Final Assignment Changes

Due to the changes in the schedule the last week of the semester, I had to alter our final assignments. For the final debates, you have the following assignments:

1. Final Debate against a classmate--100 pts. possible
2. Completing a debate ballot--50 pts. possible
3. Reflective Writing Final--100 pts. possible

Nearly all students have participated in at least one debate. Nearly all students have completed at least one ballot. The reflective writing is due by the end of the school day on Thursday (No late work accepted after Thursday at 2:30 PM).

Final Debate Tournament

Due to numerous schedule conflicts during the last week of the semester with other classes/activities, I am canceling our interclass debates. We will have debates within the class to ensure all students have an opportunity to debate and write at least one ballot/critique. During the last week, you will have a final with reflective writings about the debate class. The questions will be released on Friday and the writings must be turned in by the end of school on Thursday. The writings will be evaluated based on detail, writing in complete sentences and paragraphs, spelling, grammar, etc.

Resolutions translated into plain language...

Resolution #1--Violent/excessive action to protect our way of life (democracy) can be ok.

Resolution #2--The opinion of the majority is more important than the rights of an individual.

Resolution #3--Humanity is basically good.

How Are You Being Judged for Final Debates?

FYI

One the Final Debate ballots, the following questions are asked:

1. How did the debators support their arguments with facts, statistics and/or expert opinion?
2. Describe the effectiveness and organization of the debaters' delivery.
3. Describe how the debaters counter and/or clash with each other.
4. How effective were the debaters during cross-examination?

Each question will be rated on a 25 point scale (100 points possible). Everyone gets a score for one debate. If a person loses in his/her first debate, then the person will complete at least three ballots of other debates, completing comments on both debaters.

Spelling It Out--Part Two

I am posting a sample affirmative case on a value resolution. I will be up front in saying the evidence is not correct so do not use it in your debates. This sample is to show you what an affirmative case should look /sound like.

Resolution: Money is the root of all evil

The Broadway musical, Cabaret, tells us money makes the world go round and singer Cyndi Laupher says, "Money changes everything..." however is the almighty dollar the motivation for all evil? I support the resolution, "Money is the root of all evil." To clarify the parameters of today's debate, I offer the following definitions from the Oxford English Dicitionary Online Edition:

Money--a symbolic representation of wealth using coin or paper.

root--at the base level or the core of something

all--everything or prevelance

evil-- a concept of sin representing destructive, unjust or wrong ideas or actions

In order to focus the affirmative position in today''s debate, I will center my arguments around the following thesis:

Vested intrests and greed in the attainment of wealth is the core of immoral actions

My first argument focuses on the premise that mankind's actions are based on vested interest. Abraham Maslow identified human needs in terms of a hierarchy of need. The foundation of human needs is called, base needs--those items needed for survival. These items are material objects like food, water, shelter, etc. In any modern society, material objects needed for survival have value and require a form of wealth to obtain the objects. The obvious representation of wealth in modern society is money, hence, possessing money is paramount to survival. People will take action, either moral or immoral, to attain items for survival. Maslow's concept of needs demonstrates survival is the basic need, and mankind will take action to ensure his need. Any action taken construed as evil can be interpreted as an attempt to obtain base needs for survival.

With man's need to possess items for survival being paramount, the natural consequence of coveting possessions is greed. The anti-hero Gordon Gekko in the movie, Wall Street tells us, "Greed...is good, greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of evolutionary spirit." While not the moral highpoint of man's character, Gekko's rhetoric about man's action is the more realistic and relevant in modern society. To ensure man's survival through the attainment of base needs, the primary emotion needed for success is greed. Gekko's commentary about 1980s America seems dark, but it also tells a success story that is the basis for the largest economy and the wealthiest nation on the planet. With greed the primary motivating factor in our society and the possession of wealth being the one certain way to ensure survival, evil is the likely consequence. Greed and evil go hand-in-hand together down the road of evolutionary development.

We see that "Money is the root of all evil" through the desire of objects needed for survival the the human emotion, greed, as the motivating factor in our character. We may not like to admit the evolutionary skeletons in our closet, yet those skeletons are not only the dark side of our nature, but also the trait that may best ensure our survival.

