My students need a set of Debate Trophies so that we can host free monthly debate tournaments for all students in our community.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Fogel's classroom raised $593
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
This summer our school became the last Title I public school in the Bronx with a debate team. This is an educational tragedy. And so we decided to start the Bronx Great Debaters to help schools build and sustain successful debate teams in the Bronx.
The Bronx has a reputation of poverty, crime, drugs, and failing schools.
But our Debate Team has shattered these stereotypes. Our students devote themselves to daily practices starting at 7:00 am, evening practices, tournaments every weekend, and camps every summer. Students learn valuable skills in debate; public speaking, leadership, research, writing, typing, and learn about a number of subjects including philosophy, current events, economics, public policy, civics, law, international affairs, and critical theory. Debate also helps in college admissions by improving chances of college admissions from 30-60% according to a Wall Street Journal study. Many Supreme Court justices, Presidents, and lawmakers are former high school debaters. Because of these benefits, we believe that debate should be an opportunity for ALL students and so we started the Bronx Great Debaters. We are currently developing programs in three schools and that is growing.
My Project
We are asking for trophies so that we can hold free monthly debate tournaments in the Bronx for 5th-12th grade students. Most tournaments charge registration fees between $50 - $100. This is unaffordable to our students. So we plan on hosting our own free tournaments to any student who wants to debate! We don’t think money should be a barrier to participating in one of the oldest and most challenging academic opportunities. We are asking for trophies from 1st-10th place for the top ten teams. Awards are critical because schools will be more supportive of debate when their students are bringing back trophies for the school to display. Awards are incredible motivational tools for learning. Everyone likes awards and many of our students have never received an academic award.
I have been teaching in the South Bronx for almost a decade.
Over the years I have sadly seen the decline and death of academic debate in the Bronx. This is an incredible opportunity to make a stand against declining educational standards and supporting one of the most challenging and rigorous academic opportunities. Your support will support hundreds of students and dozens of schools build and rebuild their debate teams and the benefits will continue rippling beyond. Thank you.
Nearly all 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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