NHS Debate Team—

These Kids Can Talk — And It’s Not On The Phone

By Laurie Borst

What’s the difference between Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and Extemporaneous Debate? Members of Newtown High School’s Debate Team can tell you. Approximately 30 students meet four afternoons a week to learn about debating and practice skills. Once a week, some of the teens visit the middle school to coach members of that debate team.

The NHS debate team is in its second year. About ten students from last year have committed to this year again. Larry Saladin, history/government teacher and team advisor, reports that 90 percent of the team is freshman and sophomore students.

For such a young team, they are performing well, winning some of the tournaments they attend. The students participate in two or three tournaments each month. Some tournaments are close, Yale University being one of the sites. Other tournaments are in New York and Massachusetts.

These distant tournaments require overnight hotel stays and related travel expenses. For a group that has a $400 operating budget from the school, fundraising is a necessity. The very active Debate Team Parents’ Organization directs fundraising projects. One tournament can cost $1,500 to $1,600. Parents make up the difference in costs.

 The team has a number of commercial sponsors which are listed on its website, nhsdebate.com. Team members created the site from scratch. The site contains information on the team members and their advisors, tournament schedules, descriptions of types of debating, and awards they have received.

The group recently held a Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest and Bake Sale that raised more than $450 for the team. For the high school students, Emily Strait won first place and Charlotte Snyder, second. Middle school winners were Nora Murphy and Emily Floros. Honorable Mention went to Jess Echwall and Matt Savonmeyer.

Mr Saladin is deservedly proud of his team. “These are very intelligent, hard workers. They are self-directed. I’ve seen them grow so much socially and intellectually,” he stated. “This is an intellectual pursuit nothing else can match.”

And to answer the opening question, Lincoln-Douglas debate is a values debate. Students receive a topic dealing with justice or morality and have two months to prepare. This is a structured form of debate and students are judged on the substance of their arguments, not their presentation.

Public Forum is a type of debate Ted Turner started. It requires more research and is a crossfire type of debate.

Extemporaneous Debate is a form used only in Connecticut. A topic is given the day of the debate and students have an hour or two to write arguments for both sides of the issue. They present both sides and are judged on arguing skills and speaking ability.

There are other types of debate, e.g., policy debate and public speaking, but the team does not participate in these.