Step-By-Step Directions

For those who need specific directions to follow, in order to prepare for your final debates, work these steps:

1. READ ALL THE POSTS ON THIS BLOGSITE SINCE NOVEMBER 23rd. There is a bunch of information related to your final debates including affirmative and negative ideas to research, how to refute or respond to arguments and ideas, events and people related to the topics

2. DEFINITIONS--Look up definitions for all vague or unfamiliar terms and have them available in your debate. This allows you to set the boundaries of the resolution

3. GRAMMATICAL CONTEXT--Look at each resolution and identify the parts of speech (noun, verb, etc.) and modifying phrases in the resolution. This ensures you do not misinterpret the resolution and solidifies the areas to argue.

4. BRAINSTORM IDEAS--Take time with a group of people and brainstorm arguments, ideas, and events that support and oppose the resolution. Be sure to write down all ideas. This helps you anticipate arguments and gives you ideas for follow-up.

5. RESEARCH & DEVELOP--Using your brainstorm lists, research and find evidence and take the time to edit and summarize the events or concepts. You are wanting data in 10-20 second segments

6. OUTLINE--Develop an outline and insert your evidence where it supports your arguments. Ideally you want an affirmative presentation approx. 3 min., 40 sec. long. Your negative should be approx. 3 min so you have time to refute or respond to the affirmatiive presentation.

7. ORGANIZE EVIDENCE--You will want to organize your materials so you can find them quickly. Remember you want to be able to find and retreive your materials within a few seconds because you only have 5 min. of prep before you debate.

8. ASK QUESTIONS AND ASK FOR HELP--There are people around you who could question you about your case or listen to your prepared arguments. Teachers in other subjects can also give you ideas.

9. TIME YOURSELF AS YOU SPEAK OUT LOUD--Not only is this a practice run, but it lets you know whether to cut or add evidence.

LAST CHANCE EXTRA CREDIT

You may bring canned food or non-perishable food in for extra credit points until Dec. 9th. Remember you receive 2 points per item up to 50 items. You can only make one submission so make sure you have all the cans you want to turn in together at one time.

Outline Template for Final Debates

The structure of a constructive speech for your final debates will be very similar to the outline of Student Congress debates. The major difference will be in the Negative constructive speech and rebuttals. You need to directly refute the arguments of your opponents. You can refute an opponent's argument in the following manner:

According to Joe Bob's statement in part two, section A of his speech, "Man is a selfish being." I have two responses:

1. If man is selfish, then why is is the most common relationship among humans is marriage? According to David Hume, "the natural relationship in humankind is the connection between partners at the physical, emotional, and spiritual state." Hume shows we need connections with another in order to exist.

2. Job Bob completely ignores the altruistic characteristics of people. John Dewey in his work Democracy and Education explains people naturally emphatize with others when the other person is in distress. If man is wholly selfish he/she would never demonstrate altruistic behavior.

In each example, Joe Bob's opponent directs the audience to the major argument responses (Claim), provides rationale from philosophers to support the responses (data), and explains how the data proves his/her point (warrant).

What Can I Have For Resources?

Just letting you know, you can bring whatever you can carry that is in print. (Sorry, no electronic devices allowed during the preparation or the round). If you bring in a wagonload of dictionaries, encyclopedias and books, that is fine by me. Realistically, you can probably get away with these items:

A Good Dictionary
A Good Book of Quotations
A Book on the US Constitution and Important Supreme Court Cases
A Dictionary, Encyclopedia or other overview of famous philosophers

Having notes of particular historical or cultural events that relate to the debate resolutions will also be a plus. Keep in mind you only have 5 minutes to prepare and during the round you only have 2 minutes of prep time. Remember that all of these resources only provide your data or rationale, you still need to come up with the claims and warrants to make your arguments. If you forgot...

Claim--What you are trying to prove
Data/Source--The information that supports your claim and the source of your data
Warrant--Explanation of how your data proves your claim

Sample

Claim---The world is round
Data--According to photographic images provided by NASA during the Apollo missions, the pictures show a round Earth
Warrant--Because we have NASA's photographs of the Earth, we know the world is round.

