A streaming mp3 of Draft Analysis

Very nice from NPR. Lots of good info on draft policy and a question if Rangle's Bill is viable. Remember, if Rangle's Bill is the one to worry about, it's good Pro Ground. If Rangle's Bill not viable, then we have plenty of Con Ground from historic examples of Vietnam. Here's the link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6554362

Last night's Traditions and Hot Seat Session was great. I really don't think we have any bad choices in the new recruits. Today, we hit the MTV Debates.

New and Improved September 2008 Public Forum VBriefing

The NFL has released the new resolution we will be debating at Wake and Yale:
Resolved: That the United States should implement a military draft.

An incredibly interesting topic; though one that will force the smart debater to think around the topic. Think of approaching this resolution in a crab-walk. If you argue, the military needs more soldiers, you will lose at least 4/5 rounds. Think beyond this immediate reaction to the Resolution and think of the ramifications of a military draft.

We have updated the feed for the VBriefings on this resolution -- gone are the low-quality hippie video and we have developed two powerpoint briefings. Use these to guide your research, thinking, and discussions over the next week. Briefs will be emailed to everyone as they become available:

Video Briefing 1.02a:
Historical Overview on the Resolution


Video Briefing 1.02b:
Topic Overview, Philosophical, Military,
Political, and Social Implication on the Resolution


With the new hosting on uTipu.com, we have higher quality resolution. This is going to be a great resolution. Students, when you have viewed these videos, please click on Comments below.

DebateCzar Video Briefing 1.01

This first of the DebateCzar Video Briefings discusses the importance and purpose of the monthly Czar Video Briefs. We encourage parents to watch the Video Briefings each month so that they can discuss the current debate topics with their students. In my experience, the more communication between parents and students on the current debate topic, the better that student does in debate. Click on the link below to watch the first briefing video. All subsequent videos will be in a locked account on You Tube. To get the username and password for the locked channel, please send me an email at bagregg@rma.edu

At 1p, we hope to video the September Resolution Briefing for students and parents to watch.

Novice Assignment Three

This is a video of the first Public Forum resolution. The video is of low quality and the sound is sometimes not synched. But that's fine. Listen closely and take notes. Taking notes is a MASSIVE part of a debate round. Unlike taking notes in a classroom, note-taking in debate is not a passive activity. While you are taking notes, you are having half your mind active in coming up with rebuttals. You only have two minutes of preparation for the entire round.

Watch all four videos below and put your name down in the comments, so that I see if you've watched:

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:

Novice Assignment 2: Intro to PF Debate

Now that you've printed out the instructions on Public Forum, this video originally distributed by the NFL and narrated by the Vice President, Don Crabtree, is a walk-through of what a Public Forum Round is all about. They will refer to Public Forum as either "Ted Turner Debate" or "Controversy." It has since become Public Forum.

Definitely listen to Mr. Crabtree's lecture on the importance of Public Forum's connecting with the audience and judge.

Please view and then leave your name at the bottom for comment to show that you've watched:

Part 1:


Part 2:

Novice Assignment 1

For those students who have passed the interview process and made the first cut, the second cut will be determined on 1 September. You are to have printed the briefs (will be sent to you) on the new resolution, put them in a binder, and have highlighted them. You will be ready to speak intelligently on the upcoming Public Forum Resolution the first day. Those who have their briefs highlighted, make the first cut. Those that don't, don't.

Now, as for the form of debate you will be learning: Public Forum. Designed as a 2-person team, Public Forum debaters debate a resolution that comes out each month. They will be prepared to take either the Pro (Affirmative) or Con (Negative) ground and argue persuasively for either side of the resolution.

Your judges will be lay judges, or some debate coaches. At the end of each round of debate, the judge will determine who was most persuasive. That team gets the win.

Now, as for format of Public Forum, we have three assignments:
1) Novice Assignment 1: Download and familiarize yourself with the format of Public Forum. The link for the two articles is:
Public Forum Debate Packet
- and -
Public Forum Debate Overview

Once you have downloaded and read the two packets, leave a comment with your name on this post.

The next two assignments before the Resolution comes out will be video assignments. We will post shortly, as soon as YouTube gets our uploads filtered.

Good Luck,
~bag

Poetry... not just about lillies

Okay, this year I want to run some serious poetry programs. One of my favorite events. 10 minutes on a theme. Splicings of poetry; interplay of different characters. All proving a point. I have enclosed some poetry clips that I would like people to play around with. It shows the versatility of performance poetry.

If you are interested in running some of these, you need to contact me bagregg@rma.edu and then type up the transcript. We will find the actual text by the time we compete.

NOTE: The language in some of these is pretty rough. We will edit when it gets to competition. We do not use profane language in a round. However, the cutting edge poetry that we are looking for often does.

