High school debate makes a welcome return to 15
Houston Independent School District campuses.

From the Houston Chronicle editorial board:

(Mayor) White, a debater when he was in high school in San Antonio, said the experience was transformative and changed his life. He and his teammates, White said, learned how to teach themselves, and all went on to successful careers in business or the professions.

The data confirm White's experience. Debating improves students' grades and test scores. Unlike many HISD students, virtually all debaters graduate from high school, and almost all go to college.

Debaters learn how to research and analyze public policy. They learn diction, logic and public speaking. In the process, their writing skills and academic confidence rise.

Dr. Philip Zelikow, a former debater from Houston who was executive director of the 911 Commission, states that debate led him to discover that there were many approaches to solving public problems. Perhaps the most valuable lesson from having to be prepared to take either side of the argument, he says, was learning how the other side views the issue.

More here.

Okay, so I didn't know shit about shit back in the day when I was a high school debater. I learned the style, the form, the rules, but it wasn't until much later, two or three years into college, several years after I had actually debated in any formal setting, that I actually learned argumentation. But in the long run, that didn't matter at all. High school debate got me ready for the concept of argumentation so that when I later encountered dense academic essays in university classes, I was able to recognize them for what they are--I was able to follow the arguments, to understand them, to create supporting or counter arguments in the papers I wrote about my readings.

Debate also got me interested, heavily interested, in the importance of civic affairs. By forcing myself to understand what I was debating, I came to realize that politics and economics weren't for guys in suits in Washington: politics and economics are for everybody, especially for people who feel like they don't get it, or who are bored to tears by it all.

All it takes is a little engagement with the issues, and, boom, it's yours for the taking.

Frankly, I owe my high school debate experience a great deal of any intellect I have today. It ought to be required for all students, whether they like it or not, starting in kindergarten, all thirteen years through public school. Debate is essential training for American citizenship. Without a basic understanding of it, we're dim witted slaves.

So, then, what does the fact that most Americans have absolutely no personal experience with formal debate tell you? Yeah, most Americans are dim witted slaves.

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