Debate Club

Grades: 6 – 8

Day and time: Tuesdays, 3:15 – 5:00 pm

Start date: Sept. 13

Instructor: Ms. Alessi

Ms. Alessi will offer Debate Club on Tuesdays after school to students in grades 6-8.  Ms. Alessi first introduced the program to Saint Paul students in 2005.  The club operates under the auspices of the Middle School Public Debate Program, a program developed and initiated by Professor John Meany and Kate Shuster of Claremont McKenna College.  The Public Debate Program currently runs in 38 countries and includes more than 800,000 students.   The program “empowers students to develop and practice excellence in critical thinking and oral communication. It educates students to understand and debate, discuss, and deliberate current and historical public policy and educational controversies.”  Debate provides students with an opportunity to develop skills in “public speaking, argumentation, critical listening, note taking, issue analysis, and evidence evaluation.”