Final Debates--Philosophers R Us

While philosophy can be difficult to read and more difficult to understand, knowing a little about philosophers and their ideas may be very helpful in the final debates. I would not suggest you try to read the original works, but try to find summaries, encyclopedia, or dictionary explanations of the following philosophers and their ideas:

Thomas Hobbes--Social Contract
Georg Hegel--Dialectic
Immanuel Kant--Morality
Jean Jacques Rousseau--General Will
John Locke--Freedom
John Stuart Mill--On Liberty, Utilitarianism, "tyranny of the majority"
GE Moore--concept of "good"
Max Weber--Comments on freedom

This is by no means a complete list, but it is meant to steer you in direction of people and their ideas that are relevant to our final debate topics.

Final Debates--Topic Review #3

The topic, "Mankind is inherently good." is a basic premise argument in philosophy. Based on the resolution, many observations and assumptions can be made about the state of man. The resolution assumes man is a positive force, possessing altruistic characteristics. Governments form for the "commonweal" of man--meaning progress is normally good because man at his/her base level, is a good creature and can make positive, conscious decisions. With the premise that mankind is generally good, then societies and institutions for the general good prevail. Those who understand altruism, self-actualization, and the general tenets of most major religions support the resolution.

The negative area of the debate is very all-encompassing. Proving mankind is anything besides generally good will provide the negative rationale for the debate. Whether man is selfish, operates through vested interests or can only exist through conflict is reasonable ground against the resolution The philosophy of Hegel, Nitescheze, and Etzioni will give plenty of rationale for this topic area.

Final Debates--Topic Review #2

The second topic is a classic "society versus the individual" argument. The resolution calls for the needs of the majority taking precedence over individual rights. Some would say this was the primary philosophy of Fascism seen in Italy and Germany in the 1930s or the de facto actions of Communist China and the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. However, we see such actions as seizing private property through "imminent domain" here in the United States for public works projects. In the 20th century, the US saw actions by the legislative branch (House Un-American Activities Committee) destroy individuals and the actions were strongly supported by the public. Probably the big question in the resolution implies that we determined the "will of the masses" through some kind of process. How do we determine, "The will of the masses?" Is it determined through a democratic process, a representative procedure, or an edict from a bureaucracy? Most of the events described in Topic Review #1 also apply to this resolution for both Affirmative and Negative arguments.

The opposition to the resolution can use the United States Constitution and the Amendments to support the premise we hold individual rights at least as important if not more important to majority rule. Historically the US Constitution could not pass until a Bill of Rights was assured. Most of US law is based on due process clauses in the 5th and 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Many of the major Supreme Court decisions of the past 100 years supports individual rights over the authority of government or majority opinion in contemporary society.

Understanding the legal as well as traditional history of the United States will greatly assist your efforts in debating this topic.

Final Debates--Topic Review #1

As you prepare for your final debates this week, you will need to understand the three possible topics for the debates. Remember you will draw one of the three topics, another person will select affirmative or negative, then both have five minutes to prepare to compete.

1. Extremism in defense of liberty is justified...This is an offshoot of a famous quote from Vice-Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater ("Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."). I changed the last phrase for better understanding of the resolution. The United States has a history of "extreme" measures taken by the government during crisis. During the Civil War, the federal government ignored civil rights at times when it detained people who opposed the war effort, closed newspapers that published stories critical of the government, and even ignored the rulings of the Supreme Court. Some would say the actions of Gov. Oliver P. Morton of Indiana during the Civil War is a prime example supporting the resolution. Gov. Morton basically ruled Indiana as a dictator during the majority of the war (He did not allow the Indiana General Assembly to meet during the war.) Other examples include the relocation of Japanese-Americans during WW II and the Bush administration's approval of torture to obtain information about Islamic terrorism activities this decade. All these events support the ideal, "The ends justifies the means."

Those opposing the resolution can argue liberty is destroyed by the very acts of suppressing individual rights. When a government violates its own laws for the "greater good," then individual have little to no protection from an extremist government and liberty is destroyed. The relocation of Japanese-Americans (including the loss of businesses, homes, and property) or America's long history of ignoring treaty agreements with Native Americans and ensuing genocide are prime examples of the impact of extremism. Even in wartime, America has followed some form of legal rights at times as seen during the Nuremburg and Tokyo Tribunals following WW II. In philosophy, one sees a classic "social contract" position and "individual rights" as opposing the resolution.

Hopefully this will assist you in your efforts to further analyze and research this resolution.

