One of the many things that attracted us to Marist School was the large range of activities available to the students. Among these is the debate team, which is quite competitive on the high school level (top 10% in the nation!), and fabulously low-key for the 7th and 8th graders. They meet during activity period, which is once a week during the school day. So far, only five students have chosen to participate, but from what Clare reports, it's a blast!
Their first debate was on the subject of parental surveillance of electronics. Fortunately, Clare was on the affirmative side! (Not that she got to choose this.) Her primary role was to give her team's opening argument, which was also the first part of the program. There was quite an audience, between teachers, administrators, and high school students likely earning extra points for attendance. I thought she did quite well!
Between public speaking, research skills, and learning to work well within a group, there a lot of reasons to promote participation in debate. Hopefully Clare will maintain her enthusiasm for it for a long time, but either way it's been a great experience to enhance her start at Marist.
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