2020 February/March Rostrum

A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

VOLUME 94 ISSUE 3 FEB./MAR. 2020

CLASSROOM EDITION Enriching Learning through Speech and Debate

‘‘

SPEECH AND DEBATE ACTIVITIES CAN ENRICH YOUR CLASSROOM BY

PROVIDING AN ECLECTIC AND RICH DISCUSSION, PERFORMANCE, OR DEBATE—ALL WHILE ASSESSING YOUR STUDENTS’ SKILLS.

SHOP THE

NSDA STORE! www.speechanddebate.org /store HONOR SOCIETY INSIGNIA

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www.speechanddebate.org/store * Pick up shirts in Albuquerque starting Sunday, June 14.

Limited quantities available during the National Tournament.

Pre-ordering is recommended to ensure we have your size selection!

Letter from the Executive Director Perfect vision: the majority of us don’t have it. Rather, our vision requires regular maintenance and ongoing correction to prevent deterioration.

I’ve worn glasses since the age of 12. Without them, everything is fuzzy and confused, but when I look further ahead, things come into focus. I think the same thing is true for organizations—it’s easy to get lost in the fog, to lose sight of why you’re doing things day to day, to connect the parts to the whole. This year, our team will implement the strategies necessary to attain and maintain 20/20 vision in 2020. I’d encourage you and your team to do the same! How does today’s practice help you reach your end of season goal? How does approving points for your students motivate them to keep practicing? It’s all about perspective. The little things you do every day as a coach aren’t just boxes to tick on your to-do list—they are a step toward reaching your team’s one, four, or even ten year goals. Regular checkups are key.

Does the way you’re spending your time today help you bring your vision for your program to life? If not, it’s time for a correction.

2020 is a Board of Directors election year. Our Board is comprised of elected and appointed members, which gives us a unique collection of perspectives. Our appointed Board members have the distance and perspective to see roadblocks and solutions we may not. Our elected Board members are educators who see things through the eyes of NSDA coaches. They understand what happens in classrooms and squadrooms across the country—they are guided by their experience in your shoes. You can learn more about the candidates for election this year, their unique experiences, and their vision for our community on page 12.

As we enter a new year, we look ahead with a clear view of our goals and our roadmap to achieving them. Based on last summer’s membership survey and the 2019 Inclusion Workshop, we’ve already begun to revisit and revise, starting with updating our core values to replace inclusion with equity. I look forward to the year ahead.

Sincerely,

Board of Directors ELECTED MEMBERS Pam Cady Wycoff President Minnesota Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr. Vice President California Byron R. Arthur Louisiana David Huston Texas Adam J. Jacobi Wisconsin Jennifer M. Jerome Nebraska Renee C. Motter Colorado Timothy E. Sheaff Iowa

APPOINTED MEMBERS J. Scott Wunn Executive Director

Rostrum

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Rostrum (ISSN 1073-5526), Copyright © 2020 by the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA), is published five times per year (Sept., Nov., Feb., Apr., and Aug.) by the NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730.

Business and Editorial Offices: NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA, 50265-4730. Accounting and Circulation Offices: NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730. Call (920) 748-6206 to subscribe. Periodicals postage is paid at Des Moines, IA 50318, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Rostrum, c/o NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730.

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Dr. Mike Edmonds Colorado Wendy Orthman Tennessee Tom Rollins Virginia Monica Silverstein New York

To learn more about the Board, visit www.speechanddebate.org/ meet-the-team. You may also contact the Board by emailing board@speechanddebate.org.

2020 COOLIDGE CUP The Coolidge Foundation is setting out to find the top debaters in America!

The Coolidge Cup National Debate Tournament is an expenses-paid invitational tournament and debate experience held each year from July 1-5 in historic Plymouth Notch, Vermont. Learn about President Coolidge and compete for more than $15,000 in scholarships and prizes. To learn how you can earn a bid to the 2020 Coolidge Cup, see the link below for a list of qualifying tournaments­— including online competitions that you can enter from anywhere.

LEARN MORE

www.coolidgefoundation.org/debate/coolidge-cup

In this Issue : VOLUME 94 : ISSUE 3 : FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

From the Cover 30

Inside

Cross-Curricular Suggestions: Enriching Your Classroom

2

Letter from the Executive Director

Escape from Lecture: Using Escape Room Strategies to Flip Your Debate Team’s Season Prep

6

2019-2020 Topics

17

Resource Roundup

18

Membership Minute

20

Tabroom.com Tip

by Erik Dominguez 32

by Dan Hansen and Becky Hansen

Governance and Leadership 8

From Your Board President

9

Board of Directors Minutes

National Tournament

12

Seven Seek Board Election in 2020

22

Overview of High School Tournament Logistics

24

Overview of Middle School Tournament Logistics

Community 38

Commemorating Black History Month

44

Ideas for Celebrating National Speech and Debate Education Day

48

Who Will Be the Next Great Communicator?

by Christine Adams

50

Drilling Down: Applying World Schools Training In and Out of the Classroom

by Anh Cao and Cindi Timmons

52

The Forensic Quarterly to become the Policy Debate Quarterly by Kyle Mills

54

Alumni Angles: Father Gregory Chisholm, S.J.

56

Words from the Hall by Steve Meadows

58

Direct Instruction Matters: An Elevator Pitch for Speech and Debate by Steve Meadows

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ speechanddebate Share with us on Instagram @speechanddebate Follow us on Twitter @speechanddebate Follow us on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/nationalspeech-and-debate-association

OUR MISSION Rostrum shares best practices, resources, and opportunities that connect, support, and inspire a diverse community of educators committed to empowering students through competitive speech and debate.

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THE JULIA BURKE FOUNDATION IS SEEKING NOMINATIONS FOR THE

2020 Tournament of Champions Julia Burke Award for Character and Excellence in Debate Nominations are open to all high school seniors who qualify in Policy Debate at the Tournament of Champions in Lexington Kentucky

About the Award The annual award is presented at the Tournament of Champions (TOC), and includes: •

A perpetual trophy in the shape of a flame, which is inscribed, “The Julia Burke Flame For CharaCTer and exCellenCe in naTional high SChool PoliCy deBaTe.”

•

A smaller replica of the perpetual trophy, to be given to the recipient.

•

A $2,000 college scholarship to the recipient.

•

A $2,000 donation to the charity chosen by the award recipient.

The TOC Nomination Portal can be found at www.JuliaBurkeFoundation.org or send nominations to Joy Johnson, Executive Director, at Joy_Johnson@JuliaBurkeFoundation.org

DEADLINE FOR ALL NOMINATIONS IS FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOUNDATION, PLEASE GO TO WWW.JULIABURKEFOUNDATION.ORG

Nomination and Selection Process Policy debaters, coaches, and judges are invited to nominate one individual per person. The finalists are determined by the Julia Burke Award Committee, composed of nationally active present and past high school Policy debate coaches and a representative of The Julia Burke Foundation, as follows: Ms. Lexy Green, Director of Forensics, The College Preparatory School, Oakland, CA; Mr. Ryan Mills, Past Director of Forensics, The College Preparatory School, Oakland, CA; Glenbrook South High School, Wheeling, IL; Ms. Maggie Berthiaume, Director of Debate, Woodward Academy, Atlanta, GA; Mr. Eric Emerson, Director of Debate, Kinkaid High School, Houston, TX; Mr. Eric Oddo, Head Debate Coach at Niles West High School, Skokie, IL; Ms. Shunta Jordan, Director of Debate, Pace Academy, Atlanta, GA; and Mr. Eric Zampol, Board of Directors of The Julia Burke Foundation, Woodward Academy, 1998, Dartmouth College, 2002. Policy debaters attending the Tournament of Champions, and their coaches (one coach per school), determine the award recipient by majority vote.

THE JULIA BURKE FOUNDATION • 75-5722 KUAKINI HWY, SUITE 106 • KAILUA KONA, HI 96740 www.TheJuliaBurkeFoundation.org • Joy_Johnson@JuliaBurkeFoundation.org • Phone: (808) 960-1705

2019–2020

Topics

Current topics, voting links, and resources available at:

www.speechanddebate.org/topics Member students and one chapter advisor per school are eligible to vote!

2020-2021 Policy Debate Topic CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM — Resolved: The United States federal government should enact substantial criminal justice reform in the United States in one or more of the following: forensic science, policing, sentencing.

The First Step Act was a bipartisan effort which made minor changes to the criminal justice system that didn’t go far enough. What it did was spark a conversation, which in turn produced a wealth of literature that would be ripe for debate. As the nation with the most incarcerated people per capita, we have an obligation to find ways to reform our current system; this resolution offers students the opportunity to explore a plethora of options.

Affirmatives can explore different ways to improve policing. These could include, but are not limited to, body cameras, increased community policing, instituting community review boards to investigate police misconduct, or can overturn Supreme Court decisions that have increased protections for police officers. When seeking to address forensic science, affirmatives can explore the accreditation standards for crime labs, change how evidence is handled, increase testing to establish validity in crime lab results, or institute statutory mechanisms that allows individuals to prove their innocence in court based on evolving science or expert reputation. With respect to the third area of sentencing, affirmatives can change/end mandatory minimum sentencing, can change the way drug crimes are sentenced, or could abolish/change the requirements for the death penalty.

Negatives can argue that reforming forensic science would have catastrophic impacts for evidence collection or would lead to an increase in mistakes made in crime labs. When negating policing, teams can argue that increased reform on policing would lead to officers leaving the profession, could mobilize the creation of underground militias, or would cause an increase of violence towards police officers. A generic circumvention argument available to negatives could be that those in power, specifically, Attorney General Barr, will choose to not enforce whatever the affirmative does. Negative teams have access to agent CPs that test the mechanism of the aff; there is a debate to be had on whether Congress or the courts are more effective at initiating reform in the Criminal Justice System. Disadvantage ground would include Federalism DAs that challenge the roles both the federal and state governments play in the criminal justice system, Backlash DAs in the form of police officers rebelling against the affirmative, or funding DAs since a lot of the funding will have to be absorbed by state governments.

(Topic synopsis courtesy of the National Federation of State High School Associations)

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MARCH 2020

Public Forum Debate

The United States should increase its use of nuclear energy for commercial energy production.

MARCH/APRIL 2020

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Resolved: Predictive policing is unjust.

2019–2020

Policy Debate

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce Direct Commercial Sales and/ or Foreign Military Sales of arms from the United States.

2019–2020

Big Questions Debate

Resolved: Objective morality exists.

Send us your suggestions for PF topic areas and LD resolutions!

Access the online submission forms by visiting our website: www.speechanddebate.org/topics

www.gdsdebate.com

The Global Debate Symposium has the most experienced staff of any workshop in the United States with some of the best active teachers and coaches in the activity. The senior staff utilizes this expertise to construct a rigorous curriculum that respects the diverse learning styles of teenagers as they mentor younger staff to transition from outstanding debaters to instructors.

SUMMER 2019 SESSIONS TWO WEEK PROGRAMS

. . . . . June 28 - July 11

THREE WEEK PROGRAMS

. . . . June 28 - July 18

Lincoln-Douglas Debate Kritik Lab Wishing all the best for our students and teachers in the upcoming school year!

AT GDS WE PRACTICE: X Superior Curriculum and Instruction X Argument Engagement, Not Evasion X Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competence

Visit our website for more information:

www.gdsdebate.com

Congressional Debate World Schools Debate

GOVERNANCE serve as advisors regarding our work in equity, diversity, and inclusion.

From Your Board President For nearly 90 years, LEGO has captured the imagination of children and adults alike. However, in the 2000s, The LEGO Group faced a crisis. Designers were creating increasingly complex designs that were being rejected by their loyal consumers. They had a problem and didn’t know the answer. To generate ideas and revitalize their product, LEGO turned to their super fans and used crowdsourcing to learn from the “wisdom of the crowd.” Listening to those who knew and loved LEGO toys worked!

Today, because of strategies like this, LEGO has been called the “Apple of Toys.”

I share this story with you because LEGO’s journey reminds me of the NSDA’s current commitment to learn from the “wisdom of the membership.” Our choice to engage our members is intentional.

As a membership organization, we have a duty to engage our members, listen to your voices, and be responsive to your needs. What’s more, it is through your diverse ideas and feedback that we can progress as an organization and achieve true membership satisfaction for our coaches and students.

Much like LEGO turned to their super fans for ideas and feedback, your Board is dedicated to listening to and learning from you. For this reason, the scope of our “crowdsourcing” through coachdriven committees has expanded greatly.

Following the work of the Public Forum and Congressional Debate Committees in 2018-2019, these committees are at work in 2019-2020: • The Equity Statement Working Committee was formed to create our first formal public statement on equity as a guiding principle in our organization.

• The Pedagogy Committee was created to determine the core skills that students learn and demonstrate in our

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main and supplemental events. Their findings will be utilized for educational advocacy and the development of objective standards for judge training.