Definitions-Final Debates

We are one week away from starting the last debates of the semester. It is extremely important you know the definitions that are appropriate in the context of the resolutions for the following words:

extremism
defense
liberty
justified
will
masses
supercedes
rights
individual
mankind
inherently

Knowing these definitions will greatly help you in understanding the boundaries of the debate resolution.

Coming Up.....Final Debate!!!

As we we finish up our Student Congress debates over the next 4-5 school days, I want to give an preview of what we will do the last few weeks of the semester.

All debate classes will participate in a debate "battle royale" supreme cage match. Each class will hold its own tournament with the winners of each class competing against each other to decide the Supreme Debator for the Fall Semester. The debates are called, "Spontaneous Debate" This is a one-on-one debate. At the beginning of the round, a student will draw the debate topic. The debate topic will be one of the following choices:

1. Extremism in defense of liberty is justified
2. The will of the masses supersedes the rights of the individual
3. Mankind is inherently good

Once the topic is drawn, the competitors will have 5 min. to prepare for their debate. The breakdown for the debate follows:

Aff--4 min.
CX--2 min
Neg--4 min
CX--2 min
AFF Rebuttal--2 min
NEG Rebuttal--2 min

Students who are out of the tournament will receive grades based on written critiques on debates they watch in class. Participating debators in the tournament will be scored based on their debates. More details will follow, but expect debates to begin on Dec. 7th.

Congrats!

Wanted to give a shout out to Tonio Thomas for being the sole Shortridge competitor at our tournament this weekend! Tonio participated in the middle school Student Congress on Sat. morning.

Shortridge Debate Tournament

Reminder the Shortridge Debate Tournament is this weekend! If you compete in the tournament, you earn 100 extra credit points in Debate class. Middle School Congress will be held Sat. morning beginning at 7:30 AM and ending at Noon with awards immediately after the end of the session. the process and procedure is the same as what we are doing in class except a different set of bills are used (IHSFA Bills 3, 7, 10, 14). Sign-up outside Rm 214 by Thurs. and pick up a copy of the bills.

Midterm Grades

Nov. 20th marks the deadline for mid-term grades. Understand the major scores for this time period is the Blog site assignment and your speeches in Student Congress debate. We will finish Student Congress next week and this is the majority of your score in debate.

Remember you HAVE TO SPEAK ON THREE OUT OF THE FOUR BILLS IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A GRADE in Student Congress. If you speak more than three times, the LOWEST SCORE IS DROPPED AND YOUR SCORE IS BASED ON YOUR BEST THREE SPEECH SCORES.

Terms and Suggestions for Student Congress

There are some terms in the US Newspaper bill you really want to understand before you get up to speak.

Non-profit organization
Tax Exempt
Tax Deductible
Political Endorsement

Take the time to find the meaning of these terms before you start figuring out your speech.

Additionally you want to know how our country operates presidential primaries/caucuses now so you understand why the resolution recommends changes. Why would we want or not want to change to a national date for presidential primaries?

On the bottled water resolution you really want to know the meaning of the words, medicinal and sanitation.

On the International Criminal Court, be sure to know why the United States is not part of the ICC? Also know what they mean by genocide and crimes against humanity.

Order of Debate--Student Congress

1st Period

IHSFA Bill 2
IHSFA Bill 4
IHSFA Bill 12
IHSFA Bill 8

2nd Period

IHSFA Bill 4
IHSFA Bill 2
IHSFA Bill 8
IHSFA Bill 12

3rd Period

IHSFA Bill 2
IHSFA Bill 4
IHSFA Bill 12
IHSFA Bill 8

4th Period

IHSFA Bill 4
IHSFA Bill 2
IHSFA Bill 8
IHSFA Bill 12

11th Period

IHSFA Bill 2
IHSFA Bill 4
IHSFA Bill 8
IHSFA Bill 12

I already passed out a copy of the bills to students. If you lost your copy, you will need to retreive copies from online resources. Copies of the Congress bills are found at the Indiana High School Forensics Association website, www.ihsfa.org. Click on the link, 2009-2010 Congress Bills.

Sign-up for Shortridge Debate/Congress Tournament

I posted the sign-up sheets for the 1st Shortridge Debate & Congress Tournament on Nov. 20-21, 2009. If you compete in one of the debate events, spontaneous argument, Lincoln-Douglas, or Public Forum, you will compete on Friday night and Sat. If you compete in Congress, you will compete on Saturday only. The sign up sheets are outside Rm 214. There is no cost to enter this competition since we are hosting it.

