I teach at a public charter school in Crown Heights that serves 400 phenomenal Black and/or Latino students, 75% of whom qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch.
One of my amazing students is Shea, a rising junior who I call the "guardian of our community." Last year was her first year on the team, and she was extremely successful, qualifying for the New York State Championship and placing as a Quarter-Finalist there. As a Nigerian immigrant, Shea has experienced a lot of bullying in her life, and she takes it upon herself to make sure that our team can be the most inclusive, loving, and supportive community possible.
She recently approached me with concerns about how big our team will be next year (last year's season was so strong that many more kids want to participate) and how we could be pro-active about continuing to give amazing opportunities on the national circuit while holding participants to high standards. I asked her to help me develop criteria for being picked for Villiger, our first away tournament of the year where newbies will be allowed to compete.
Villiger is one of the most important tournaments of the year for us because, for many of our freshmen, it is the first time they get to travel with the team to an overnight competition.
This is a national-circuit competition, which means that kids will have to work for months leading up to it, diligently preparing their research and honing their speaking skills. The skill of self-discipline that is attached to preparing for this kind of a tournament will be useful to the students both in Speech and in all of their academic pursuits.
Additionally, since this is the first tournament where we have ever had kids advance to the elimination rounds, this tournament is a just-right fit for the team. I am confident they will work hard to prepare, and having so many of them travel together to Philadelphia will definitely be an important community-building experience for the team.
In Their Own Words
The Speech Team is made up of extremely dedicated and passionate kids that are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish success. Being one of them, I know how difficult it is to compete against white kids with privileges we are not accustomed to as minorities. However, instead of wallowing in the pain of being under-represented, we take this as motivation to strive for the best. By accomplishing this project, we are given the chance to succeed and to achieve as much as our white opponents. The Villiger Invitational is not just a competition; rather, it is another challenge that our team has chosen to face in order to achieve our ultimate goal of success. It was the first national tournament where our teammates advanced to quarterfinals which was a great achievement for our team. This is proof that this tournament has just the right amount of competition for us to prove that we are able to overcome anything.
The vision that I have for the team is one that involves everyone working together to achieve our common goal, which is succeeding despite the many hardships that we face. As a leader involved in creating this project, I will make sure that every action and decision that I make will be aimed towards achieving that goal. For example, I recently voiced a concern to my coach regarding the need for higher expectations for the individuals on the team. This includes constructing criteria in order to attend away tournaments, and receive certain benefits of being on the team. Some examples of one of the several requirements could include having to attend almost every local tournament and earning at least a rank of 3 in a round. I personally believe that this would benefit the team greatly, as we will be able to able to make sure that everyone is performing to their greatest potential.
We are aware of the systematic oppression that is prominent in society. There have been many whole school discussions on race, and how we are seen as soon as we step out of our school building. The world of Speech and Debate is a white world, and we are the black/brown kids who choose to embark on a journey that will hopefully change how we are seen not just in the Speech and Debate world but in America. There have been several instances of racism in many tournaments, and every time it happens, we are reminded that we are still viewed as less than human beings to many. This project is incredibly important to me because it is another way for us kids to prove that we are just as good as, if not better than, any of our white opponents. We will be attending Villiger to win and to break away from the shackles of racism in society today.
More than half 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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