copy paper, much less support a program of this caliber.
My Project
My debaters have come this far with hardly any resources; my eyes widen at the thought of what would happen if the kids had access to formal instruction about argumentation. My students need 20 copies of the textbook "Everything's an Argument" to study in debate class. This textbook provides rigorous, college-level readings designed to enable students to identify, read, write, and refute arguments. There is no telling the impact this would have on my debaters.
My debaters are literally making history, and I want to able to formally incorporate the study of argumentation into our curriculum.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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