Whether your student argues like a pro, wants to be President or is a bit shy and needs to develop speaking skills, this class welcomes you.  Participating in debate teaches many relevant skills, such as persuasive writing, critical listening and thinking, logical reasoning, organizing, speaking clearly in prepared and extemporaneous contexts, efficient notetaking, being creative and adapting, collaborating with others, evaluating and adapting to new information, asking relevant questions, acting professionally, and treating others with respect.

Our first unit focuses on speech and public speaking skills.  From there we will move to Lincoln-Douglas Debate, which is a bit more academic, and research driven.  Topics are chosen from the National Speech and Debate Association website.  

All events will be examined in class.  Students not interested in debate, may choose to compete with a speech event instead. 

Please Note:  This class is for High School Students and those students that are in Seventh and Eighth Grade that are considered advanced debate or speech competitors.  There is a Middle School Option that younger students can join.


In Part One we will focus on Public Speaking Skills and Lincoln Douglas Debate.
Part Two:  We emphasize Public Forum and continue to work on speech pieces.

I have taught this class for many years in a traditional setting and coached our High School Speech and Debate team for almost 18 years for both the NSDA, ADL and TOC circuits. I compete with both traditional and progressive debate. I also currently coach for Potomac Debate and attend tournaments such as Harvard, Georgetown and TOC.  As a coach, I have students win bids on the TOC circuits, qualify for nationals and even had a middle school student win the Harvard tournament in 2024.  I have successful middle school students and high school students.  At the state level, my students have won several State Championships in various events and moved on to Nationals through NSDA.  It is hard work but so rewarding.  Students will be given a grade rubric with expectations for all projects.  Some skills that we work on are body posture, eye contact, hooks, fillers, facial expressions, research, credible versus biased sources and so much more.  The skills and friendships students gain from this class will last a lifetime.