• The Oral interpretation Committee will review and offer recommendations concerning the current publication standards in light of evolving industry practices and the adaptation of rules in light of copyright compliance expectations.

• The Lincoln-Douglas Debate Focus Group will consider the use of ordinal voting to simplify the selection process, yet offer resolutions that meet the demands of the season. It will also offer initial feedback on current LD affirmative speaking times to determine the propensity for adjustments to counteract negative side bias.

• The NSDA Unified Manual Revision Committee was constituted to create a more user-friendly manual for new and experienced members. Initially, high school rules will be reviewed. Phase two will utilize middle school coaches to address those recommendations.

• The Constitutional Audit Committee will review our Constitution and Bylaws to ensure they comply with current standards.

• The Teacher Standards Committee will define the key roles of Coach, Educator, Evaluator, and Advocate. This includes distinct qualities for development.

Ultimately, resources will be identified to facilitate growth in these areas.

• The Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Public Forum Debate Wording Committees annually develop resolutions for public vote.

• Coaches’ Caucus Leaders lead critically important community conversations at Nationals. They also

These committees cross-section every level of our organization—our rules, procedures, governing documents, and educational goals. To best reflect the views of our membership, careful attention is paid in selecting a diverse representation of coaches. Consideration is given to diversify committees based on school and program size and demographics, geographic location, experience, and expertise, as well as self-identified race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and abilities. The average size of each committee’s membership has also been expanded to include more voices. Over the past two years, these committees have brought together more than 100 independent voices from across the country, all working to improve speech and debate for our community.

Additionally, to encourage even greater involvement in these discussions, a list of the committee chairs and members is published on our website at www.speechanddebate.org/committees.

This transparency affords all coaches the opportunity to share their views with committee members at tournaments or via email. To learn more about how you can help build our volunteer base, see page 16.

Finally, when committee recommendations are posted on our forum NSDA Connect (www.speechanddebate.org/ connect), please take the opportunity to offer your feedback so your views will be part of the conversation.

I learned a long time ago that no single person has all the answers, but the answers are out there—we just need to find them.

And that is why our members’ voices are our greatest resource. You bring the knowledge, experience, and heart needed to find those answers, continually improve our activity, and serve your needs. We embrace the “wisdom of the membership.”

Like LEGO, let’s build something great together. To be continued...

Pam Cady Wycoff NSDA Board President pam.wycoff@speechanddebate.org

GOVERNANCE

Leadership Board of Directors Minutes

T

he NSDA Board of Directors held its December virtual meeting on December 11, 2019. In attendance were President Pam Cady Wycoff, Vice President Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr., Byron Arthur, Dr. Mike Edmonds, David Huston, Adam J. Jacobi, Jennifer Jerome, Renee Motter, Wendy Orthman, Tom Rollins, and Timothy Sheaff.

President Wycoff called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

FINANCE COMMITTEE Moved by Arthur, seconded by Rollins: “Accept the FY2019 Audit.”

Passed: 11-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Orthman, Rollins, Sheaff) Annually, the NSDA engages a professional accounting firm to conduct a fiscal year audit and prepare the federal and state tax returns. The audit is conducted to review internal financial controls and ensure the annual financial report is presented free from material misstatement. The auditors concluded the FY2019 financials present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position of the association. No significant findings were noted.

The most recent audit was conducted by Denman & Company, LLP. The FY2019 audit, recommended by the Finance Committee, was presented and reviewed for acceptance.

Moved by Rollins, seconded by Lindsey: “Accept the FY2019 990 Return.”

Passed: 11-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Orthman, Rollins, Sheaff) The FY2019 990 Return, prepared by Denman & Company, LLP. and recommended by the Finance Committee, was presented to and reviewed by the Board for acceptance.

December 11, 2019

EQUITY STATEMENT UPDATE The Board reviewed and discussed a proposed NSDA Equity Statement created by the newly formed Equity Statement Working Committee comprised of a diverse group of member coaches, Board members, and staff who attended the Summer Inclusion Workshop. The statement was then circulated for feedback to the Coaches’ Caucus leaders, former Student of the Year finalists, the Board Governance Committee, general counsel, and equity consultant Dr. Pam Noli. This feedback will be utilized by the Equity Statement Working Committee to further refine the statement and, in turn, offer that version for final review. Then the Board will convene for a special session to gain approval of the statement for publication on National Speech and Debate Education Day, March 6, 2020.

STRATEGIC PLAN AND EXECUTION At the Fall Board meeting, the Board approved the FY2020 Operating Plan targeted goals. The Assistant Executive Director and Executive Director were charged to further assess the operational plan and prepare additional options for consideration at the December virtual meeting. These options along with potential next steps for the 2020 Operational Plan and beyond were presented. Highlighted areas of discussion included membership growth and retention, resource development, inclusion and equity, research and advocacy, information technology, finance, and fundraising.

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PROPOSED CHANGES TO OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS AND PROGRAMS Moved by Huston, seconded by Arthur: “In regards to programming associated with NSDA district qualifiers, limit the Tabroom.com system features to a final Board-approved version of district qualification procedures of piloted programs for final approval in the Fall of 2020 and implementation in 2021-2022.”

Passed: 9-1-1 Aye: Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Rollins, Sheaff No: Motter Abstain: Orthman Beginning with the 2021-2022 NSDA District Qualification series, the NSDA owned and operated tabulation software, Tabroom.com, will limit its functionality for tabulating NSDA district qualifiers to a single set of qualification procedures. The final set of procedures will be a version of the current pilot procedures and protocols, subject to additional review and revision. The procedures will be approved at the 2020 Fall Board meeting. Through the 2020-2021 district tournament qualification series, Tabroom. com will continue to provide functionality for both the up/ down and California Plan procedures in speech and the up/ down qualification procedures in debate. At its 2020 Fall meeting, the Board will determine whether or not up/down and California Plan procedures will remain as qualification options through other third party tabulation services or if the entire process shall be limited to one streamlined set of procedures for qualification.

GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE Executive Evaluation Template Moved by Lindsey, seconded by Jerome: “Approve the 2019-2020 Executive Review standards.”

Passed: 11-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Orthman, Rollins, Sheaff) Annually, the Board establishes a final set of goals by which to measure and assess the performance of the Executive Director. This final set of standards is a combination of non-profit Best Practices and additional targeted goals established by the Board.

Board Priorities Moved by Jacobi, seconded by Jerome: “Approve the addition of targeted strategies to the 20182020 Board Priorities.”

Passed: 11-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Orthman, Rollins, Sheaff)

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At the Fall Board meeting, annual Board self-evaluation results based on non-profit board best practices were reviewed. Selected strategies to build upon the current two-year plan were offered. (The established 2018-2020 Board Priorities include Public Image and Advocacy, Meetings, Strategy, Financial Oversight, and Program Oversight.) These additional strategies are designed to further enhance the current targeted plan as well as additional goals to continually improve all nine areas of best practices evaluated in the assessment.

Committee Size and Scope Research Initial research and preliminary recommendations regarding best practices for the appropriate size and scope of standing committees (Governance, Development, Finance, and Rules Revision and Evaluation) were offered for feedback and implementation in 2020-2021. Board members will offer further feedback on the recommendations prior to the March virtual Board meeting. A final proposal will be offered for review and approval at the Spring Board meeting, for Board implementation in 2020-2021.

Membership Working Committee Moved by Motter, seconded by Lindsey: “Approve the formation of a Membership Working Committee to develop recommendations for three strategic plan goals: reach more students, reach more schools, and membership loyalty.”

Passed: 11-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Orthman, Rollins, Sheaff) Formation of this committee was initially suggested at the Fall Board meeting in conjunction with discussions regarding the Strategic Plan and Board Self-evaluation.

The work of the Board has been consistently supported and enhanced by our standing, ad hoc, and working committees. Rather than establish a permanent Membership Standing Committee at this time, an ad hoc Membership Working Committee will be utilized.

Working committees are traditionally chaired by the Executive Director, Assistant Executive Director, or staff. Additionally, the selection of members for a working committee is generally addressed by the office. This committee will consist of Board members and staff. However, this group may also utilize additional expertise from key stakeholders to inform recommendations. This committee’s charge is to consider and propose strategies for increased membership growth and retention, including membership loyalty. It will address and offer recommendations regarding Strategic Plan Priority

Areas 1 (Reach More Students), 2 (Support More Schools), and 4 (Earn Loyalty). This includes an analysis of the current NSDA membership fee structure, membership eligibility protocols, and current marketing efforts in order to further achieve the Strategic Plan Priority Areas identified.

Elected Board Member Hiatus Moved by Rollins, seconded by Motter: “Revisit the motion about the Board member hiatus.”

Passed: 11-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Orthman, Rollins, Sheaff) Moved by Jerome, seconded by Jacobi: “Change the mandatory hiatus between the second and third terms from four years to two years.”

Failed: 2-8-1 Aye: Jacobi, Jerome No: Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Motter, Orthman, Sheaff Abstain: Rollins At the Spring 2019 Board meeting, a Board Term Limits proposal was approved, including parameters for a fouryear hiatus between the second and third term of an elected Board member. A motion to change the length of the mandatory hiatus for an elected Board member from four years (full term) to two years (half term) was considered at the Fall 2019 Board meeting. That motion was deferred for additional deliberation by the full Board at the December virtual meeting. This recent vote affirms no change in the mandatory four-year hiatus.

Appointed members left at 8:42 p.m.

COMPETITION RULES Internet Rule Proposal Moved by Jacobi, seconded by Huston: “Allow the internet to be accessed by competitors during debate rounds at the 2020 NSDA National Tournament for the sole purposes of evidence exchange, evidence challenges (per section 7.3 of the Unified Manual), and partner to partner communication.”

Passed: 8-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Sheaff) This proposal is a temporary provision prior to the 2021 National Tournament where more expanded internet use will be permitted. The rule change clarifies that debaters may not be penalized with the loss of a round for solely being connected to the internet provided they are not actively browsing for new evidence, communicating with someone other than their partner, or any other action that would be outside the scope of evidence exchange with opponents or judges, to resolve an evidence challenge, or partner-to-partner communication.

Moved by Lindsey, seconded by Arthur: “Adjourn.”

Passed: 8-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Sheaff) The Board adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? IDEAS? We want to hear from you! Send your feedback to board@speechanddebate.org.

MISSION

VISION

The National Speech & Debate Association connects, supports, and inspires a diverse community committed to empowering students through competitive speech and debate.

We envision a world in which every student has access to membership in the National Speech & Debate Association, providing the educational resources, competitive opportunities, and expertise necessary to foster their communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creative skills.

CORE VALUES EQUITY

•

INTEGRITY

•

RESPECT

•

LEADERSHIP

•

SERVICE

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GOVERNANCE

Seven Candidates Seek Board Election in 2020

This April, the National Speech & Debate Association will once again hold its biennial election, which will choose four directors to serve on the national Board of Directors and establish an order for alternates. The four elected directors will each serve a four-year term.

ELECTION OVERVIEW Voting via electronic balloting will be made available to all member schools April 6, 2020.

Voting concludes May 1, 2020.

Each school shall vote for up to four candidates. All active schools will count as one vote.

The votes will be officially audited and then announced by May 8, 2020. The four individuals receiving the most votes will earn seats on the Board from August 1, 2020, to July 31, 2024. The remaining candidates will be alternates. If an elected Board position should become vacant prior to the next election, alternates, in order of finish, will be invited to the seat.

For an explanation of Board roles and responsibilities, please visit our website at www.speechanddebate.org/nsda-boardbest-practices.

The following columns are unedited and provided exactly as submitted by each candidate. The names appear in an order drawn by lot.

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Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr. James Logan High School California It is an honor to have dedicated over thirty years of my life in service to the speech and debate community. It has afforded me a truly enriching and award winning career as the Director of Forensics at James Logan High School I was elated to have the opportunity to be a representative for the many broad interests and diverse perspectives of people from across the entire nation as a member of the NSDA Board of Directors for the past sixteen years. I first started in this activity because I believe it serves as an opportunity for every child to be able to have a voice. Like many of you, I, too, have witnessed its impact. Students I have coached have testified that this activity has changed their lives and provided them with greater opportunities to fight for social justice. I am humbled and proud to see the impact that Forensics has had.

I am also proud to report that during my tenure on the board we have prioritized diversifying our representation expanding on the resources and reach of the organization as a whole. My role has been to help maintain the board’s focus on these goals and to help propel the organization into the 21st century by collaborating on the development of several key initiatives. I have been at the forefront of establishing coaching caucuses to engage in conversations around diversity and representation for every voice in this activity. I was able to bring the Courageous Conversations conference to the NSDA focusing on combating educational disparities, discrimination, and racism. We have also received an overwhelming amount of encouraging feedback as a result of the inclusion workshops that I was instrumental in promoting. Finally, I have made significant contributions as a member of the Finance and Governance committees and am honored to have served the past two years as the Vice President of the Executive Council.