Incompletes

For those who still have an "I" from the first nine weeks, I can no longer go over in detail what you need to do during classtime. Any questions about make-up work needs to happen in between classes or after school.

I am leaving two copies of the packets we used for definitions in the TLC room with Ms. Coleman. You will not be able to leave the room with the packet.

Reminder at the end of the school day on Friday, November 6th, if you do not submit missing assignments, the grade will change to an "F"

Roberts Rules of Order / Congress Bills

If you lost your copy of Congress bills and table of parliamentary motions, you will need to obtain your own copies.

For Congress Bills:

www.ihsfa.org. Then click on link, "2009-2010 Congress Bills"

For Table of Parliamentary Motions:

Do an internet search using the phrase, "Parliamentary Motions Chart". You will find a number of examples of tables of parliamentary motions in your search results.

Student Congress Debate Grade-Revision

As I posted earlier, in order to receive a score for Student Congress, you must speak on at least 3 out of the 4 bills. If you give more than 3 speeches, I will drop the lowest scores and calculate the average of the best 3 speeches. This way, if you speak more than 3 times, it can only help your grade.

Blog Site Assignment--Due 11/2/09

You will receive a hard copy in class. I am posting this on the site for your convienence.

Blog Site Assignment
Debate
Fall 2009

Due Date: Monday, November 2, 2009

Instructions: Using a separate sheet of paper, write out the answers to the questions using full sentences. All answers are found on the blogsite: shortridgedb8.blogspot.com.

1. Who presented databases available from Marion Co. Public Library?
2. Why would you want to bring canned food to class?
3. When did I post the list of students who were missing assignments for the first nine weeks?
4. How will your speech grade be calculated during Student Congress debate?
5. In what section of the Student Congress debate outline would you include the claim, data, and warrant?
6. What is the internet address to access the Marion Co. Public Library database system and what do you need to access it from home?
7. What are the titles of articles on the blog site referring to the status of US newspapers?
8. Why are Nov. 2nd and Nov. 7th important for your second nine weeks grade?
9. What is the maximum time for a Student Congress debate speech?
10. Why is the Shortridge Debate Tournament important for your grade?
11. What are two different resources that describe Student Congress debate?

Student Congress and Speech Outline

So you can have a structure to develop your speeches for Student Congress debate, here is an outline to assist you:

I. Introduction--Use quote, definition, story or joke to open your speech. May also reference quotes or comments from a previous speaker.

-Transition to Thesis

Thesis: I stand today in support/opposition to the bill for two basic reasons: 1.____________________ and, 2._______________________.

II. First Major Argument (Think of a topic sentence to a paragraph)

--Consider referencing previous speakers' arguments

A. Subpoint--(Insert Evidence here including a claim, data, and warrant)

B. Subpoint--(Insert Evidence here including a claim, data, and warrant)

--Summarize First Major Argument

--Transition to Second Major Argument

III. Second Major Argument (Think of a topic sentence to a paragraph)

--Consider referencing previous speakers' arguments

A. Subpoint--(Insert Evidence here including a claim, data, and warrant)

B. Subpoint--(Insert Evidence here including a claim, data, and warrant)

--Summarize Second Major Argument

--Transition to Conclusion

IV. Conclusion

-Repeat Thesis

--Consider using strong quote to support your point


Keep in mind the maximum time for a speech is three minutes with a one minute question period.

Student Congress and Grading

There is a scoring rubric for your Student Congress debate speeches available in class for review. Remember you will need to give at least 3 speeches in Student Congress to receive a score. We will average the score from the three speeches for your grade in this section of Student Congress debate.

You are expected to conduct your own research for this debate. However, feel free to share articles and evidence with others so everyone can develop speeches for debate. Remember it is important for students to speak in the Affirmative and the Negative on each bill. Remember in an earlier post I gave out links to articles on each of the Congress bills.

Nine Week Grades

With the first 9 weeks completed, a number of people received the grade of "I" or Incomplete. The grade means you have a number of missing assignments and you have 2 weeks to submit work to receive a passing grade. If work has not been submitted after 2 weeks, the grade will revert to an "F". I went over missing assignments with students on at least two occasions and will review missing work again with any interested family during PIT day.

