Early successes in first year of Waynflete’s debate program

“The skills students develop doing debate—organizing their thoughts, bet365官网如何表达, 争论一个可能与他们自己不同的观点——是成为世界公民的重要基石,学校负责人Geoff Wagg说. bet365官网与辩论教练兼英语老师莎拉·格切尔坐下来，了解更多关于韦恩弗莱特新辩论项目的情况. 

你是怎么参与辩论的?

My first experience was on an internal team at Colby College. I couldn’t compete, unfortunately, because I was a two-sport athlete. 我对辩论的兴趣, 在当前的事件中, led me to law school at the University of Michigan. I taught English literature to undergraduates during this time; it was also when I figured out that I wanted to be a teacher. 在做了一年律师之后, 我以伍斯特学院(Worcester Academy)的英语老师和住宿生活团队负责人的身份进入了私立学校的世界. It was at Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School (BB&N) where I got my first taste of speech and debate coaching. BB上的学生&一个招聘委员会看到我上过法学院，问我是否愿意当他们的辩论教练. Without knowing what I was getting myself into, I said, “Sure!”

我在BB当教练&N六年. 在那段时间里，bet365官网的团队发展到30多名学生，bet365官网还请来了一位助理教练. We built a student-driven culture that focused on being inclusive, 对实验持开放态度, 玩得开心, not winning (which paradoxically may have led to much more winning!). 在最初的几年里，我并没有假装自己是专家——我和他们一起bet365官网. We made sure to debate sensitive topics in an informed and thoughtful way. 我在BB的工作快结束了&N, 该团队赢得了国际独立学校公开演讲锦标赛，并连续在独立学校锦标赛中名列前茅.

What opportunities do students have to participate in debate at Waynflete?

Debate is offered as an 上学校 activity. We meet at least once a week but try to find other times as well, 特别是当bet365官网接近锦标赛的时候. bet365官网参加了两个不同的演讲和辩论联盟:缅因州法医协会, 是针对缅因州所有高中的吗, and the Debate Association of New England Independent Schools. We will also participate in the Maine Model UN Conference (MeMUNC) hosted by USM. 如果bet365官网能增加一名助理教练，将来bet365官网可能会提供额外的项目.

辩论项目很重要，因为有些孩子想要的不是体育方面的竞争. 辩论也让孩子们有机会找到自己的声音，并以细微差别和尊重来讨论重要问题, which complements the advising program and social-emotional learning curriculum. 

Waynflete is often characterized as a progressive school. Do debate programs help students see both sides of an issue?

This is the great thing about a speech and debate team. It’s not as hard as you might think to discuss both sides of a hard issue, as long as you lay out clear ground rules for students. 孩子们知道团队文化的一个基本方面是尝试为他们不同意的论点辩护. 对于某些类型的辩论, you flip a coin—the side that wins gets to choose either the topic or the side. The kids frequently end up having to take stances that they don’t personally believe in. This might push them to challenge their own beliefs, to recognize the validity of another viewpoint, or to use rhetoric to better defend their own point of view.

孩子们相互交流，形成自己的观点(并成功地反驳对手的观点)的能力是非常宝贵的. We watched some political debates together last year. 学生们观察到，这些并不是真正的辩论——它们只是交换谈话要点, and the candidates rarely respond to each other. 他们在辩论队看到了这一点, they were more willing to approach discussions and opponents with respect…and to listen. These are skills that everyone on the team will gain, skills that politicians at the highest level often seem to not possess.

韦弗莱特的使命包括鼓励bet365官网的学生“负责任和关心世界的参与”的目标.” How will the skills developed on the debate team be important to our graduates?

These skills will help students become engaged citizens. 作为赛事管理者, bet365官网总是尽量选择与当今时事相关的主题，但也让学生了解历史. 这些问题的范围可以从叙利亚战争的决议，到南中国海的领土主张，再到美国是否应该干预各种冲突. But there can also be more philosophical topics. 例如, Branksome大厅, 多伦多的一所私立学校, 要求世界各地的学生以“bet365官网可以欣赏艺术”为主题撰写和发表演讲, even if the artist is personally reprehensible.”