The NSDA remains the premier organization that can usher in a new generation of student leaders dedicated to the cause of becoming the voices for the voiceless. I remain committed to furthering the organization’s mission of promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. . . and my mission is far from complete. I wish to continue to serve on the Board of Directors for the NSDA and thank you in advance for your support and vote!

Jay Rye

Jacquelyn (Jacci) Young

The Montgomery Academy Alabama

Blue Springs High School Missouri

I am running for the NSDA Board of Directors because I believe: 1) Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion must be a priority within the NSDA by continuing our conversations and finding ways we can improve our organization.

2) Speech & Debate best prepares our students for college, career, and life, and we must emerge as advocates for the NSDA within and outside our schools.

3) We must find ways to properly and adequately fund programs throughout the United States so that all students can receive the full benefits of speech & debate.

4) Our board of directors should be comprised of people that understand and advocate for all events within our organization.

5) The fear of being in a minority of one should never deter a person from being heard and if you know me, I am not afraid to speak up, out, loud, and proud.

6) Fiduciary obligations to the NSDA membership is the first role of any board and I will ensure that dollars spent are always centered on the mission of the NSDA. 7) Growth of our membership needs to be on an upward trajectory and our board must help make this a reality.

8) Lobbying for Speech & Debate with our state and federal governments along with local and state school boards should be more than a one-day event.

9) Fundraising from corporate sponsors must be increased to prevent increases in fees on students and schools who are already strapped for cash.

10) Everyone in the speech & debate community deserves a safe space and we have a moral duty as educators to make this a priority.

I didn’t realize that when I began this journey as a speech coach that it would become my life skill not just my profession! My philosophy of service isn’t much different from my fellow candidates except that I am a black woman!

This simply means that my journey brings a unique perspective. So, let me introduce myself!

I am not like many may assume that I am: I don’t teach at an urban high school and teach urban students about urban problems. Instead I teach at a suburban high school (the largest in Missouri). Many of you have gotten to know me because you “see” me as a face representing the Hall of Fame and as a “voice” at the NSDA awards assemblies.

But this isn’t just “who” I am! I began in 1977 with a team of eight with just one “cross-x” team and six interpreters at an urban high school where I learned from my students how to coach! Although I’m about to complete 37 years at Blue Springs High and my 42nd year of teaching, we still tab our tournament on paper, districts is still tabbed on cards, my team can travel to only two individual overnights and we attend mostly local tournaments! I’ve had numerous state qualifiers, 15 state champions; 101 national qualifiers, several national semifinalists, 12 finalists and 3 national champions.

Our team has also earned 10 District Speech and 3 Leading Chapter awards and 3 each of School of Honor and School of Excellence awards. But even with all of this, I’m most honored to have instructed many of you at state meetings and national tournaments.

Unlike most of you, I never got the opportunity to compete in high school or college because of inactive speech programs. So how did I get here? I sat and l listened to seasoned coaches and asked questions.

In this time of diversity and inclusion, the NSDA has always been on the forefront of challenging society to open doors that have been closed. I want to be your advocate and your sounding board. I want to be that voice for those who coach after school teams like the “eight.” I want to help you fight for the less fortunate and to push you forward rather than allow you to quit! Allow me to continue my commitment and support for you! With your vote, I can!

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

13

Sandra J. Berkowitz

Manuel Halkias

The Blake School Minnesota

Canton McKinley High School Ohio

In this current political atmosphere, few things are as important as speech and debate skills. I found my passion and cultivated my voice in high school and college debate.

Then I found the wonders of coaching. My interest deepened in grad school and as a rhetorical scholar and professor of communication. I was never far from speech and debate, coaching high school teams in Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, and California. Then I had opportunities to return to high school full time. It’s like coming home.

The NSDA has always been important to me, from my high school membership (which is in my office) to advice, mentoring and friendships gained from coaches and students. I have had several opportunities to serve the community and organization, including: Public Forum Wording Committee member and chair; a coach of the USA Development Team; and currently as chair of the ad hoc Pedagogy committee. The NSDA does wonderful things with and for the community. And, there is more to do.

We are stronger because we are diverse. Important efforts such as the 2019 Inclusion Conference, of which I was privileged to be a part, and gender inclusiveness best practices, are significant steps. We know that within the community, there are tournament, coaching, and team practices that are continually developed and refined. NSDA can and should bring those diverse experiences and voices together to develop the next iteration of best practices.

Some of us coach a variety of events; others specialize.

All events and coaches must be valued. And, for some coaches and students, barriers remain. The NSDA needs to continue to listen and promote opportunities for all. To this, we must all commit.

For many of us, an important aspect of the NSDA is recognition. To that end, the NSDA should, individually and with other organizations, increase community outreach to showcase the extraordinary and commonplace classroom and competition efforts of our students and coaches. For example, the NSDA should revise the qualification process for the National Tournament and promote resources for coaches of World Schools, which utilizes extemp, oratory, and debate skills.

What we do as coaches is hard and rewarding and remarkable. We do it for the students and to invest in a better future. I want to do this work for you and for the NSDA. I respectfully ask for your vote and the opportunity to serve you.

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“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.”

— Mother Teresa In May of 1980, an awkward, overweight, confused son of a janitor sat in a junior high school library and listened to a lady who he found to be energetic and thoroughly captivating. She was recruiting incoming sophomores for the high school speech and debate team.

This young man fell in love­­—with her, with the activity, and with the potential it could unover in him. He competed for three years. For the first two he was rarely a trophy winner. He was on that bus every weekend never missing a tournament. He never qualified to nationals or even state.

It didn’t matter. He had found his calling. He would go to college, study speech education and become a speech coach.

While in college, he was given the chance to coach at his high school. Upon graduation, he was hired at this same school. He has taught and coached there ever since. His first state champion was in the event that he struggled in as a novice. His motto. .. “I have no favorite students, but favorite things about every student.”

Twenty-eight years later, he was no longer a boy, but a man. He was in a hospital bed fighting stage four cancer for fifteen months. He finally missed some tournaments... but he attended some as well. Using a walker, attached to a wound vac, and having relearned to walk. . . he was there because his kids needed him. The kids from a system where poverty is rampant. The kids who would walk to the hospital to sit by his bed.

I am this man. I want to be a leader in the organization which saved my life. I want to be the voice for every student. Additionally I want to be the voice of the students who can afford little but dream big, those who need speech and debate to get to colleges, trade schools, or to find a support system. Our children need speech and debate and we must preserve it, take it further, and bring it to more of them. Please consider me when casting your vote. This is truly my life, my passion. It is my spiritual home.

Pam Cady Wycoff

Jennifer Jerome

Apple Valley High School Minnesota

Millard West High School Nebraska

For the past 16 years, I have had the privilege of serving you as a member of the Board of Directors, six years as VicePresident, and the last two years as President. To serve as your President, and the second female to hold this office in the 95-year history of the organization, is a responsibility that I take very seriously.

I first ran for the Board because I felt there was a disconnect between decisions made by the Board and the membership’s voice. For this reason, I have and always will prioritize membership engagement. This means being inclusive rather than exclusive, opening the lines of communication, utilizing your expertise, and being responsive to your concerns.

As decision-makers, we must also put ourselves in your shoes. This year is my 40th year of coaching. I understand the realities of our chosen profession. For 10 years, I coached at a rural private school of 200, and, for the past 30 years, at a public suburban school of 1,850. I understand the challenges of an ever-evolving socio-economic climate.

Our school is racially diverse and approximately 40% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. I know the reality of teaching all day and beginning another full-time job of coaching after school. I have coached both Speech and Debate year-round and fundraised so much that, like you, I feel as though I should qualify for a degree in small business management. Bottom line, ALL PROGRAMS, COACHES, and STUDENTS in our middle schools and high schools deserve our RESPECT, ATTENTION, AND CONSIDERATION. This means valuing diversity, fostering inclusion, and advancing equity to offer the best possible experience for our members.

When I think of the demands coaches undertake, I am reminded of a mantra used by Dr. Eric Manheimer, former Medical Director of Bellevue Hospital in NYC. When encountering patients or personnel with a problem, his first response was, “How can I help?” These four words are simple, yet profound. They open the door to empathic communication, deeper understanding, and viable solutions. It was so effective that his staff began to lead with that question. As an organization, we are here to serve you and your students. We owe it to you to ask, “How can we help?” If given the opportunity to serve one final term, I will continue to prioritize a member-centered approach, and lead with the question, “How can I help?”

I want to begin by thanking each of you, the member coaches and your students, for being supremely dedicated to this profession. You give so much to ensure that all students have a voice through speech and debate. Your hard work does not go unnoticed. I truly cherish the relationships I’ve built with so many of you over the years and look forward to building even more!

It has been an honor for me to be a part of this leadership. I could have never predicted how much I could possibly grow as a leader. It has been a worthwhile experience. Although the NSDA has moved forward in many ways: transparency, inclusion, membership, strategic planning, etc. there is still much work to be done. The last 6 years serving on the Board of Directors has prepared me to take the NSDA to the next level.

Part of what I have brought and will continue to bring to the NSDA Board of Directors is a level of candor when bringing up uncomfortable issues, even when inconvenient.

This is important so that the association can move forward and focus on what is most necessary; what is best for all students. The Ad Hoc and Working Committees have brought and will continue to bring so much insight to how the members envision the future of the association. I enjoy listening to what member coaches and students have to say and work my hardest to represent them to the board and staff.

Middle school coaches and students are the future of the NSDA. We need to continue to invest in that future.

Throughout the last 6 years, I have had the joy of emceeing the Middle School National Awards Ceremony. Prior to that, I helped in tab. It has been such a pleasure investing in these members. Our future is bright!

It is my desire to continue serving this organization and its member schools and coaches. I ask for your support to help guide me to continue to make best the possible decisions for the past, present and future of the NSDA.

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COMMUNITY

NEWS + NOTES Help Build Our Volunteer Base

Fundraise for Speech and Debate

We aim to make NSDA committees, focus groups, and selection panels reflective of the complex demographics and broad experiences our community has to offer.

If you or individuals in your district are interested in serving our organization and would enhance the diversity of our committees, complete the form at www.speechanddebate.org/volunteer-nomination-form for consideration.

Support speech and debate teams across the country by running a Facebook birthday fundraiser!

Donations will be matched up to $10,000 and will go toward the Tate Fund, which helps schools and students attending the National Speech & Debate Tournament for the first time, as well as schools with demonstrated financial need. Start your fundraiser today! To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/help/990087377765844.

Nominate Coaches, Students, and Administrators for NSDA Awards

Take Advantage of Free Online Judge Training Course

Nominations are open for all of our district to national awards! Each winner of the district awards is automatically entered into the running for the national-level award when reported by your district chair.

• • • • •

District High School Coach of the Year Award District New Coach of the Year Award District Assistant Coach of the Year Award District High School Administrator of the Year Award District Student of the Year Award

District chairs, be sure to report your winners by April 16, 2020, for national award consideration by using this form: www.speechanddebate.org/district-awards-reporting-form.

Nominations are also open for the following middle school national awards! All entries are automatically considered for the national award.

• Middle School Coach of the Year Award • Middle School Administrator of the Year Award

To find each of the nomination forms, visit us online at www.speechanddebate.org/coach-recognition, www.speechanddebate.org/student-recognition, and www.speechanddebate.org/school-recognition.

The NSDA has produced introductory cultural competency guidelines through a brief, voluntary course created in partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The introductory cultural competency guidelines are presented in a short 20-minute course relevant to judges in all events, currently available as part of a longer 90-minute judge training course created with the NFHS. The cultural competency portion takes about seven minutes and is followed by a 10-minute Dramatic Interpretation performance. Judges are asked to fill out a sample ballot about the performance and compare it to the productive, appropriate comments curated by our staff. Share the cultural competency guidelines course with your judges and encourage them to take the full judge training course to learn judging best practices and review sample performances. Visit www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training for links to both courses.

Questions? We’re here to help! Email info@speechanddebate.org or call (920) 748-6206.

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Resource Roundup

T

eacher in a Box: Introduction to Teaching Public Speaking includes the materials needed for a semester-long Speech 1 course.

This course is designed for students new to public speaking and oral communication.

Prepared by Kentucky educator and five-diamond coach Steve Meadows, the first half of the course is a scaffolded approach, giving students a foundation in oral communication principles and successful experiences with quick speeches in front of the class or in small groups. Speech 1 is designed for a single semester—85 days of lessons.

For more insights from the creator of these materials, check out the “Words from the Hall” feature found on page 56.

Getting Started Visit www.speechanddebate.org/ resources and type “Teacher in a Box” into the search box to download the complete Speech 1 course, or access the following units of study in PDF format, available to all NSDA members!

