Group Sponsors Low Cost Summer Debate Workshop

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From http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/news/bcct/students-to-develop-debate-skills-during-workshop/

Students to develop debate skills during workshop

Posted in News on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 11:10 pm by Joan Hellyer

Summer debate workshops at colleges and universities can costs hundreds of dollars, often leaving high school kids will little or no chance to hone their skills between school years.

The well-known Harry S Truman High School debate and speech team is trying to change that.

Debate coaches and former Truman debaters are teaming up this summer to host a weeklong workshop from Aug. 3 through Aug. 7 for aspiring debaters at the Bristol Township high school off Green Lane.

The workshop is open to high school students who will be ninth- and tenth-graders in the coming school year, organizers said. Bristol Township residents will attend for free and tuition will be $50 for students from neighboring communities, the organizers said.

Debate team coach Carl Grecco credits 2009 Truman graduate Nicole Pagliaro, a four-year member of the team, with thinking up the workshop idea. Nicole said she wanted other kids to benefit from what she considered the best experience she had during high school.

“I learned to speak better. I learned to control my tongue. I learned about different philosophies and politics and I was always reading,” said Nicole, 18, who plans to attend Bloomsburg University.

During the workshop that runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, students will learn basic skills of debating and will be able to practice what they learn by using two different types of debate, said Grecco.

The first is policy debate, where two students team up to research an issue and develop an argument for or against it, he said.

The other debate form to be used at the workshop is known as “Lincoln-Douglas,” in which students work alone and need to be able to argue both sides of a topic, the debate coach said.

The workshop will help students prepare to compete in debate contests in the Philadelphia area and states along the East Coast throughout the school year, he said. The competitions open up students to many possibilities, said Grecco, who has led the Truman team to nationals for 34 straight years.

During the most recent national competition, held in Albany, New York in May, the Truman students finished in the middle of pack of the 250-team contingent, Grecco said.

The national exposure helps the kids see the world beyond Lower Bucks County and also helps them in the classroom, he said. The students are well-versed when they give verbal presentations and they have a good grasp of how to develop arguments in their essay assignments, the debate coach said.

July 20 is the registration deadline for the Truman debate workshop.

Call 215-788-0436 and ask for Shawn Eliason or Tom Gushue, the assistant Truman debate team coaches, or send an e-mail to trumandebate@yahoo.com for additional information about the workshop.