Is there a connection between being a great debater and a great writer?

A great writer is not necessarily a great debater. But a great debater is more often than not a great writer. Engaging in this kind of activity requires organization, 精度, 修辞的天赋, 分析的深度. The act of preparing for a tournament really helps students with their writing.

There are a few competition categories that require students to write and deliver speeches. bet365官网的一名学生最近在国际比赛中获得第四名(这是她第一次参加国际比赛)，她写了一篇关于水资源保护的有说服力的文章. 对于说服性演讲的类别，学生找出一个重要的问题，并提出解决方案. 她写了一篇12分钟的演讲稿, 记住了它, 并在众多国际观众和来自三个不同国家的评委面前以一种令人难以置信的引人注目的方式展示了它. You have to be a good writer to win a speech-writing event; we work closely to develop the writing skills of all debaters who are interested in dabbling in the world of speech. 我的一些最优秀的前学生演讲撰稿人一开始并不是特别熟练的撰稿人, 但他们努力工作，取得了惊人的成果.

Impromptu speaking is another event with which our students have had a lot of fun. 在比赛, they have to pick one of three topics they receive on a slip of paper, take two minutes to prepare a three-to-five-minute speech, 然后发表演讲. 大家可以想象, 喜欢写和记忆12分钟演讲的孩子和喜欢独立思考的孩子之间通常有很大的不同, 即兴对提示作出反应. I encourage students to try both impromptu and prepared events, and the major international tournaments we participate in require that they do so.

What are your hopes for the future of the program?

我主要希望有一个真正多元化的团队，让所有Waynflete的学生都觉得团队中有他们的一席之地, regardless of their confidence in their speaking and debating abilities. Students have lots of different motivations for joining the team. Some report that they’re just looking for another stage on which to perform, 有些人想bet365官网如何赢得争论, 还有一些人说，他们加入这个团队是因为他们想在公开演讲中获得信心. I hope that no matter where the kids think they are in terms of rhetorical skill, 竞争欲望, 或者对政治话题的了解, they all feel like there’s a place for them on the team. 

I also want them to be able to do all the other things they’re interested in. 你可以成为一名演员, you can be an athlete…I want them to be able to do all that and not be shut out of debate. That’s one of the beautiful things about independent schools. 你可以在自己的舒适区或专业领域之外尝试各种各样的事情. 

最后, while they’re building their public speaking and writing skills, 辩论具有挑战性的话题, 我希望他们与来自缅因州和世界各地的孩子们见面并互动，利用这个机会讨论问题，听取来自许多地方的孩子们的想法，他们的背景和政治观点与他们自己不同.

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艾莉亚·罗素24岁:

One of the aspects I appreciate about debate is how exploratory it can be; we get introduced to issues we may not have formulated opinions on, and we are asked to imagine the effects this problem has on different systems and people. We also get to hear the perspectives of other debaters, from our own school and from around the world, who all bring different contexts to the issue. 尽管这是一场比赛, 听其他辩手的演讲和即兴表演是一个建立联系和挑战bet365官网自己想法的机会.

对我来说, 有机会练习从自己的信念中退一步，形成一个令人信服的, genuine argument for the other side of the issue, 有时几乎没有时间准备, 真的很有价值吗?辩论鼓励我探索其他观点，练习自信地说话来说服别人. It also requires me to be vulnerable to allowing my own mind to be changed. 我认为这些都是处理bet365官网所面临的现实问题的强大技能, especially those with intersecting problems and complex solutions. Now that debate tournaments are back in person and our team has grown, I’m excited to debate with teams at other schools, 认识更多的人, 作为一个团队继续练习.

Miles Sims-Kastelein-Henry ' 24:

辩论鼓励观点的改变, allowing me to connect with others and have opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise. 演讲和辩论挑战我打破以往的思维定势，从各个方面分析问题. 参加像国际辩论赛这样的比赛，通过练习演讲等技能，帮助我成长为一名学生和一个人, 分析思考, 无条件的自信. 这些机会是无价的.