Shappy, Spoken Nerd (a real favorite):



Katie Makkai, Pretty (nice for a girl):


Sarah Kay, Hands (also nice for a girl):


Sharon Matesky, My Space (good for anyone, like it really for a girl)


Javon Johnson, Elementary (nice guy poem; especially for black students. Need to seriously edit)


Taylor Mali, Like Whatever (really cool for a dude or anyone)


Taylor Mali, Labelling Keys (we have this one and it is super cool)


Taylor Mali, On What Teachers Make (super cool for an education program)


Beau Sia... just amazing Poetry...


Back to the Now (nice for everyone)


Deep (nice)

How to Win a Debate

There are loads of ways to win a debate. But the first and foremost way is to make sure that you are always right. Stake out the ground you passionately believe in and defend it. But, when you are planning on attacking a position, you need to be able to extend the debate past case v. case -- have a broader view. More, when on the Con, or Neg, of an argument, all you need to do is to disprove the resolution. On the Pro, or Aff, you must defend the Resolution.

Here's a nice clip from Thank You for Smoking that helps frame the debate:

The freedom of case writing

As we get ready to start debating the September Resolution (release coming out Aug. 15... stay tuned), I want to deal with the freedom that is found in Case Writing. Anything can be proved. Anything can be proved any number of different ways. Hey, kids, this isn't English class where you are instructed to write a theme or a thesis or any of that. This is debate. We war with words and use ideas as axes. You have the freedom to find any part of the debate resolution to stand Pro or Con on. My job as coach is to guide you in that thinking and run through the options of each.

Have included a nice clip from the Ultimate Debate Film that proves the point:

Resolved: a great documentary

This documentary is now playing on HBO and HBO on Demand. Though it deals with Policy Debate, so many of the lessons apply to what we do at R-MA. Public Forum does NOT have the speed, the dress code, and the Spread. But a highly recommended film.

The Great Debaters

Finally saw "The Great Debaters" and recommend to all debaters, new and returning. Our standard form of debate is far different; but the structure is much the same and the message of this movie very important.

MST3K Video on Stance

Yeah, sure it's funny. But the issue of how to stand during speaking is INCREDIBLY important and, yes, that knee thing does actually work.

MST3K Video on Voice

Yeah, sure this video is goofy. But, trust me, this video really does offer some VERY important concepts for speaking today. Watch it, enjoy the laughs, and learn the major issues:

What the heck is this?

Just watched the VBI video on a TOC outround. I personally LOVE VBI and everything it does for the debate community. And have watched their video feeds from TOC for years. But this outround in LD just blew my mind. You really can't tell the difference between this LD Round and a CX round... unless, of course, you realize that it is only half the time, there are no partners, and people are wearing ties and not Anarchy t-shirts.

Now, I know that speed wins in LD because it allows you to cover the spread. And I know that so many judges vote on dropped contentions. And I know that winners go fast and the debate community follows the winners.

But I am just taken aback that the speed for cases has so increased to even rival Policy Debaters (unless, of course, you go to the Rebuttals that are more understandable because there are no tubs with preprepared rebuttal cards). Call me an old-timey fuddy duddy, but when LD at the circuit level exceeds the speed I saw in Resolved... then we are at a point in LD debate when this event will become strangled by its own speed. This means fewer coaches can coach it, fewer judges can judge it, and we are looking at the slow dwindling of LD that we are seeing in CX.

Perhaps this is one of the serious reasons why Public Forum is growing by leaps and bounds on all levels. Sad, because LD really exposed some great philosophical structures to high school students. Also sad, because we are seeing more and more tubs start coming into play in Public Forum.

An intriguing issue comes out when we examine the reason why LD Debate came into being -- to allow the suits and the general public to be able to watch a debate. Public Forum created for the same reasons. Now is the time that safeguards need to be put in place to protect PF from the same excesses that have taken over LD. I would propose:
1) Making darn sure that we get lay judges in rounds. I would like to see either speech judges pulled into PF or make sure that you have 2-judge panels with a debate judge and a lay judge for each round.
2) Stop the "Do you have a card" questions on all CrossFires... it just slows and strangles the clash. Yes, debaters should not fabricate evidence. But, hey, studies always conflict and there is always some evidence out there that contradicts yours. Whenever we challenge a piece of evidence, we need to have that piece of evidence on-hand from which the warrant is being challenged.
3) Debaters can only bring up their cases and a flowpad to be used in the round. Public Forum requires the Public to watch... think Presidential Debate, but with straighter answers. Nowhere in any public debate would you see a speaker stop, pull out a series of cards in the middle of a round, and go from there. NFL requires that extemp speeches be memorized; I am not advocating memorization, but am drawing the parallel that we can ask that only cases and flow pads be brought up in the round. Leave the evidence and tubs at the door.

Can we stop the rush to dissolution in Public Forum? Yes, NFL is forming a Committee for next summer and we have the District Chair Conference next summer. My voice will be hard and firm that we need to keep Public Forum ... well, Public.