More than 250 middle school students from Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties will travel to Claremont McKenna College on Saturday, April 22 to participate in the championship tournament for the Middle School Public Debate Program (MSPDP), the largest middle school debating program in the world. The tournament, from 9:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., will be head-quartered at McKenna Auditorium and shift to various locations throughout the Colleges, and features five preliminary debates for all students and a final debate between the two top-ranked teams. More than 500 people are expected to watch the final debate.
The Middle School Public Debate Program is a community outreach initiative of Claremont McKenna College and The Claremont Colleges Debate Union. It is standards-based, designed specifically for middle school students (ages 11-14), and extremely challenging. On April 22, students will debate all of the following topics:
Algebra should not be required for high school graduation.
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima was justified.
Wal-Mart is good for America.
The French government should permit students in state schools to wear visible religious symbols.
Pakistan is more an enemy than an ally of the United States.
On balance, video games do more good than harm.
The four-year-old program is now expanding, with new leagues in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh. Partner schools in 26 states are working to form new leagues as part of this grassroots program, initiated in Southern California. More than 9,000 students will be served this year in class and competition, with the majority representing students in Title I schools and historically under served communities. Participation in debate develops reading, speaking, and listening skills.
Debate Union member Drew Patterson '06 says the middle school outreach program has been "a mind-expanding experience. I've benefited as a debater, personally, because teaching and observing so many debates has given me a better perspective on how to express ideas and argue positions.
"There's also the obvious reward of helping kids learn the most fundamentally important abilities for a student to develop a work ethic combined with critical thinking," Patterson says. "The Debate Union has a serious dedication to using debate as an education tool."
As a sophomore, while presenting a paper analyzing performance and gender at the Istanbul IDEA conference on debate education, Patterson met the representative of a similar middle school outreach program in London. The following summer, it led to an internship overseas, developing programming for inner city Londoners.
"I even took one of our best Southern California middle school teams to participate in a tournament there, and they were undefeated," Patterson says. "This year, as a senior, I was able to incorporate my experiences in London to better serve our local constituency."
Parents report that students in the MSPDP have significantly improved grades, more interest in attending school, and fewer discipline problems. Most of the students at Saturday's tournament have never visited a college or known anyone who has attended college. The program serves as a mix of cross-curricular enrichment, college bridge, and conflict resolution training.
Members of the media may attend the event. Students and teachers are available to interview before and during the activities.
Learn more about the MSPDP: www.middleschooldebate.com.