Private school debate teams are an exciting and fun way for students to learns and become more comfortable with pubic speaking. Debate teams are becoming more and more popular among students from all walks of life, and for good reason. Student debaters have many educational advantages compared to their peers who do not debate. Here are some of the many benefits of being on a private school debate team:
Private School Debate Teams | Advantages Of Debating
- Debating allows students to gain experience in developing sound and logical arguments and defending their position.
- Debating gives students confidence with public speaking in front of large groups.
- Being on a debate team shows that a student is driven and looks great on a college resume.
- Researching various topics helps students to get a firmer grasp on important world issues and develop personal convictions.
- Students perfect the art of persuasive speeches.
- Published studies show that being involved with a debate team increases academic performance and the probability of earning a college degree.
- Students benefit from preparing for debates by honing their research skills.
Private School Debate Teams | What Defines a Debate?
A debate is essentially an argument. However there are very strict rules that are followed to ensure that the argument is balanced and each party has an equal chance to state and defend their claims. Depending on the school you go to, the specifics of the rules may vary. This is because there are here are several widely recognized formats for private school debating teams. Most of the time, debates consist of either one-o-one debates or teams that include several students debating at the same time.
Debates are organized in the following way: Both parties are assigned a topic to debate. Then then have a certain amount of time to prepare their argument before the actual debate. Most of the time, neither party knows what topic will be debated until they are given the assignment. The goal is to develop a strong argument for the topic at hand in the shortest amount of time possible. This involves reading books, articles, watching documentaries and other forms of research. There are some occasions where the leader of the team will encourage students to come up with their own topics to debate.
There are always two sides to every topic that will be debated. Usually, one party argues for a certain point of view while the opposite party argues against it. The arguments can either be presented by multiple people or by a single individual. The students present their case in front of a panel of judges that gives points to the debaters according to the strength of their arguments as well as the delivery of the content. The winner usually gets to advance to the next round, and the losing team does not move on.
In summary, here is the debate process:
- Students are assigned a topic and a side to argue (either pro or con)
- The different teams research their topics and come up with a strong argument in favor of the view that they are arguing for.
- Each team delivers their initial statement and defends it.
- The teams then discuss and rebut each point.
- Each team gets a chance to make closing statements
- Each session is timed, and students only have a limited amount of time to present.
- The teams are judged and a winner is declared.
Looking for a Private School Debate Team?
Cedar Hill Preparatory School is a Somerset County private school that has private school debate teams for students of all ages. At Cedar Hill, we understand that children learn best in a safe, encouraging and nurturing environment – and that’s exactly what we provide. We have a variety of students from the Central NJ area from towns including: Somerset, Hillsborough, Warren, North Brunswick, Piscataway, Edison, Princeton, Highland Park, and many more. For more information on this Somerset County private school debate teams, you can call at (732)356-5400 or visit the website.
