Incredibly articulate, extremely well-poised, and so well-prepared were some of the comments made by judges at the recent Sucessful Students In Action Elementary Debate Tournament.
The tournament, at Lawton Elementary included 32 teams of fourth and fifth graders from Blaine, Lawton, Coe and John Hay. A record 80 students attended the 10-week debate classes at four elementary schools leading up to the tournament.
At the end of the tournament, the top 12 teams and 24 individual speakers were recognized for their achievements.
3 responses so far ↓
1 DB // Feb 9, 2009 at 10:34 am
Go KIDS!! Keep up the great work!!
2 Ellen // Feb 9, 2009 at 11:21 am
It is good to know about programs like this…seems like a great way for kids to learn some excellent skills.
I just worry that we are training a whole new batch of lawyers to be!
3 Not cranky // Feb 9, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Well Ellen, think of it a more positive way: we are teaching kids to think logically and critically, to question the source and validity of data used to support arguments. I hope they will be better voters for it!
I was a judge at this tournament and I’ve got to hand it to these young kids. It takes a lot of courage to stand up in a room full of adults and keep your cool when the other team is arguing hard against you, keep thinking and making your points, listen to the new information, critique it, respond to it, answer the unexpected questions that come in cross-examination, stay poised… all of it is tough, and these kids were super!
Leave a Comment (read our comment rules)