Woodlands High School offers a variety of extracurriculars, but there is no other club like Speech and Debate. Speech and Debate provides students with a space to learn about, and discuss, current events and pressing issues. Debate instructs people on how to formally debate, which is one of the most applicable skills to school and everyday life.
When people think of debate, they believe that it’s something loosely constructed, or not interesting, but it’s more complex than that. It’s broken down into a plethora of specific events; LD, PF, WSD and Congressional Debate. Lincoln Douglas Debate or LD, named after the 1858 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, which were for the Illinois Senate seat. LD is a one-on-one debate where students apply critical literature and philosophy on pressing issues. Debate also offers Public Forum Debate or PF. In this style, two teams of two debate a topic that changes bi-monthly.
For students who enjoy even larger groups, World School Debate (WSD) is a team debate that consists of two teams of three. In Worlds School debate there are 2 formats: prepared and impromptu. Prepared has members pre-write a case, and impromptu gives them an hour and thirty minutes to write and plan.
Lastly, debate offers Congressional Debate. Congressional Debate is an event where people participate in a simulation of the US Congress. The goal is to write bills and resolutions based on the topic and debate and vote on them. In all these events, the main goal is to convince the judge to vote for your side of the debate or for you.
For events like LD, PF and WSD, debaters need to write and prepare a case for each side of the topic. Coaches and debaters vote to change these topics around every two months. The topics are standardized throughout the nation, meaning that everyone is debating the same topic.
But The Debate Club isn’t only debate; there’s also Speech. In speech events, people prepare and perform a presentation for a judge. It’s broken down into 2 areas: public address events and interpretation events.
Public address events are when competitors write speeches prior or in a given time frame and present them. Interpretation events are where competitors memorize and learn an already published material and perform those. By competing in Speech and Debate it offers people a way to learn and develop their public speaking skill. “Speech and debate has made me a better speaker,” said Kaisaa Hechman
Schools hold debate tournaments for surrounding schools to come and compete in these events. Tournaments usually happen on the weekends, and the TWHS debate team usually attends 1-3 tournaments a month. On tournament days, the debate team often gets to leave early to attend. Before the team gets to where the tournament is being held, they usually stop and eat a restaurant. Tournament also allows members to meet new people and is a “great way to form relationships with not only your team but from the community around you” explained Julie Hant.
The point of attending debate tournaments is to get TFA (Texas Forensic Association, the organization that sponsors Texas high school debate) points. Debaters need to get 12 points to qualify for state. You get points from advancing in tournaments. By winning and getting a chance to go to state, it produces triumph as explained by Wendi Shepherd, “the feeling of going up and doing well is the best part of debate.”
The Speech and Debate class and club is really enjoyable, has a good community, and provides valuable lifelong skills. The club provides a welcoming space for people to express and discuss their views and ideas. Also debate has allowed “[me] to see both sides of an argument” remarked Leah Bronfman, debate illustrates new perspectives and gives a deeper understanding of current issues.
Debate can help people in school classes, explained Julie Hant, “Debate helps me with everything involving English”. Debate gives great opportunities, allows for new friendships to be formed and helps people with public speaking.
If you are interested in getting more information about Speech and Debate, you can reach out to Shanna Punch, or contact any student that is currently enrolled in the program.
Jackson • Dec 6, 2024 at 12:20 am
man my collar’s messed up