Club / Activity: Forensics: Debate
Advisor(s): TBD
The Mountain Lakes High School Debate team provides an excellent opportunity for students who are interested in current events, philosophy, and political/social policies to learn the art of civil discourse and discussion in a structured format through participation in individual Lincoln Douglas debate or team Public Forum debate. Specifically, the mission of the debate program is to develop active listeners and intellectually competent interlocutors who are capable of understanding and constructively discussing all sides of important civic issues. This mission is accomplished through participation in debate tournaments in which the MLHS debate team competes with other high schools in the NJ/NY region. Mountain Lakes High School debaters take their case preparation seriously, do their best to represent Laker Pride at tournaments, and provide an inclusive and welcoming community to other debaters at MLHS. By preparing for and engaging in debate tournaments, Debate Club members will learn how to:
· Develop team working skills
· Understand all sides of an argument
· Experience new points of view
· Research current issues and events
· Write cases with strong contentions, claims, warrants, links, and evidence
· Defend and attack positions persuasively using logic and evidence
· Engage in public discourse with a polished and professional style
· Deliver speeches and responses spontaneously