DEBATE

Speyer has Debate as part of its core curriculum beginning in Kindergarten continuing through eighth grade, teaching the skills of communication, critical thinking, and empathy.

Debate is part of Speyer's core curriculum starting in Kindergarten and continues through eighth grade. Debate seeks to draw students into a fuller understanding of controversial topics and also to have them be able to present this understanding in an articulate and passionate way. In order to accomplish this, Debate progresses through a wide variety of skill sets and is broken down into three parts: first, direct instruction and public speaking; second, integration into humanities and sciences; and third, extracurricular participation.

Debate in the Lower School begins with direct instruction and honing public speaking skills. Ms. MacKay works with our youngest students to help them become comfortable with expressing themselves as well as being comfortable receiving feedback (both positive and negative). The goal is for the student to not feel negative feedback is personal but instead the same kind of feedback you would receive in Math or other content areas. They use tongue-twisters, improv games, and theatre activities -- all with the objective to put students “on the spot.” The goal is to give them public speaking skills before they realize it might be a task that could make them nervous. As the students move through the grades in Lower School, there is more of a coaching and formal public speaking emphasis. Ms. MacKay partners with the homeroom teachers to create cross-curricular opportunities, such as helping third graders students prepare arguments and speeches as they “rewrite the Constitution” in a mock Constitutional Convention during their “From Colonies to Country” unit.

In Middle School, students begin to have extended assignments, saving classroom time to hone performance skills. In fifth grade, the main focus is on speech writing and performance, complementing their units of study on early civilizations and the Ancient Greece, some of the most renowned orators in history. The focus shifts to social communication and how to compromise when people disagree in sixth grade, incorporating projects such as tasking the students, acting as representatives from each borough in New York, to come to an agreement on how to spread $6 million in improvements across the city. In seventh grade, as they study propaganda and other uses of the power of speech used during their year-long Humanities unit on revolutions, Debate mirrors that coursework and emphasis is transitioned to more academic debate assignments including research and argumentative debates. In their final year at Speyer, eighth graders address complex ethical issues and philosophical topics, while continuing to develop advanced research and writing skills, many of which they will use in high school. The final eighth grade Debate project is for each student to give a speech in Columbus Circle to the tourists, native New Yorkers, and others passing by.

From Kindergarten through eighth grade, Speyer’s Debate program teaches and illustrates the skills of communication, active listening, and critical thinking, skills that students will need to be successful at anything they choose to pursue. To listen to someone else’s point of view and to entertain thoughts that are contrary to one’s own beliefs is the cornerstone of empathy. This is the heart of Speyer’s Debate curriculum: helping students to be empathetic citizens of the world. 

All students can participate in Debate outside of the classroom in various extracurricular opportunities. In Middle School, the Speyer Debate Team meets twice a week afterschool and attends tournaments on the weekend. Despite going against much larger schools at these competitions, Speyer has an impressive track record of wins, including many top Overall School Awards and top individual speaker awards.

We are proud to say our Debate program is considered one of the best Middle School programs in the state.