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Last year, as I sat on a small brick wall at the North Carolina State Speech and Debate tournament, I watched a local private school’s charter bus drive off — students armed with trophies. As my team members sat next to me — deflated with no trophies in hand — I felt frustration and sadness at our team’s lack of resources compared to the private schools that we debated.
While our debate team is student-run with no adult coaches, the local private schools that we debate have several adult coaches, including lawyers and staff dedicated to carry out administrative duties such as booking plane tickets and reserving hotel rooms. Debate competition in my region is like playing a basketball game where one team has a seasoned coaching staff and the other team has no coach or staff at all.
I’m passionate about leveling the playing field when it comes to debate because I’ve witnessed this disparity over and over again at tournament after tournament, year after year.
I’m also passionate about debate because research shows that it results in better academic achievement such as higher grade point averages and standardized test scores, particularly for students of color. Furthermore, debate leads to better non-academic achievements such as increased civic engagement, and improved non-cognitive skills like growth mindset and grit.
Given both the academic and non-academic benefits of debate, I would expect more public schools to offer debate programs, but they don’t. As part of an Advanced Placement reserach project, I surveyed every Wake County public high school and found that schools with the highest Black and Latino populations didn’t have debate teams. I also surveyed a dozen coaches of nationally-ranked debate teams at public schools across the country. I found 94% of the coaches surveyed believed debate has academic benefits. As one survey participant wrote, “Debate is the most powerful educational activity I’ve ever seen. Students who compete in debate often receive a world-class education.” Furthermore, 100% of educators surveyed believed debate had non-academic benefits, including communication skills, civic engagement, and resilience.
What is holding other Wake County public schools back from offering debate programs? As part of my research, I also interviewed nine coaches from nationally ranked public school debate teams. These coaches agreed that it comes down to funding. Funding helps with hiring dedicated coaches, providing administrative staff, and building a culture of community.
Fortunately, last year, the Wake County Public School System committed to developing and supporting the Wake County Debate Initiative, an effort to help expand debate in public high schools. Recently, the A.J. Fletcher Foundation made a commitment of $15,000 too. This money will go toward hiring coaches, purchasing polo shirts that students can wear to debate tournaments, paying teachers stipends, and buying copies of the book Good Arguments, which discusses how to craft productive arguments and how debate applies to everyday life.
It is my hope that Wake County — and other districts across the state — will continue to invest in and grow debate programs in our public schools. It is the right thing to do because we know that kids who join debate teams will benefit both academically and non-academically. It also helps level the playing field with private schools so that every student has a fighting chance to win a trophy at the state debate tournament.