• Introductory Unit • Poetry Out Loud (If Verse Comes to Verse) • Nonverbal Communication • Discussion • You in a Box Speech • MLA Overview • Demonstration (How-To/Process) Speech • The Great Debaters • Recommendation Speech • Intrapersonal Communication • Declamation

Log in and find more materials online! Visit www.speechanddebate.org/resources.

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

17

MEMBERSHIP MINUTE

Legal Scholarship at Your Fingertips HeinOnline is available to all NSDA members!

T

he National Speech & Debate Association is proud to partner with William S. Hein & Co. to provide all Association members with access to HeinOnline—an outstanding source of legal scholarship normally only available to law students and legal professionals— at no additional cost.

According to their website as of January 2020: “HeinOnline is a premier online database containing more than 178 million pages and 270,000 titles of historical and government documents in a fully searchable, image-based format.”

The site goes on to say: “HeinOnline bridges an important research gap by providing comprehensive coverage from inception of more than 2,700 law-related periodicals” and a “vast collection of academic journals.”

Read on to learn more of what this incredible platform has to offer!

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ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Law Journal Library The library contains

Foreign Relations of the United States Series (FRUS)

concerning minoritymajority relations in Europe. This library

more than 2,000 law and law-related periodicals

offers advisory services

This series began in

contains several

searchable by article title,

1861 and now comprises

publications of the ECMI,

author, subject, state or

hundreds of books. It

including ECMI Reports

country published, full

presents the official

and Working Papers.

text, and narrow by date.

documentary historical record of major U.S.

Immigration Law and Policy in the U.S.

foreign policy decisions

History of International Law

and significant diplomatic activity. The Foreign

This library contains

Relations volumes contain

classic books from famous

collection is a compilation

documents from various

authors such as Hans

of the most important

presidential libraries, the

Kelsen, Samuel Pufendorf,

historical documents

Department of State and

and James Brown Scott.

and legislation related to

Defense, the National

It also includes significant

immigration in the United

Security Council, the

serials such as the

States as well as current

Central Intelligence

International Law Studies

hearings, debates, and

Agency, and other

Series [U.S. Naval War

recent developments

foreign affairs agencies.

College], International

This monumental

Conciliation, Studies in

in immigration law. This first comprehensive database includes Board of Immigration Appeals

European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI)

(BIA) Precedent Decisions, legislative histories, law and

The ECMI conducts

policy titles, extradition

practice-oriented

titles, scholarly articles,

research, provides

an extensive bibliography,

information and

and other related works.

documentation, and

Transnational Legal Policy, and many others.

Get Started!

To access HeinOnline, visit www.speechanddebate.org/ heinonline and log in to your NSDA account.

COMPETITION

TABROOM.COM TIP:

Pre-Tournament Online Ballot Set Up

I

Log in to your account at www.tabroom.com to get started. f you have coaches, students, or judges new to using online ballots, share this handout with instructions for getting set up prior to your next tournament!

b. Ask your coach to approve the link by logging in to Tabroom.com. * Linking an account is the best way to receive notifications about postings and topic releases.

2. Click “Profile” in the upper right next to your email. a. Enter your phone number and cell provider to enable you to receive text updates when a round you are assigned has been posted.

COACHES

1. Go to Tabroom.com and log in.

b. If you choose, enter your pronouns. These will be sent to judges and competitors in your rounds. They will also appear on your online or printed ballots. They will not appear on the public Tabroom.com website.

a. Click “Entries” next to the tournament you’re attending, and select the “Judges” tab.

* This is how judges will receive updates and debate ballots throughout the tournament.

2. Select the “General” tab on your tournament registration. Look on the right side of your screen. a. Under “School contacts,” enter the email address of any assistant coach, chaperone, parent, or school official who should be receiving updates from the tournament.

JUDGES

b. Click the category in which you entered judges, then click the edit button next to each judge and ensure that the correct email address is linked. This must be done prior to the judge change deadline.

1. Go to Tabroom.com and log in. Make sure you see the name of your upcoming tournament under “Judging” on the right side of your screen. If not, contact the coach of the school you are judging for to be sure the correct email address is linked to your judge entry.

2. Click “Profile” in the upper right next to your email.

* These updates may include procedures during an emergency and updates to the schedule.

a. Enter your phone number and cell provider to enable you to receive text updates when a round you are assigned has been posted.

b. Under “Live Updates,” enter the email address of any person who would like to receive an email update every time a round pairing is released.

* Even if you are not judging an event that uses online ballots, this is the best way to receive updates during the tournament.

* This will be useful for parents or a chaperone who may need to locate students.

STUDENTS

b. If you choose, enter your pronouns. These will be sent to judges and competitors in your rounds. They will also appear on your online or printed ballots. They will not appear on the public Tabroom.com website.

1. Go to Tabroom.com and create an account or log in. a. Click “Link your account to a student.”

Search for your last name. Click “Link” next to the correct name.

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Learn More! To read about

Tabroom.com features and support, visit http://docs.tabroom.com.

“We produce more than 2,400 awards for the National Tournament alone. Imagine what we can do for your school or — Chad Wagner, tournament!”

Trophy Shop Manager for the NSDA

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

TROPHY SHOP Order tournament trophies, school awards, plaques, medals, and more from the National Speech & Debate Association’s Trophy Shop!

We have thousands to choose from, or you can create customized awards for your event! As a member, you have access to wholesale prices and early invoicing.

Learn more at www.speechanddebate.org/trophyshop

2020 NATIONALS

National Speech & Debate Tournament JUNE 14-19, 2020 | Albuquerque, New Mexico OVERVIEW OF HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT LOGISTICS SUNDAY • JUNE 14 (Registration and Expo) This year, tournament registration and the expo will take place Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Albuquerque Convention Center in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. A morning reception for new coaches, a luncheon for district leaders, and a mandatory training session for World Schools Debate judges will also take place on Sunday.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY • JUNE 15-16 (Prelim Rounds/Early Elims/NSDA Student Party) Seven venues will be used for preliminary competition Monday and Tuesday. All main event preliminary and early elimination competition on Monday and Tuesday will occur between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. High school Congressional Debate will be hosted at the Downtown Hyatt Regency and Albuquerque Convention Center.

Sandia HS and Comanche Elementary will host preliminary rounds of Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Big Questions Debate. Eldorado HS will host preliminary rounds of Policy Debate. Manzano HS will host World Schools Debate competition. Albuquerque HS will host preliminary rounds of Humorous Interp, Dramatic Interp, Duo Interp, and Program Oral Interp. Highland HS will host preliminary rounds of Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, and Informative Speaking.

The NSDA Student Party, presented by ISD, will take place Tuesday evening at Historic Old Town from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Coaches of students eliminated from main event competition Tuesday will re-register for Wednesday supplemental events online via Tabroom.com. Provisions for completing supplemental reregistration online will also be made available at the NSDA Student Party.

WEDNESDAY • JUNE 17 (Elim Rounds/Supplemental Events)

Note: All details are tentative and subject to change. Times are shown in MT.

Six venues will be used Wednesday. All competition will occur between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Students who qualify for elimination round 9 of all main speech and debate events (including World Schools and Big Questions Debate) will compete at Manzano HS. International Supplemental Public Forum Debate also will occur at Manzano HS. High school Congressional Debate House quarterfinals and Senate semifinals will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Those students re-registered in Extemporaneous Debate will compete at Sandia HS. Those students re-registered for supplemental speech events will compete at Highland HS. Note: Middle school competition begins Wednesday at Albuquerque HS.

THURSDAY • JUNE 18 (Elim Rounds/Supp-Cons Events/Interp Finals/Diamond Awards) REGISTRATION OPENS MARCH 1 High school coaches will be notified via email when the online registration website opens for their district once their district tournament series (debate, speech, and Congress) is complete.

Thursday morning, high school main event debate elimination rounds, as well as Big Questions Debate and International Supplemental Public Forum Debate, will continue at Manzano HS. High school Congressional Debate will hold its Senate final rounds and House semifinal rounds at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

All supplemental speech events will occur at Highland HS. Extemporaneous Debate will occur at Manzano HS. Note: Middle school competition continues at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday at Albuquerque HS. Thursday afternoon and evening, attendees will enjoy the national final rounds of World Schools Debate, Program Oral Interp, Humorous Interp, Dramatic Interp, and Duo Interp, as well as the Donus D. Roberts Diamond Assembly, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

FRIDAY • JUNE 19 (Supp-Cons/Main Event Finals and National Awards Assembly) The remaining main event final rounds (Congressional Debate House, Informative Speaking, United States Extemp, International Extemp, Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Original Oratory), as well as the Big Questions Debate, supplemental events, and middle school finals, will be held throughout the day on Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center, culminating with the National Awards Assembly Friday evening.

The National Speech & Debate Association has appeared on the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) National Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities since the origination of the list.

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Save money by staying within the National Tournament hotel block!

Guarantee the best hotel rates and keep your tournament entry fees low by visiting the online booking site at www.speechanddebate.org/nationals.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SELECTING AND RESERVING HOTELS Please review before selecting lodging!

NOTE: If your team stays within the National Tournament hotel block, you will receive a $25 discount off the current year’s main event entry fee per student. See our FAQ section at www.speechanddebate.org/nationals for more details.

Online Booking Site » To secure the best hotel rates, all coaches must use the online booking system provided by the Speech & Debate House Bureau (managed by Catch Des Moines). The platform is similar to an Orbitz, Travelocity, or other online booking website, and contains all of the hotel properties negotiated by the NSDA. Enter your check in/check out dates, number of rooms, and number of guests to display a list or map view of available hotels matching your search parameters. You may also filter the results by name, price, or distance to find the best property that fits your team’s needs.

Please do NOT call the hotels directly to book your hotel rooms. Larger teams requiring ten or more rooms, or those teams wishing to pay by check, should contact the Speech & Debate Housing Bureau (managed by Catch Des Moines). Details can be found on the online booking site. Every hotel requires a credit card on file for incidentals and cancellation fees even if you are paying by check. If you are paying by check, please select “Yes” in the field under “Additional Information” on the “Guest Details” page and someone from the Speech & Debate Housing Bureau will follow up with you.

Additional Block Hotels » Morning and afternoon traffic jams will make commuting from non-recommended properties a very difficult task and could result in major issues for your team. In addition, the NSDA only has contracts with those properties listed and will not be able to assist you with issues in hotels outside the block. PLEASE DO NOT STAY OUTSIDE THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT HOTEL BLOCK.

Important Notes » Many room reservations within the National Tournament hotel block are subject to an automatic nonrefundable two-night deposit per room that will be charged on April 22, 2020. The DoubleTree and Hyatt Place Albuquerque Uptown will charge the two-night deposit at the time of booking. This avoids double booking and allows all attendees equal opportunity to book in the best available properties. Check the online booking site for details. Please note, there is a five night minimum stay at the Hyatt Regency, DoubleTree, Crowne Plaza, and Marriott Albuquerque.

Why should I stay within the National Tournament Hotel Block? As the costs in hosting and executing the National Tournament continue to rise, it has become more and more important that all teams at Nationals stay within the established block of hotel rooms. When negotiating contracts to ensure the best possible rates and benefits to the organization and participants, certain guarantees and room pick up history must be provided to each contracting hotel. Staying in the National Tournament hotel block assists in future rate negotiations and provides essential rebate revenue and complimentary room nights that prevent expenses from being passed off to the participating teams.

Can I cancel or update my room reservation? Yes! Using the online booking system, coaches may cancel or update their team’s room reservations without penalty until April 22, 2020. Therefore, you are encouraged to book your rooms as early as possible! This should provide ample time and an even playing field for all teams planning to attend the tournament. (Please note that on April 22, 2020, any room reservations within the block that are subject to an automatic two-night, non-refundable deposit per room will be charged. The DoubleTree and Hyatt Place Albuquerque Uptown will charge the two-night deposit at the time of booking.)

Can I still earn hotel points through the online booking system? Yes, you will have the option to add your membership number to the online reservation or present it at check-in.

For more information, see our FAQ section at www.speechanddebate.org/nationals.

Additional tournament information is available at www.speechanddebate.org/nationals.

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OVERVIEW OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TOURNAMENT LOGISTICS

Middle School Nationals | JUNE 16-19, 2020 Tentative Schedule

presented by

TUESDAY • JUNE 16 Middle school registration will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Albuquerque Museum, located in Historic Old Town.

WEDNESDAY • JUNE 17 Middle school competition begins Wednesday at Albuquerque HS. Rounds begin at 8:00 a.m. and will last until 7:00 p.m. Time has been built in for lunch.

THURSDAY • JUNE 18 Middle school competition continues Thursday at Albuquerque HS. Rounds begin at 8:00 a.m. and last until 7:00 p.m. Time has been built in for lunch.

