User:NaomiCaines/Debate

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Youth Debate

In youth debate, students either have classroom debates or participate in inter-school debate competition. In classroom debates, the topics of the debate are related to course content and material and during the debate, students on either side put forth arguments and proposals as well as defenses of their own argument against the opposing side. The teacher and peers of the students participating in the debate make up the judging panel and upon conclusion of the debate, the winners are announced and students are given constructive feedback about how well they understood the course material and how effective their arguments were.

Inter-school youth debate tournaments typically follow the format of Policy debate with teams of two participating in three to five debate rounds about any topic and each round lasting around 90 minutes. Groups and organizations for youth that are under the nation-wide Urban debate league follow this model of debate.

Several researchers state that participation in extracurricular activities like debate brings positive benefits for children including increased standardized test scores and better behavioral performance. Other researchers argue that there is no conclusive evidence that proves that there is a direct correlation between student participation in extracurriculars and behavioral or academic progress. Despite this, many debate organizations believe that extracurricurals, debate in particular, indeed have positive behavioral, social, and academic impacts on children like the Boston Debate League, a Boston-based organization that hosts debate competitions for middle and high-schoolers, stating that their mission is "to integrate argumentation and competitive debate into public schools in Boston to develop critical thinkers ready for college, career, and engagement with the world around them."

The main goals of classroom debate and inter-school debate tournaments are to encourage youth participation in debate, help students develop their communication and listening skills and ability to draw from given information, as well as to make and defend against arguments with logical and rational thinking. Another goal of youth debate is to serve underrepresented school districts and populations and to provide students in those areas with the tools and skills to succeed in their academics and in society. In fact, a major part of the young students that are part of debate leagues are Black, Latinx, or receiving some form of financial assistance. Classroom debates and debate tournaments also provide spaces for youth to make their voices heard on public issues such as climate change, voter disenfranchisement, and immigration.