Research for Student Congress

If you look at an earlier post you will find direct links to articles for each of the Congress bills we begin debating upon our return from Fall Break. Also this week Ms. Cash from the Marion Co. Public Library presented electronic databases available for use. To use the Marion Co. Public Library system, you will need a library card to access it from home. If you are at school, go to www.myilibrary.org/IPS.

The great thing about the Marion Co. databases is you can download the article onto MP3 players and you can hear the entire article.

Extra Credit--Second Nine Weeks

For those who plan ahead, the extra credit chances for the final 9 weeks of the semester include:

Observe Western Speech Meet on Sat. Nov. 7th (50 pts.) Information and field trip form available from Mr. Colby. Field trip form and $5.00 bus fee due by Nov. 2nd

Compete at Shortridge Debate and Congress Tournament Nov. 21st (100 pts.) Must speak in all rounds. Information and entry form available outside Rm 214. Deadline to register is Nov. 18th.

Thanksgiving Can Food Drive. Bring in non-perishable food item. (2 pts. per item, max. 100 pts.). Must bring all items in at one time. Deadline for submission is Nov. 19th. Class period with most cans submitted will win donut or pizza party!

This nine weeks the extra credit will only be posted on this site. No classroom announcements and no handouts! This rewards those who come to the site for assignments and information.

The First Nine Weeks and Grades

So far in class, we have done a number of different things to determine your grade. Some of the things include:

Extra Credit Opportunities (3) Student Information Survey, College Fair at Attucks, Observe Debate Meet

Come to Class Prepared--In proper attire, pen/pencil, agenda book, lined paper

Writing--Reflection Essay for 1st Debate, What I Learned So Far Essay

Reading/Research--Locate 5 Articles for 1st Debate, Look for 50 pieces of evidence for debate, Use of search engines for information, 5 Facts Assignment, Using electronic databases for research

Lecture Notes--From the first 6 weeks including these topics:

Debate Topic
Affirmative
Negative
Resolution
Order of Speaking and Time Limits
Constructive
Rebuttal
Cross-Examination
Important Definitions in Resolution
Aff. and Neg. Issues for Debate
Unified Analysis
Claim, Data, Warrant
Evidence--Tagline, Source, Data

Speaking--Power Word, Debate #1

Watching--60 Minute Story on Urban Debate, Student Congress Debate

Bellringers--Beginning of Class Responses

Terminology--53 Definitions Related to Debate

Classroom Assignments--Agenda Book Assignment, What Is In The Room Assignment

Those who have good grades in class mainly did two things: 1. Turned in Assignments on time and, 2. Took advantage of extra credit opportunities.

The major reason people did not do well was they did not turn in assignments even after verbal and written reminders.

Some students received an incomplete or "I" because of absence issues or multiple missing assignments. Students have until the end of the school day on Friday, November 6th to turn in missing assignments or the grade will revert to an "F"

With this being the first 9 weeks of a high school class I am giving some leeway due to the differences between this class and previous classes students experienced. Since we have block schedule classes, no tests, and "homework" is different than filling out a worksheet, the class has been a major change for most. Now that we know what is expected, the next nine weeks will be much better.

Missing Assignments

This is the final week of the grading period. The following students need to see me about missing assignments:

Class Period First Name # Missing Assignments
1st Sandra A. 6
Kelcee 4
Julia 2
Iasia 2
Kylee 1
Isaiah 3
Brooklyn 1
Anwnette 3
Maria 2
Zemirah 2
Sherrod 3
Lubia 4
Gloria 1
Jazmyne 3
Jasmine 1
Joshua 2
Aaron 3
Daryl 2
Diondrea 2
Kierra 3
Terin 3
Juwancee 3
Taylor 3
Jerrica 3
Aniyah 5

2nd Chris A. 5
Chris B. 2
Angelique 2
Cortez 2
Christian 1
Damontea 2
Jasmine 2
Ulises 2
Lamont 3
Siham 1

3rd Chris A. 3
Lapre 1
Eriberto 4
Briana 1
VaShawntana 2
Ibraham 2
Antwain 4
Davine 4
Diamond 2
Shawkia 1
Wendy 3
Enrique 3
Andrea 1
Robert 1
Jose 2
Angela 2
Cody 2
Andreas 2
Destiny W. 2
Destiny Wi. 2
Montrel 1