FRIDAY • JUNE 19 Beginning at 8:00 a.m., final rounds of Speech, Congress, and World Schools Debate, as well as semifinal and final rounds of Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum, will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The middle school awards assembly will commence at 4:15 p.m. followed by the high school awards assembly at 6:30 p.m., where the middle school circle of champions will be recognized on the high school stage!

Important Middle School Dates • Coaches may register online at MSNats.tabroom.com beginning March 1.

• Congressional Debate legislation is due April 24.

• Entries, judges, forms, piece information, and payment are due on May 1.

• A late fee of $200 will be assessed for any materials or payment received after May 1. A school risks forfeiting participation if materials are not received by May 8.

Other Details • NEW IN 2020:

Review Before Selecting Lodging Middle school coaches should read all information relative to lodging on page 23. If your team stays within the National Tournament hotel block, you will receive a $25 discount off the current year’s main event entry fee per student. See our FAQs at www.speechanddebate.org/ nationals for more information.

Membership Notice The Board of Directors affirms the creation, support, and development of speech and debate programs at the middle and secondary levels through accredited public and private schools.

All members of the National Speech & Debate Association must be schoolbased. For any club or organization that does not currently have a schoolbased membership, the NSDA is eager to work with you to create schoolbased speech and debate teams.

Students who are currently members through their area non-school-based clubs and organizations may request to have their memberships transferred to their accredited public and private schools. Homeschools and virtual schools that are recognized by the state in which those schools compete may join the National Speech & Debate Association.

• Program Oral Interpretation and Informative Speaking will be main events.

• Due to a lack of interest, the Middle School National Tournament will not offer supplemental events.

• Each school is permitted up to 6 entries in each event. There is no waitlist.

Coaches will be notified if there is space for additional entries by June 1.

• Coaches are asked to carefully review all information on the tournament website.

• Middle schools are required to bring judges for each division in which they have students (Policy, LD, PF, Speech, Congress, and World Schools) as a condition for registering.

World Schools Debate Pilot World Schools Debate will once again be piloted at the 2020 Middle School National Tournament. All judges must attend the on-site judge training. The only exception that will be made is for high school students who competed in elimination rounds on Wednesday morning at the National Tournament and, as a result, could not attend training.

Additional tournament information is available at www.speechanddebate.org/nationals.

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JOIN US FOR THE NSDA

Food • Music Fun • Results

Student Party!

Shop the NSDA Store Supplemental Re-registration

presented by the Institute for Speech and Debate

HISTORIC OLD TOWN

|

...and More!

TUESDAY, JUNE 16

|

6-9 P.M.

Old Town Albuquerque is located between Mountain Road and Central Avenue (Route 66) just East of Rio Grande Boulevard.

NSDA Coaches’ Caucuses In conjunction with the

speech and debate community.

like to participate. A complete

National Speech & Debate

In recent years, the Asian

schedule will be available at

Tournament in Albuquerque,

American, African American/

www.speechanddebate.org/

New Mexico, the NSDA is

Black, Hispanic/Latinx,

nationals as we get closer

honored to host a series of

LGBT+, and Womxn Coaches’

to June. If you would like

Coaches’ Caucuses throughout

Caucuses have met and

to help moderate one of

the day on Sunday, June 14 at

provided invaluable feedback

these caucuses, please email

the Albuquerque Convention

to the organization. Please plan

the national office at info@

Center. The caucuses address

to arrive early in the day or

speechanddebate.org for more

issues of inclusion in the

the night before if you would

information.

Additional tournament information is available at www.speechanddebate.org/nationals.

26

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

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28

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

The American Legion’s National Oratorical Contest

LOOKING FOR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS?  LOOK NO FURTHER. The first place finisher of The American Legion’s National Oratorical Contest is awarded a $20,000 scholarship, second place $17,000, and third place $15,000.

As part of the National Speech & Debate Association’s ongoing alliance with The American Legion, those top three finishers may also earn the right to compete in Original Oratory or United States Extemporaneous Speaking at the National Speech & Debate Tournament!



Want to get involved? Follow these simple steps!

• Visit www.legion.org/oratorical to learn more.

• Click on “State Contests” to contact The American Legion Department Headquarters located in your state to learn when the first contest in your area will be.

• Also click on “Assigned Topics” to learn the extemporaneous topic areas.

• Prepare your original oration on some aspect of the Constitution with emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our government.

Patrick Junker of Iowa placed first at the 2019 American Legion National Oratorical Contest

Watch examples of past winning orations online at www.legion.org/oratorical/videos.

CLASSROOM

CROSS-CURRICULAR SUGGESTIONS: Enriching Your Classroom

by Erik Dominguez

T

he New York Times published an article on March 20, 2019, entitled “High School Doesn’t Have to Be Boring: Debate, drama, and other extracurriculars provide the excitement many classrooms lack. And they can help overhaul the system.”

Indeed, the buzzword in education in recent years has been “student engagement”—how do we communicate the needed information to our students and get them to demonstrate for us their proficiency in that standard in a novel way?

Speech and debate activities are not just for after-school enrichment.

They can enrich your classroom by providing an eclectic and rich discussion, performance, or debate— all while assessing your students’ skills. Here are just a few of the examples you could try.

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ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

English Classrooms Most states have a speaking standard that students must hit in order to show achievement in the class; thus, this is not a difficult transition.

However, many teachers box themselves into the traditional persuasive or informative speech, using outdated or formulaic outlines that leave the student (and teacher) feeling as if they are simply reading an essay out loud. Here are some fresh ways to incorporate speech and debate skills (and events!) into the English classroom.

Read and Respond.

Instead of the typical discussion, give two or three students a few minutes to prepare a two- or three-minute speech addressing the reading assignment you gave. This holds

students accountable for reading the material and teaches them how to respond in a more organized fashion.

Paragraphed Portions.

Assign each student a paragraph they have to act out from the novel, play, or poem you are reading. This is a great opportunity to talk about character development and visualization within the literature!

This Book Stinks! Let’s face it—students don’t always love what we assign them to read.

And that’s okay! Allow students to vent out their frustration in a two- or three-minute, well-organized speech as to why their reading assignment does not reach them. They must use sound logic and argumentation. This

will have students dig deep into why they feel the author falls short in the literary elements and plot structure that they will have learned.

Social Studies Classrooms Social Studies teachers may also find the following activities helpful in incorporating speech and debate skills into their classroom.

The Timeline is Askew! Have students prepare a two- to three-minute informative speech on their day-today life—however, their day-to-day life is much different because the United States lost the Revolutionary War and we are still under British rule; or

Speech and debate activities are not just for afterschool enrichment.

They can enrich your classroom by providing an eclectic and rich discussion, performance, or debate—all while assessing your students’ skills.

because the Cuban Missile Crisis was not avoided; or because the Bill of Rights were never written. You can make this a weekly, rotating assignment that digs into a student’s speaking and creative thinking skills.

Resolved: A Bill To Change The Timeline.

Have students propose legislation that would have avoided or altered certain events in history. Give students the opportunity to give speeches and cross-examine each other as to how/why those actions would have resulted in a better outcome.

Hot Seat, Special Guest. Assign students a person from the historical context you are studying. Every day

you will have a special guest who will answer questions based off of that person’s time in history. BONUS! You don’t always have to introduce your special guest! You can keep their identity hidden until the students guess correctly.

Do you have fun speech and debate activities or ideas that you already incorporate into your classroom? Email us! info@speechanddebate.org

Erik Dominguez is a two-diamond coach who has been competing and coaching for more than 20 years.

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

31

CLASSROOM

ESCAPE FROM LECTURE: Using Escape Room Strategies to Flip Your Debate Team’s Season Prep

by Dan Hansen and Becky Hansen

E

very debate season begins with an uphill climb.

There’s so much background knowledge to activate, so many new skills to learn, and that doesn’t even include all the new topic material.

The consensus of research on retention proves that students learn far more by doing than by lecture. Yet, as coaches, we often lecture on a skill and immediately ask students to use it in a debate round. Even if we employ practice rounds, the theory of gradual release suggests we ought to provide an opportunity for collaborative learning before skills are assessed (Fisher & Frey, 41-42).

A great way to address this gap is with a Debate Escape Room!

An interconnected series of puzzles, games, and problems to solve, escape rooms are studentcentered, active learning experiences that energize

your students and get them working together while they learn what they need for the season. In addition to building skills, escape rooms build teams.

Around the country, escape room businesses market themselves as corporate team-building experiences.

Debate teams can benefit in the same way.

An escape room presents students with a layered set of obstacles that must be “solved” to move on to the next set of challenges. The ultimate goal is to “escape the room” of puzzles and challenges. In real escape rooms the escape is literal— you try to get the code to the exit door before time runs out. For our team, we ask our students to see how fast they can solve all the puzzles related to some scenario we craft, such as: “A rival team has locked your evidence in the broom closet. You need to find the code before you forfeit your next round.”

They then must solve puzzles, such as construct a kritik from the given cards, put together the topicality standards, match the tags to the cards, or even access our tournament sign up system and put the round in order to gain the codes that will give them access to the next puzzle—all leading to rescuing their pilfered evidence.

Learning through problem-solving gets students engaging through a greater variety of learning styles and lets them take center stage while also building a team mentality.

Students have to help each other and rely on each other to do well. They learn—and sometimes we as coaches do, too—what skills their teammates have that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Quiet students may thrive in the small-group environment and demonstrate their mastery in a way they won’t during a whole-team

meeting. As coaches, we can also tell who is ready to lead and who just wants to be in charge.

Creating an Escape Room Challenge Escape rooms can be as simple as a small, linear chain of a few puzzles or a crazy, whole-room experience of numerous interdependent puzzles with false leads and hidden components.

Regardless of your comfort level, they all rest on a few basic principles.

You’ll need some materials, but you DON’T have to spend much money.

• You’ll need some containers to hide puzzles in until the students get to them. Useful containers include luggage, briefcases, toolboxes, backpacks, password-locked computers, cash boxes, etc.

Visit www.speechanddebate.org/escape-room-strategies for editable materials to help you get started!

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ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

• You’ll need ways to keep students out of the containers so they have to “earn their way in” by solving a puzzle—in other words, locks (key locks, padlocks, wordlocks, passwords, etc.)

These locks can be real, virtual, or just “you have to tell me the code to proceed.”

Again, no need to spend money!

• You’ll need some puzzle material. This can be as simple as a few cut-up pieces of paper (for matching evidence to tags, for example), or pictures of world leaders they have to identify.

One year we gave them a keypad on paper and instead of having numbers printed on it, it had members of Trump’s White House. The order in which the people had been removed from their positions gave students the code for the actual keypad on the computer. Anything you need can be printed, found around the house, or cheaply obtained at garage sales or resale shops. This year, we added a chessboard from Goodwill and a black light flashlight from Amazon—for under $10.

Escape Room

Planning Tips for

Success

(above) You can see the toolbox above has two locks on it—one that requires a key and one that requires a code. (opposite page) Novices are shown matching tags to cards. When they get a match, it gives them a letter and a number. They can then remove a syllable from a word on the chess board that matches that letter and number combination. Once they have all syllables correct, they can be rearranged into a passcode phrase that unlocks a computer. This year that phrase was Avengers Assemble.

Debate Escape Room Load Plan

Decide on the skills you want to test in puzzles.

Brainstorm the skills you want your students to master throughout the season (we mentioned a number we used above). Keep their current level in mind. We run two rooms every year—one for varsity and one for novices.

There are two documents we create that are invaluable. The first is the Load Plan. This tells us what goes in each container and what it is secured with. That way we know the students won’t have to open a container with a key they don’t have access to yet.

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

33

Debate Escape Room Diagram

The second invaluable document we prepare is our Room Diagram. It tells us what key is where, how the container gets open, and what is in everything. Build up to this!

Your first time through, it is perfectly great to have something simple like the example below.

Folder One:

Folder Two:

Folder Three:

Folder Four:

Contains word search and

Speeches in a round cut

Build a Disadvantage.

Match Tags to Cards:

acrostic. Students should

into strips. Students need

Contains 7 cards about Russia

Contains 5 cards and 7 tags

get code: Cyber

to put the speeches in

filling in if the U.S. stops

as well as a paper with a

order. Students should get

selling weapons. Students

grid with letters across the

code: 8834

need to pick the correct

top, numbers down the side.

Uniqueness, Link, Impact

When students match the

that we discussed this week.

correct cards and tags, they

Students get code: 1NC

will get 5 syllables: You are the winner.

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ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Put the puzzles together. Your goal is to turn every solution into a number sequence, word, or other lock answer.

• Jigsaw or matching: With the example of matching cards to tags, each could be given a number. Added together, they make a code for a number lock, or correspond to a numbered key they need to use.

• Put things in order: This is what we do with testing parts of a disadvantage (DA) or kritik (K). Find the right steps or cards, and the order gives you a number sequence or spells out a word.

