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Making arguments: Students learn life skills through debate
Published 7/3/2009 in Local News
By MONICA SPRINGER
Two Garden City High School students returned recently from a trip to the National Forensics League national tournament, where they placed in the top 30 out of 250 debate teams in the nation.
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Brad Nading/Telegram — Garden City High School debate students Todd Wells and Amanda Ramirez competed in the National Forensics League national tournament in Birmingham, Ala., in June. The pair finished the competition in the top 30 teams out of about 250 in the nation.
Amanda Ramirez and Todd Wells, incoming seniors at GCHS, won in their first elimination round but lost in the following second and third elimination rounds of the tournament.
Each brought home a plaque they received at the national tournament.
The road to the national tournament involves competition in two key debate events — the state tournament, held the third week in January, and the national qualifier, held in December, debate coach Russ Tidwell said.
The two tournaments are tough because some of the best debaters in the state attend the tournaments. And, the national qualifier is a double-elimination round.
"It's kind of like a pressure cooker," Tidwell said. "If you lose, you're done."
This year's debate resolution was on alternate energy incentives. The resolution for debate teams across the country is picked annually by debate coaches. Every high school student in the country debates the same topic, Tidwell said.
Ramirez said affirmative arguments for alternative energy include the fact that it creates new jobs and decreases global warming because it doesn't use fossil fuels. However, Ramirez said some points against alternative energy include rising electricity prices and alternative energy not being economically viable.
This year's resolution was a particularly timely one, Tidwell said. Ramirez and Wells spent time while traveling to the national tournament worrying about happenings in Congress. They had to prepare other arguments to use just in case new laws were passed while they were on the trip.
"We debated some really good teams," Tidwell said, including a school that was a national champion last year.
Wells and Ramirez said they work long, long hours to prepare for the national tournament. And the long hours aren't likely to end — both said they are thinking about participating in debate in college.
The two won't get much of a summer break, either. They are leaving later this week to attend a debate camp in Manhattan to prepare for next year's debate season.
Tidwell said even though only two members of his 40-member debate team went to the national tournament, the other members did a good job of helping Wells and Ramirez prepare for the tournament.
The two students said they like debate because they like to voice their opinions and appreciate the life skills that debate teaches them. Those life skills include the ability to think on your feet and speak clearly, Wells said.
On the Web:
National Forensic League: http://www.nflonline.org/Main/HomePage
Have you participated in debate or forensics? Share your experiences at SWKTalk.com.
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