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MSU Debate Spring Outreach Workshop

• General Information
• Lesson Plans and Schedule
• Registration and Contact Information
• The MSU Debate Staff

General Information:

What is the program?

The Michigan State Debating Team is pleased to announce that we are offering a Spring Workshop. Intended for high schools that presently do not have active debate programs, the workshop is offered free of charge, and is divided into two components, presented simultaneously:

Session One: A field trip for high school students

Students are invited to attend a seminar conducted by the Michigan State University Debate Team. Students will actively engage in debating issues of the day, supervised and instructed by members of MSU's award-winning coaching staff. A more detailed presentation of lessons can be found here.

Session Two: A separate set of meetings for Administrators and Teachers

Run concurrently with the first session, this section includes two optional discussions: the first, "Starting a Debate Team," will provide guidance and feedback to teachers and administrators interesting in beginning a competitive debating society at their school; the second, "Debate in the Curriculum," will assist educators in starting a debate class or integrating debate into already-existing courses.

When is the program?

Thursday, May 17th, 12 pm - 2 pm

Where is the program?

On the campus of Michigan State University, in the Business College Complex.

What do students need to bring?

Only something with which they can write.

Are there any restrictions?

The program is limited to 200 total students, with no more than 30 from any single school. Interested parties should register no later than April 15th, 2007. The program is designed to target:

• Schools that presently lack a debate program
• High School students (grades 9-12)

However, inquiries regarding Middle School students and students from programs that presently have debate programs may be accommodated upon request, space permitting. These inquiries should be directed to Will Repko (contact him here).

Lesson Plans and Schedule:

What are the precise lesson plans for student exercises?

Members of the MSU coaching staff and debate team will begin with a demonstration debate about school uniforms. It will be an abbreviated debate (under 20 minutes long), but will include a "group cross-examination," during which time students can question presenters.

Students will be given a series of guided questions and will be asked to comment on whom they thought carried the debate (and why). A moderator from the MSU debate team will lead this discussion.

After a short break, students will be divided into small groups and be asked to partake in a debate of their own. The issues in these debates will differ, but will include issues such as: capital punishment, global warming, the draft, US policy in Iraq, etc. Students will be encouraged to consider both sides of the issues.

This lesson plan has been used in the past and can fit into a two-hour time block. All lessons will be supervised by adults.

What will be discussed at the Teacher-Adminstrator meetings?

These will occur at the same time as the student exercises. Both sections are (obviously) optional. Many teachers have preferred watching the aforementioned lesson plan in action.

Two primary discussions will occur:

• Starting a Debate Team

Joshua Gonzalez, Assistant Coach for MSU and former Director of Debate at Holland High School, will lead a discussion about what goes into starting a debate team.

• Debate in the Curriculum

Will Repko - Head Debate Coach at MSU and former Debate Coach at East Lansing High School will speak to designing a debate course, including ideas for lesson plans, as well as sharing his experiences with teaching debate in a variety of classroom settings, including Natural Sciences, Social Studies, English, (and even Vet School?).

Registration and Contact Information:

Interested parties should e-mail Will Repko, Head Debate Coach at MSU, at repkowil@msu.edu. To avoid our university e-mail filters' excessive scrutiny, please title the email: "MSU Spring Workshop Registration."

Please include in the e-mail:

1. The name of your school.
2. The name of the Teacher or Administrator(s) that will accompany the students on the field trip.
3. Appropriate contact information.
4. The number of students your school plans to have attend Session One.
5. The number of teacher and administrators your school plans to have attend Session Two.

Within 48 hours, you will receive a follow-up e-mail explaining how to proceed. This e-mail will include emergency contact information, etc.

Please do not use the debate@msu.edu e-mail address, as it designed and monitored for other traffic.

If you would prefer to contact us via phone at our offices, please be advised that January and February are our busiest travel months. E-mail will be met with a substantially faster response.

What if I have additional questions before we sign up?

Follow up questions and inquiries can be directed to Will Repko, Head Debate Coach, at repkowil@msu.edu. He will respond within 24 hours.

The MSU Debate Staff

Greta Stahl -Director of Debate, Michigan State Greta is a graduate of Michigan State University, where she won the 2004 National Debate Tournament National Championship. After graduating, she received a Marshall Scholarship to pursue graduate studies at Oxford University. After receiving her Masters in Philosophy in Political Science from Oxford's Merton College, she returned to her alma mater, accepting a position at Michigan State University's Honors College as the Director of the Debate Program.

Will Repko - Head Debate Coach, Michigan State Will has been coaching debate at Michigan State University for the last 10 years. Named National Coach of the Year in 2000, he has coached the championship teams at the National Debate Tournament in both 2004 and 2006. A former high school debate coach at East Lansing High School, Will has taught high school workshops and debate courses for the past 15 years.

Joshua Gonzalez - Assistant Coach, Michigan State Josh has been a member of the MSU coaching staff for the past three seasons. Prior to arriving in East Lansing, Josh directed state champion debate teams at Holland High School, as well as assisting with the nationally recognized team at Groves High School. Josh has taught at the Spartan Debate Institute for High School students for the past 12 years.