• Use a word search or acrostic: Every year we start with a word search and the words found then need to be put in an acrostic with certain letters circled. Those circled letters then need to be arranged into a four letter word for a word lock. We use things like the debate topic resolution or the mission statement of the NSDA. • Got an old decoder ring or wheel? Use that in conjunction with any of the above to add a layer of problem-solving complexity.

• We get a lot of our complex puzzle ideas from attending commercial escape

rooms or purchasing box escape rooms we play as a family and figuring out ways to adapt them ourselves.

Lay out the room.

Do students solve puzzle one, then two, then three, in a linear order? Or do they get clues in puzzle one that let them do two and three simultaneously?

Do they need clues from one AND two to solve puzzle three? Are there false clues, dummy keys, etc?

We recommend you draw up a diagram of the room to make sure you don’t lock a clue inside a container they can’t access without that very clue! It also helps

you reset the room if you want multiple groups to experience it.

Have fun! Remember, that’s one of the goals.

This means you may want to start small and simple your first time using escape room puzzles. Ours is pretty complicated by now, but part of the fun we have is that each year, we add or swap in something different that we think is exciting. Finding those ideas online, at resale shops, or at commercial escape rooms is what keeps it fresh for us coaches as well.

Planning and running an escape room might feel daunting and a little outside your comfort zone as you begin. But when you do it right, it will be something that will benefit your team—both socially and instructionally the whole season.

Dan Hansen is a one-diamond coach at Fort Atkinson High School in Wisconsin. Becky Hansen serves as the novice debate director there and was named the Southern Wisconsin District New Coach of the Year in 2019.

Reference Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2008). Homework and the gradual release of responsibility: Making ‘responsibility’ possible.

English Journal 98(2), 40-45.

One year we made a word search as tall as the room and wrote the blanks for the words on the white board. It was the only clue students had as they got started. It was fascinating to watch one student on the team become frustrated and try to pull the rest of the team off-task. We learned a lot about the personalities of our team that day!

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

35

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I KNOW THAT THERE IS NO CHALLENGE THAT I CAN’ T OVERCOME BECAUSE I WAS GIVEN THE TOOLS TO SUCCEED IN MY TIME IN SPEECH AND DEBATE .

CORY WILLIAMS Hattiesburg High School, MS – Class of 2010 2010 NSDA National Student of the Year

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

COMMUNITY

DEB ATE GAV E ME A VO ICE AT A TIM E IN MY LIFE WH EN I FELT LIK E NO BO DY WA S LIST ENI NG . NO W I USE THAT VO ICE TO AD VO CAT E ON BEH ALF OF OT HER S.

Commemorating Black History Month

SARA H CART HEN WAT SON The Blake School, MN – Class

of 2011

Associate Counsel, Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

www.spe echandd ebate.or

F

ebruary is Black History Month!

Our downloadable materials can help you incorporate the month into your classroom, squadroom, or around your school.

FORENSICS TAUGHT ME THE POWER OF BEING VULNERABLE THROUGH PERFORMANCE. IT GAVE ME THE TOOLS AND CONFIDENCE I NEED TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY IN THE REAL WORLD.

Poster Series » Commemorate the month in your school or recruit new members for your team with our posters featuring Black speech and debate coaches and alumni.

We also encourage you to make your own posters featuring current students, coaches, or alumni from your program! Download the template on our website and follow the instructions to start creating.

Literature Collection » Looking for new literature for speech events? Check out the initial list of works in our collection or suggest others for us to add.

I WOULDN’ T BE THE PERSON I AM TODAY WITHOUT THE SKILLS I ACQUIRED FROM DEBATE .

RYAN JAMES

Nova High School, FL - Class of 2017

McDonogh School, MD

First African American woman to win an NSDA Public Forum Debate national championship

TOC Policy Debate championship in 2017

First African American to win the

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E

www.speechanddebate.org

www.speechanddebate.org

FORENSICS CULTIVATED A GIFT I DIDN’T KNOW I HAD. THAT GIFT WAS TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE ACCURATE AND HEARTFELT MESSAGES TO DIVERSE GROUPS OF PEOPLE.

SPEECH AND DEBATE IGNITED MY PASSION TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD AROUND ME. BY RECOGNIZING THE POWER OF MY WORDS, I HAVE GAINED THE COURAGE TO BOTH SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER AND REINVIGORATE MY COMMUNITY.

KOREY T. JOHNSON, ESQ.

AUSTIN GROVES

KRISTEN PRIDE

The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, MD – Class of 2012

Blue Springs High School, MO - Class of 2011

Freedom Academy High School, NY – Class of 2005

Attorney and First African-American Woman to win the collegiate Cross-Examination Debate Association National Championship in 2014

2010 Duo national champion and 2011 Dramatic runner-up

Workers’ Comp Attorney, Sobel Pevzner, LLC

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

DEBATE HAS OPENED UP DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY AND EMPOWERED ME TO INVEST IN MY PERSONAL GROW TH EACH DAY.

CORNELIA FRASER

DARIUS WILSON Blue Springs High School, MO – Class of 2010

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E

WE ARE SPEECH & D E B AT E

SPEECH AND DEBATE IS A PLATFORM THAT ALLOWS ONE TO TELL THE STORIES OF THOSE THE WORLD OFTEN FORGETS OR IGNORES.

2010 Duo national champion and 2009 Poetry finalist

www.speechanddebate.org

g

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E

www.speechanddebate.org

EVERY DAY AND IN EVERY FACET OF MY LIFE, I USE THE SKILLS LEARNED FROM MY TIME IN DEBATE. AS A RESULT, DEBATE IS NOT SIMPLY AN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY TO ME , BUT A WAY OF LIFE!

www.speechanddebate.org

IN A COUNTRY THAT SILENCES MARGINALIZED VOICES, FORENSICS IS A COMMUNITY THAT NOT ONLY ENCOURAGES ME AS A BLACK MAN TO USE MY VOICE BUT EXALTS IT.

LIFE IS ALL ABOUT MOMENTS OF IMPACT, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING SPEECH AND DEBATE DID FOR ME WAS GIVE ME A VOICE TO IMPACT OTHERS.

JAMES ROLAND Pineville High School, LA – Class of 1994

KIYAH SANDERS

Sr. Director, Civic and Community Engagement

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

Find more resources at www.speechanddebate.org/ black-history-month

DRAKE POUGH

Apple Valley High School, MN - Class of 2017

Exec. Director, Atlanta Urban Debate League

James Logan High School, CA – Class of 2009

2017 Duo Interpretation National Co-Champion

Director, Emory Center for Advancing Nonviolence (ECAN)

2009 Duo Interpretation national champion

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

Turn the page for more full-size posters you can display in your school, classroom, or squadroom!

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

39

SPEECH AND DEBATE BROADENED MY PERSPECTIVE OF THE WORLD AROUND ME AND DEEPENED MY UNDERSTANDING OF MYSELF AND MY ABILITIES.

COURTNEY JANINE BRUNSON St. Thomas Aquinas High School, FL â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Class of 2012 J.D. Candidate, Harvard Law School

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

SPEECH AND DEBATE TAUGHT ME HOW TO THINK , LISTEN, AND SPEAK . TODAY I USE THOSE SKILLS TO EMPOWER OTHERS THROUGH FORENSICS TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES.

CHAD MEADOWS Davies County High School â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Class of 2012 Debate Director, Western Kentucky University

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

SPEECH AND DEBATE TAUGHT ME HOW TO EXAMINE ALL SIDES OF A PROBLEM. THIS MAKES ME A BETTER LEADER .

NORISHA KIRTS Tioga High School, LA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Class of 1999 President, NRK Construction

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

SPEECH AND DEBATE MADE ME REALIZE HOW GREAT WORDS AND ARGUMENTS CAN INSPIRE POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE .

RASHA HARVEY Montgomery Bell Academy, TN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Class of 2008 Mid-Market Customer Success Manager, Asana

W E A R E S P E E C H & D E B AT E www.speechanddebate.org

NATI ON AL NAT I ON NATI ONA L AL SPEECH AND DEBATE • MARCH 6, 2020 EDUCATION DAY N AT IO N AL SPEECH AND DEBATE SPEECH6, AND2020 DEBATE CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING •DAY MARCH EDUCATION DAYSTUDENTS. EDUCATION

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EDUCATION DAY • MARCH 6, 2020 TRANSFORMING TOMORROW. CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING STUDENTS. CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING STUDENTS. CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING STUDENTS. TRANSFORMING TOMORROW. TRANSFORMING TOMORROW.

2020 TEAM TOOLKIT 2020 TEAM TOOLK 20202020 TEAM TOOLKIT TEAM TOOLKIT

CELEBRATION IDEAS CELEBRATION IDEAS CELEBRATION IDEAS PREPSPEECH TIMELINE NATIONAL AND DEBATE EDUCATION DAY — MARCH 6, 2020 TRANSFORMING TOMORROW.

NATIONAL SPEECH AND DEBATE EDUCATION DAY — MARCH 6, 2020 There are many ways your team can celebrate National Speech and Debate Education Day! We’ve outlined some ideas for your team to make this day extra special below, but how you celebrate this day is totally up to you!

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HAVE FUN!

NATI ON AL NAT I ON NATI ONA L AL SPEECH AND DEBATE N AT IO N AL • MARCH 6, 2020 EDUCATION DAY SPEECH AND DEBATE SPEECH AND DEBATE CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING •DAY MARCH 6, 2020 EDUCATION EDUCATION DAYSTUDENTS. • MARCH 20206, 2020 EDUCATION DAY •6,MARCH

SPEECH AND DEBATE

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2020 TEAM TOOLKIT 2020 TEAM TOOLK 20202020 TEAM TOOLKIT TEAM TOOLKIT

CELEBRATION IDEAS CELEBRATION IDEAS RESOURCES FOR YOU PREPSPEECH TIMELINE NATIONAL AND DEBATE EDUCATION DAY — MARCH 6, 2020 NATIONAL SPEECH AND DEBATE EDUCATION DAY — MARCH 6, 2020 There are many ways your team can celebrate National Speech and Debate Education Day! We’ve outlined some ideas for your team to

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4 NATIONAL SPEECH AND DEBATE EDUCATION DAY | www.SpeechAndDebateDay.org

HAVE FUN!

NATI ON AL NATINAT ONA L AL I ON

SPEECHAND ANDDEBATE DEBATE SPEECH N AT IO N AL MARCH 6, 2020 EDUCATION DAY SPEECH AND •DEBATE EDUCATION DAY • MARCH 6, 2020

CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING STUDENTS.SPEECH AND DEBATE CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING STUDENTS. EDUCATION DAY • MARCH 6, 2020 TRANSFORMING TOMORROW. CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING STUDENTS. CELEBRATING EDUCATORS. INSPIRING STUDENTS. TRANSFORMING TOMORROW.

EDUCATION DAY • MARCH 6, 2020

2020 TEAM TOOLKIT 2020 TEAM TOOLKIT 2020 TEAM TOOLK 2020 TEAM TOOLKIT

TRANSFORMING TOMORROW.

TRANSFORMING TOMORROW.

CELEBRATION IDEAS CELEBRATION IDEAS SHARE YOUR STORY PREP TIMELINE

NATIONAL SPEECH AND DEBATE EDUCATION DAY — MARCH 6, 2020

NATIONAL SPEECH AND DEBATE EDUCATION DAY — MARCH 6, 2020

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HAVE FUN!

COMMUNITY

Student Scholarships:

Who will be the next Great Communicator?

2019 GCDS finalists in Simi Valley, California

by Christine Adams About The Great Communicator When I think back to my first presidential elections as a new voter, certain moments remain etched into my memory. As a well-trained high school and college debater and extemper, I kept up with all the news reports and presidential debates I could find. What I remember most vividly was the contrast between the final two major candidates in both the 1980 and 1984 elections.

Beyond any policy issues or party ideologies, Ronald Reagan stood head-andshoulders above his rivals in two key areas: his personal warmth and his ability to communicate his ideas to the public.

Ronald Reagan earned the name “The Great Communicator” because he was a great communicator. He knew how to simplify complex ideas for the general public, he knew how to deliver those ideas from

48

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

his heart, and he used his training to deliver his speeches with the proper emphasis for the points he wanted to make.

Having been a speech and debate coach for more than 30 years, one of my favorite displays at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum is a transcript of one of his speeches. He had personally “marked it up,” as we say, for key words and points where he wanted to use tempo and inflection to best convey his message. I was in speech coach heaven when I saw that manuscript.

What is The Great Communicator Debate Series?

Who would have guessed that 24 years after President Reagan left office a new and exciting scholarship event would be created? The Ronald Reagan Great Communicator Debate

Series (GCDS) premiered in 2012 as a forum to pay tribute to both President Reagan’s skill and to reward the communication skills of high school students from across the country.

Originally intended as a one-time event, reaction to that first year was so positive that in 2015 the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation made it an annual event, with scholarships for national finalists now totaling $50,000. Unlike some other forms of competitive debate, where argumentfor-arguments’-sake may prevail, the GCDS stresses the communication of ideas as its primary goal.

