The Irvine Debate Academy trains middle and high school debaters in argumentation and debate.  Students in the Academy meet weekly online for lectures and strategy sessions.  Virtual meetings are supplemented with in-person sessions for practice debates and tournament preparation.  The Academy provides coaching before and during each debate tournament.  Coaching includes research assistance, brief writing and feedback on actual debates. 

 

Debate teaches students critical thinking, communication skills, research techniques and listening skills. It educates them in the ethics of communication and engulfs them in debate about values and society. Debate also gives students a taste of policy and value-based decision making. It allows them to engage in role playing which models argumentation that occurs at the highest levels of many fields. The learning occurs in a way that facilitates confidence and eliminates the communication apprehension that can block bright minds from participating in the great decisions of the day.

 

The Academy provides the unique opportunity for students in Orange County to engage in competitive academic debate.  Students who attend schools with no debate team are allowed to engage in one of the most powerful extra and co-curricular activities available to middle and high school students.  Students in the Academy benefit from access to other equally motivated debaters, a world class library and championship coaching. 

 

The Irvine Debate Academy provides championship coaching in two different debate formats:  Policy and Lincoln Douglass.  Both activities are incredibly educational and offer students incomparable academic enrichment.  

 

Policy Debate

 

 In policy debate, competitors either advocate or oppose a resolution that calls for a change in policy regarding a current political issue.  The 2013-2014 policy debate topic is “Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or development of the Earth's oceans.”  During a round of debate, a team of two debaters will advocate the resolution by proposing a specific plan to accomplish the goal stated in the resolution while another team of two debaters will oppose the resolution and the specific plan of the first team. In a debate tournament, each team will take turns advocating and opposing the resolution in a series of different rounds so that competitors thoroughly learn all the issues involved in the debate as well as the skills to either advocate or oppose a proposition.

 

Lincoln Douglass Debate

 

Lincoln Douglass debate features one on one debates about values, ethics or philosophy.  Lincoln Douglass resolutions force debaters to consider competining interests and argue in favor one.  For instance, the LD resolution for September/October of 2014 is:  Resolved: A just society ought to presume consent for organ procurement from the deceased.  In LD, debaters are also expected to argue both sides of the resolution.  This requires that each debater prepare to be affirmative and negative.

 

 

Tournament Schedule

 

Jack Howe at CSU-Longbeach 

Kathryn Classic at CSU Fullerton 

Damien HS

Al Hambre HS

La Costa Canyon HS

Claremont HS

Golden Desert @ UNLV

Stanford University

UC-Berkeley