Our ideal judges are community members— simply interested citizens who might tune in to a televised presidential debate from their living room. As one of our 2019 national finalists describes, “Great Communicator Debate forces you to be great not just in citing evidence, but in telling stories, being able to be personable and connect

to people in the audience, and in comporting yourself in such a way as to demonstrate to the audience that you deserve to be a Great Communicator.” The skills students gain through GCDS “are like the real world, where it’s more important to be able to present your case conversationally and effectively so others can communicate with you.”

The format of the GCDS blends several elements from other forms of debate, while adding an exciting new element: we give judges the ability to directly ask questions of each debater in the round.

Students debate one-on-one in a format where they first present their side of the regional or national topic, then refute their opponent’s position, question each other on their points, field questions from judges, and finally summarize why their position is best. In total, rounds last between 35 and 40 minutes.

How can students get involved in the GCDS? We are pleased to offer six in-person competitions across the country, and an online regional qualifier that allows students from anywhere to compete for qualification to our National Finals in July. The top two United States Extemp finalists at the NSDA National Tournament also earn spots at our National Finals. Students may enter both one inperson tournament and the online tournament, or just do either an in-person or the online tournament.

Thanks to our partnership with the NSDA, all of the tournaments are run using Tabroom.com. Coaches, and students with an adult judge, may register on Tabroom.com. Each entry must have at least one adult judge available, or if a school enters more than one student, Regional hosts typically ask for additional judges to be available.

Registration will be open a minimum of 30 days prior to the date of the tournament.

Much like the American Legion Oratorical Contest, we are listed on the NASSP Approved Activities list.

Our experience thus far is that State High School Associations do not count the GCDS against any state tournament limits, as it is a unique form of debate not offered at state tournaments, and it is a Scholarship Competition. I am happy to work with your state officials if questions arise.

Sounds good, but what does it cost to enter?

Entry fees, typically with a limit of eight students per high school, are set by each regional host and are set to cover the costs the host site may incur.

The online competition is $10.00 per student, payable to the NSDA for running the online tournament via Zoom. Students who qualify for the National Finals will have all expenses paid for their trip to Simi Valley, California. The Foundation will cover all

transportation, lodging, meals, and activity costs for the qualifying student and one adult. The top two students from each region will qualify to be in the National Finals, where they will earn between $1,500 and $10,000 in college scholarships. Everyone who competes in the National Finals receives no less than $1,500 in scholarships.

Who will be the new Great Communicator?

It might be someone you know. . . I hope to see you this year!

Christine Adams is Education Program Coordinator, Debate for The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute.

How should students prepare for competition?

Our Great Communicator web pages are full of useful materials. We have videos of past debates, including the excellent 2019 Final Round, preparation advice from past participants, a complete guide to the nature of the debates, a judging video that is shown to all judges at all levels of competition, and a research guide for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regional topic. There are links to sign up for more information, and as each regional tournament opens on Tabroom.com, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll put those links up as well.

2020 Competition Dates Greater Texas: February 8 West: February 22 Mid Atlantic: April 4 Midwest: April 17-18 Pacific Northwest: May 2 Northeast: May 9 Online: May 16 National Finals: Juy 23-26

2020 Regional Topic Resolved: States are more effective at legislating to improve the environment than the Federal Government.

TO LEARN MORE, VISIT: www.reaganfoundation.org/education/scholarshipprograms/great-communicator-debate-series GCDS participants visit the oval office ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

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COMMUNITY

DEBATE

Drilling Down: Applying World Schools Training In and Out of the Classroom

by Anh Cao

(left to right) Members of the USA Debate team, who compete internationally in World Schools Debate, include Stephanie Chen, Elyse Dewbre, Anh Cao, Jack Johnson, Cassandra Berlin, Roopa Irakam, Liana Schmitter-Emerson, Victor Tong, and Cameron Kettles.

I

n mid-November,

countries including

2019 EurOpen Prepared Motions

six members of the

the Czech Republic,

USA Debate National

Germany, Slovenia, and

• This House would lift sanctions and seek to repair relations with Russia.

Team and three members

Singapore. For results

of the Development

from both tournaments,

Team arrived in Hamburg,

see opposite page.

Germany, for the first

With a great

international World

start to the squad’s

Schools Debate excursion

competitive season,

of the season, the EurOpen

the team prepared for

Debate Tournament.

Singapore’s International

In mid-December, six other USA Debate

• This House would put an expiration date on land ownership.

• Semifinals: This House would lift sanctions and seek to repair relations with Russia.

• Grand Finals: This House believes that the use of violence is a legitimate form of protest.

Training Weekend in late January.

team members flew to Zagreb for Croatia’s Winter Holidays Open Tournament. Students competed against 82 teams from 18 other

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Anh Cao is a senior at Bentonville High School in Arkansas. She currently serves as a publications intern for the NSDA.

U.S. Consul General Darion Akins (pictured far right) with USA Debate members Liana Schmitter-Emerson, Anh Cao, and Cassandra Berlin.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES FOR WORLD SCHOOLS DEBATE The hour-long World Schools (WS) format, with different motions every round, makes creating debate activities for the classroom particularly accessible.

1. Motion Drill – analyzing the verb used WS motions usually involve a narrow list of verbs: supports, believes, regrets, prefers, etc. There are also “would” motions: would ban, would regulate, would require, etc.

Discuss what each of these words mean in the context of a debate and how altering them impacts the arguments.

These examples may help: This House believes that vaccines should be mandatory.

This House would require mandatory vaccines.

This House regrets that vaccinations are not mandatory.

Have students create “sets” of motions, changing the dynamic of the round by altering the verb.

2. Motion Drill – journal entries Using the headlines from the day’s news, write a motion on the board for students to address as they enter the classroom. Have them reflect on the event or issue behind the motion and the side they would prefer

instinctively. Students can share in pairs. Then have them come up with one argument on each side of the motion.

3. Motion Drill – assumptions Write a motion on the board. Have students brainstorm, in sequence, the following items behind the motion: values, beliefs, attitudes, actions. Discuss if these are the same or different on the two sides of the motion. Discuss how these concepts impact the arguments in the round.

4. Motion Drill – writing motions/impromptu prep Have students create motions, using the different verb stems (see drill #1 above), from the week’s top stories.

The motions should reflect a wide variety of areas: art/culture, religion, sports, environment, science/ technology, politics, criminal justice, international organizations/treaties, foreign policy, economics, social issues/movements, education, etc.

Put motions in a jar/hat and have students draw one.

Then, giving them a limited preparation time (5-10 minutes), have students prepare an argument to share in small groups.

Compiled by Cindi Timmons, Team Manager and Co-Head Coach of the USA Debate team.

To see sample World Schools motions, past final rounds, and other resources, visit www.speechanddebate.org/resources and filter for World Schools Debate.

EurOpen Results

Winter Holidays Open Results

(Hamburg, Germany)

(Zagreb, Croatia)

Quarterfinalists

Quarterfinalists

USA Silver – Cameron Kettles, Stephanie Chen, Victor Tong (Development Team)

USA Blue – James Hu, Abbey Xu, Arham Habib

USA Blue – Elyse Dewbre, Jack Johnson, Roopa Irakam

Semifinalists USA Red – Rohit Jhawar, Genevieve Cox, Miles Wang

Finalists USA Red – Anh Cao, Liana Schmitter-Emerson, Cassandra Berlin

1st place speaker – Anh Cao 3rd place speaker – Liana Schmitter-Emerson

6th place speaker – Abbey Xu 7th place speaker – James Hu 8th place speaker – Miles Wang 10th place speaker – Rohit Jhawar ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

51

COMMUNITY

The Forensic Quarterly to become the Policy Debate Quarterly

by Kyle Mills

The Policy Debate Quarterly will remain a valuable resource, just with a new name.

T

he NFHS Speech, Debate, Theatre and Academics Advisory Committee met in mid-September before the 2019 Performing Arts Conference in Chicago, Illinois. A significant update from this year’s meeting was the title change of the Forensic Quarterly to the Policy Debate Quarterly after 93 years.

The Forensic Quarterly has been an annual publication in four issues that provides a credible and valuable resource for Policy debaters and coaches across the country. In 2020-2021, the Policy Debate Quarterly will remain a valuable resource, just with a new name. It can be used by debaters with any level of experience to gain a basis on individual research and

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ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

launch deeper into the critical analysis required each year for the national Policy Debate topic.

“This name change will help the publication be more visible moving into its next 100 years. The Policy Debate Quarterly remains an integral part of high school Policy Debate and the national debate topic,” says NFHS Director of Performing Arts and Sports Dr. James Weaver.

Dr. Rich Edwards, Communications Professor at Baylor University and the author and editor of the newly renamed Policy Debate Quarterly, has been involved with publication since 1975.

“I love everything we do in forensics, but the Forensic Quarterly has always focused more narrowly on the needs of Policy debaters,” Dr.

Edwards explains. This name change will help us connect with our target audience.”

The Policy Debate Quarterly focuses on the affirmative cases, topic terms, counterplans, negative responses, an annotated bibliography, and much more regarding the national debate topic.

The first issue of the Policy Debate Quarterly is designed to introduce high school debaters and coaches to the topic for the upcoming debate season.

The second issue provides a starting place for research with a complete annotated bibliography which includes information and links to newspapers, scholarly journals, online articles, government documents and books. The third book released is usually written by two other authors, Jeff Jarman and Matthew Munday, and is oriented toward the affirmative case, while the fourth and final book in the series helps give an overview of the negative approaches to the national high school debate topic.

“As a coach, the Forensic Quarterly was always the first publication I read on the newly-released Policy Debate topic, and it was mandatory reading for every debater on my squad,” says Jana Riggins, Chairperson of the Speech Advisory Committee and State Director of Speech and Debate with the Texas – University Interscholastic League. “The four publications provided the strong foundation

of understanding upon which all the research we did on the national topic would be based. Now, as a state association director overseeing debate in Texas, I encourage all of our coaches and debaters to make the series a priority read.”

The 2019-2020 National Policy Debate topic focuses on Arms Sales. Thus, all issues of the 2019 Forensic Quarterly are devoted to the topic of “Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce Direct Commercial Sales and/ or Foreign Military Sales of arms from the United States.”

Volumes 1 through 4 of the NFHS 2019 Forensic Quarterly are available for purchase in both print and digital formats. In addition, a wide variety of resources focused on the Arms Sales topic are posted online at www.NFHS.org for free.

To listen to Dr. Rich Edwards talk about Policy Debate, the history of his involvement, and the process he goes about every year in preparing the Forensic (now Policy Debate) Quarterly, check out “The Stage – The Official Performing Arts Podcast of the NFHS” at https://bit.ly/2RdA1Wu.

Kyle Mills is Manager of Performing Arts and Sport for the National Federation of State High School Associations.

ALUMNI ANGLES

Father Gregory Chisholm, S.J. Father Gregory Chisholm, S.J., is currently Pastor of St. Charles Borromeo, Resurrection and All Saints Parish in Harlem in New York City, serving a diverse congregation made up principally of persons of African descent.

AN ORATION REVISITED

by Annie Reisener equal equality, and how the audience must take action in order for the nation’s ideals to match its realities.

ON THE FINAL ROUND STAGE

I

n the final round of the 1968 National Tournament, Gregory Chisholm delivered an Original Oratory entitled, “The American Lie.” He began by saying, “I speak to you this afternoon with the fear that by the end of my speech, you may see yourselves as you really are and be repulsed by it.”

Gregory continued, “But more than this, I hope that you’ll have the strength to do something about it.

I was told before coming

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here to be calm but forceful... I was further told that it could mean the difference between winning a trophy and losing one. Well, my friends, if that means that I must placate you, then I’ll be damned if I win a trophy.”

Gregory then launched into a blazingly passionate speech about how little progress the U.S. had made since freeing slaves, the Black Power movement, how freedom does not

In the lead up to the interview for this piece, Father Gregory Chisholm, S.J., listened to his performance for the first time in more than 50 years. “I don’t remember giving it at all,” he laughs.

“As I was listening to it, I was critiquing myself. But I will say, while I probably wouldn’t say it the same way, I found that it did reflect what I honestly believed. I was speaking genuinely about the ways in which America seems to be content in its lies.

That is part of our culture.

I remember giving other speeches with similar themes.”

The 1968 National Tournament was held in the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center at Macalester College in St. Paul,

Minnesota. “Orations in the final round this year were concerned with social or universal moral issues,” read the September 1968 edition of Rostrum. At the time, only four students were in finals of speech events. Pieces in the final round included “A Very Simple Story” (which “stressed the dangers of stereotype”), “The Inability of Americans to Love,” “All Will Be Quiet in Jerusalem Tonight,” and Gregory’s “The American Lie,” which took fourth place.

“I don’t remember the reception to the speech,” Father Gregory says. When informed that, unlike the other speeches on the final round recording, there is no applause from the audience when he concludes, he offers: “You have to remember those years in the mid to late sixties were years of foment. There was certainly a racial divide and a divide between a youthful culture and an older culture. I was in the midwest. I wouldn’t be

surprised if people found listening to that to be difficult.”

EARLY BEGINNINGS Gregory began gaining confidence in delivering a message to an audience at a young age. In elementary school, he joined speech and debate at his father’s urging. “He was not afraid to get up and speak and was determined I wouldn’t be either,” Gregory remembers. In high school, he became a member of the National Forensic League (now NSDA) at Manhattan Prep, an allboys Catholic school in New York. The team, led

by Brother Patrick Furlong, FSC, was large given the size of the school. At Manhattan Prep, Gregory was the only African American in his class.

“There were incidents at school that I remember clearly caused me to be aware of my difference,” Gregory says, “but I was doing very well

academically in speech and debate, and I was president of the student council. I didn’t have time to think about that.”

Father Gregory began with Interpretive Oratory, an event in which students delivered someone else’s speech, and ended up competing primarily in Dramatic Interpretation and Original Oratory.

Until the 2004 National Tournament, students could double-enter in main events, and at the 1968 and 1969 tournaments, Gregory competed in both DI and OO.

UNDERSTANDING AND CHALLENGING AN AUDIENCE Fifty years later, Father Gregory doesn’t remember the speeches he gave or the awards he won, even on the final round stage.

He doesn’t recall attending a second National Tournament in 1969. But he does remember the fun he had competing in speech and the friends he made on the team.

“I really enjoyed speech.

I liked the freedom I had to maneuver and compose my speech, and I liked

Gregory with his mother in 1969

when he entered college at MIT.

that I was good at it,” he laughs. “Some of my best friends were on the team.

I’m still friendly with some of the guys. They were very important people to me.”

Most of all, he is grateful for the skills he learned in speech that he uses every day.

“I am a Catholic priest these days. One thing that I place a lot of importance on is the ability to speak in a way that people can understand you. You can learn to speak within the experience of people, to meet them where they are. What is it like to be in their shoes? You need to understand your audience.”

There is a balance an orator strikes when reading an audience and delivering a message that pushes them to change their way of thinking. Gregory has been working on this skill since high school. “You have to figure out the best way to make what you’re about to say fall as well upon the ears of those listening as possible. That doesn’t mean that they won’t be disturbed—part of representing your belief is that sometimes you have to challenge people.

How you challenge them is

key—how you make them hear you, and draw them in, and compel them to engage with what you’re saying. Those are all things that I learned on some fundamental level in high school.”

NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HONEST WORDS Gregory has long believed that the most powerful orations come from a place of personal truth. “You have to plumb the depths of your own experience and find a topic and a particular subject that you can really speak to honestly. There is no substitute in my view for saying something that you genuinely believe.”

Today, his advice to orators is much the same as his concluding remarks on the final round stage. “My speech has ended, but for the first time in my forensic career, I could say what I wanted to say. Not what someone had outlined or written before me. And if you are listening, you will see the value in being barefaced and truthful.”

Annie Reisener serves as Membership Manager for the NSDA.

Listen to Gregory’s 1968 final round oration at www.speechanddebate.org/american-lie-1968.

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

55

COMMUNITY

Words from the Hall Speech Teachers: A Real Force in Education

by Steve Meadows

T

hree times a week, I attend a hot yoga class seeking a good sweaty workout and the harmony of a shared goal between students and teacher. Each session ends with the Sanskrit word Namaste, which the instructors loosely translate as “the light that is within me recognizes and acknowledges the light that is also within you.”

I chant this solacing mantra solo as I return to the outside world. The 21st century is a menace.

Icons gone rogue are denounced daily for deplorable deeds while the environment strikes back at us for how we have attacked it; we shot first, and nature is taking revenge. Will our way

of life last? We’ve got a bad feeling about this.

And yet. And yet.

And yet our new hope lies in the young. If we are to rise above our world’s woes, inherited and original, then we will need the next generation’s leadership.

And that’s what makes our job one of the most important in the galaxy.

We awaken kids’ abilities to listen and to say aloud what they think. So even though it sounds like we’re the yoga instructor and they’re the kids in this comparison, that’s not the best metaphor.

In speech and debate, we’re not just teachers.

We’re freakin’ Jedi.

The parallels are many.

The Jedi realize the connections between beings, that they are

ongoing and always, and they label that link the Force. Speech teachers recognize the neverending sender/receiver loop of messages and feedback always flowing between people.

Our job, like Master Yoda and Ben Kenobi before us, is to help others use that connection. When Luke Skywalker did, he found the ability to destroy the Death Star by instinct alone.

When speakers find this inner light, they learn to clearly call for political change, to demand equality, or even to simply entertain us through drama and humor. With this light to guide them, they find their voices—and then they use them.

OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY Communications teachers get an opportunity most educators don’t because we get to know the kids as individual voices, and they learn much from how we respond to them and how we model for them. In public speeches, the students themselves are the primary instruments, and they are their own lyricists and playwrights. We are their audiences and their editors and stage directors. We recognize the light in each other as we train together.

We adults in speech and debate have another special responsibility.

We have to create an environment where

Check out the “Resource Roundup” article on page 17 for more information about accessing the Teacher in a Box: Introduction to Public Speaking materials, available to NSDA members!

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students feel emotionally safe, for self-expression requires the bravery of vulnerability. We have to bodyguard whoever is speaking, and the kids have to learn to behave and listen. And then they have to learn to really listen as they give each other ethical feedback, learning from us how to critique and simultaneously empower. This alliance is a true force.

For the last several years that I taught, my young Padewans were there not by choice.

Our school requires a half-credit speech course, and kids nearly always take it first year.

For many years before this requirement began, I taught an elective speech course with nearly always agreeable learners who genuinely wanted to improve their speaking or their team performances, or their parents wanted that for them and signed them up.

When each kid in the building started coming through my door, I learned more about my own teaching than I had in the 20 years prior.

I learned what really mattered in my speech course and what killed

time. I learned how to help the grumblingly agreeable as well as the willing recognize their ability to communicate, the light within, and by doing so saw more of my own.

TEACHER IN A BOX: INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SPEAKING You wouldn’t be reading this article in this speech and debate magazine if some part of oral communications didn’t matter to you. But maybe you’re an extracurricular coach facing the need to add instruction outside of competition events.

It’s not uncommon for an administrator to tell an unripe English teacher to pick up a speech class, maybe as part of getting hired, for in many states, Language Arts Certification covers all the language arts, certifying teachers in divisions of the subject they’ve never studied in-depth.

The Teacher in a Box materials I recently put together for the NSDA, Introduction to Teaching Public Speaking, are an adaptation of my semester-long Speech 1 course written with such a teacher in mind.

I hope it’s a useful set

“In speech and debate, we’re not just teachers.

We’re freakin’ Jedi.”

of 85 lessons (with ideas for 85 more using other NSDA Teacher in a Box sets plus online resources like the American Film Institute’s Door Project). It’s a collection of resources any teacher could directly cull from as needed, much like most of us do with textbooks and their accompanying materials. It focuses on communication apprehension and building confidence through small successes in class for the first half with longer speeches and a study of The Great Debaters in the second half.

As my course was part of my school’s overall Language Arts curriculum, it also lays the groundwork for research documentation. It’s hardly the only way to teach Speech 1 class, nor does it include everything.

But if you’re green or if you just don’t feel like cooking when lesson

plans are due and want to drive through instead, I hope it will be of use.

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT And so here we are, we speech and debate teachers, fighting the good fight in the 21st century.

Finding the light side of the Force within each of our students and ourselves is the best way I know to describe training students in research and rhetoric, language and listening, advocacy and organization, revision and rehearsal.

May the Communication Cycle be with us.

And to my fellow Jedi, I say this: Namaste.

Steve Meadows is a fivediamond coach and member of the NSDA Hall of Fame.

Learn more about the NSDA Hall of Fame! www.speechanddebate.org/ hall-of-fame

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

57

COMMUNITY

Direct instruction matters.

An elevator pitch for speech and debate

by Steve Meadows

Think swimming lessons.

ONE | Yes, you could jump in a pool and move

around, even your first time in the pool.

But it probably wouldn’t be graceful.

And your Vegas odds wouldn’t be great. The safe bet is you’ll sink soon.

TWO | Or you could play around in the pool

with your family, going there on sunny days for Marco Polo or splashing around. With this passing familiarity, even though you never had a lesson, you could last a while if thrown in the water.

But it probably wouldn’t be graceful.

Vegas—50/50.

THREE | Or you could take direct instruction in swimming and practice swimming with a teacher who gives you specific feedback on swimming so you can get better at swimming.

In this scenario, you’d be ready to swim at meets. You’d work hard to smooth out your strokes so you’d place better next time—a destination that focuses the journey.

I’d bet on that kid.

1

instruction substituted for swimming instruction. Imagine a student going up to give a speech with no prior experience, a student who’s been assigned a presentation for class without direct instruction on how to deliver it, and a student who’s had direct instruction. Who do you want to swim the Olympics for Team USA? In the forensic world, where the five-ringed flag flies over NSDA Nationals, who competes best country and Crabtree? 1

My point is this. People readily agree that swimming

instruction is important for people who swim. Oral communications instruction needs correspond, but we are often told “kids will get it in English class” or “as part of the everyday curriculum.” This argument is all wet. Direct instruction matters. Our students sink without it.

Compare the exponential growth of video conferencing with the use of the fax machine. When did you last send a fax, and do you feel the need to train your students to use fax machines so they’ll be successful in college, or are they more likely to take an online class with video-linked participation?

Technology makes person-to-person oral communications global and simpler than ever, but this generation speaks with its thumbs. In the adult world of jobs and academia, people talk to each other.

Students need us now to practice for their best work

then. If we don’t teach them directly how to speak and listen successfully, we haven’t completed their educations. They’re not ready for the open water.

A tribute to one of my heroes, Don Crabtree, who is a nine-diamond Hall of Fame coach and former NSDA Board president from Missouri.

Steve Meadows is a five-diamond coach and member of the NSDA Hall of Fame.

58

Now re-read the three situations with speech

ROSTRUM | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Do you have an “elevator pitch” for speech and debate?

Send your thoughts in 500 words or less to info@speechanddebate.org.

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You’re Invited!

If you are a new(er) coach attending the National Tournament for the first time, we hope you’ll join us! Don’t miss oneon-one facetime with the organization’s Board of Directors and senior staff, including Executive Director J. Scott Wunn. You will have an opportunity to ask questions, become oriented to the tournament in a more personal manner, and enjoy the company of other new coaches.

First Time AT NATIONALS Coach Reception SUNDAY, JUNE 14

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

ALBUQUERQUE CONVENTION CENTER 401 2nd Street Northwest Albuquerque, NM 87102

We hope you will join us!

Stop Talking.

Start Speaking.

4 Week Policy Camp - June 21 - July 19 1 & 2 Week Sessions - July 5 - 19 A Different Kind of Camp

Sessions and Pricing

At Southwest Speech and Debate, we believe that community is the thing that makes this activity better. We believe that Speech and Debate can be a home for everybody, and enable people to raise their voice, and speak their truth. We pride ourselves in providing a low-cost, high-quality camp experience.

Policy Debate: 4 Week Session (June 21 - July 19) Policy Debate: 2 Week Session (July 5-19) Lincoln-Douglas: 2 Week Session (July 5-19) Public Forum: 1 Week Session (July 5-12) Platform Speaking (OO/Info): 1 Week Session (July 5-12) Interp Events: 1 Week Session (July 12-19) Extemp Speaking: 1 Week Session (July 12-19) Congressional Debate: 1 Week Session (July 12-19) Choose a Week 1 and a Week 2 Session (July 5-19)

Come join us, and find out how you can stop talking, and start speaking!

*Prices listed are for campers who choose to stay in the dorms.

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MALCOLM X SAID ‘EDUCATION IS OUR PASSPORT TO THE FUTURE, FOR TOMORROW BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE WHO PREPARE FOR IT TODAY.’ HE WAS INDEED RIGHT. SPEECH AND DEBATE IS A MAGNIFICENT WAY FOR STUDENTS TO PREPARE FOR THEIR FUTURE AND OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURES.

DR . MIKE EDMONDS Northwest High School, TN – Class of 1980 Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Life at Colorado College

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THE

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FORENSICS GIVES YOU A SENSE OF CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, A SENSE OF PRESENCE, AND A SENSE OF PRIDE. IT’S ABOUT THE POWER OF WORDS TO INFLUENCE IDEAS, TO UNCOVER A HIGHER TRUTH, TO CHANGE MINDS, AND FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, EVEN TO CHANGE LIVES.