4th Teri 2
AJ 1
Darian 3
Brittany 3
Donald 3
Kalynn 2
Jasmine G. 3
Mykela 2
Jacob H. 3
Maurice 2
Allen 2
Norie 1
Precious 1
Reyna 4
Khadijah 5
Juan San. 3
Juan Sav. 4
Kris 3
Shayla 2
Carl 4
Eric 4
Laquante 4

11th Jamar 3
Dazion 4
Deshawn 4
Aaliyah 4
Irving 4
Daijah 3
Jose 5
Miguel 3
Lizeth 2
Derrick 3
Markell 3
Nicole 4
Joey 3
Julio 4
Janai 3
Chris S. 1
Carleton 2
Tonio 4


All assignments must be turned in by the end of school on Wed. Oct. 21st. Final grades will be turned in at this time.

Kokomo Debate Tournament

We will leave from the Shortridge HS Parking Lot at 6 AM. I will need a field trip permit and $5.00 fee before we leave. Those students who are currently involved in Student Congress in Debate class will need to observe at least 60 min. of Varsity Student Congress at the meet. Additionally you will need to watch at least one debate in three out of the following four events:

Lincoln/Douglas Debate
Public Forum Debate
Spontaneous Debate
Policy Debate

Remember you are to wear professional attire. Also you will need money for lunch. You can bring materials to read or listen to music, however, do not pull them out when observing rounds.

Week of 10/19

Here is the tentative schedule for the upcoming week:

Monday--Brief discussion on Kokomo Debate Tournament. Start Student Congress (Seating the Congress, Deciding Order of Bills and Starting first Debate)

Tuesday/Wednesday--Presentation on how to use the Inspire Virtual Library System for research (Guest speaker will be here from the state agency)

Thursday/Friday--FALL BREAK

I will let people know if they need to see me about missing assignments by posting first names and class period over the weekend.

Resources for Student Congress

OK Folks, I cannot make this much easier. Here are links you can use to find information for our Student Congress debate:

Bottled Water Ban

www.bottledwaterblues.com/bottled_water_facts.php
www.bottledwater.org/public/flash/bottled-water-v33.swf

US Newspapers

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/12/22/081222ta_talk_surowiecki
www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/31/080331fa_fact_alterman

Presidential Primaries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_primary
www.tcf.org/publications/electionreform/wang_primary.pdf

International Criminal Court

http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court

There are many articles and websites out there on each of the Student Congress bills. What I am posting is just a starting point.

Expectations for Class

Just so everyone is on the same page, I expect students to come to class every day with the following:
1. Correct school attire worn properly
2. Agenda/Planner
3. Pen or Pencil
4. Lined paper

I conduct random checks on materials, uniform, and whether a person is using his/her planner. What I mean by using the planner is a student enters assignments from ALL classes on the planner each day. If a student does not have a particular assignment for a class, he/she can write NONE next to the class name.

There are definite reasons for doing this. Right now less than 40% of students are submitting assignments on time. Additionally over a third of students in class do not bring items like a pen or pencil and paper to class. For those who manage themselves and come to class prepared, then the checks are easy grades. If you do not bring stuff to class, this could really hurt your grade.

Grading of Student Congress Debate Speeches

This is FYI for Debate Classes:

For the upcoming student congress debate, speeches will be an average score of all presentations and is worth 100 points. In order to receive grade, you must speak on 3 out of the 4 bills. Score is divided into the following:

20--Volume (Can we easily hear and understand what you are saying)
20--Eye Contact (Do you make regular eye contact with the audience)
20--Organization (Does the speech have an introduction, thesis, points of arguments, and conclusion)
20--Evidence (Does the speech use quotes or statistics to provide proof for arguments)
20--Engagement (Does the speaker reference previous evidence from other speakers to prove a point)

Deductions will be made on average score for the following:

Insults or negative remarks towards a particular speaker
Not following directions of Presiding Officer
Poor use of Pariamentary Procedure

Kokomo Debate Tournament

Shortridge Debate will go and observe its first debate tournament on Saturday at Kokomo High School in Kokomo, Indiana. We will leave from the Shortridge parking lot at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning. We will observe Student Congress, Public Forum Debate, Lincoln/Douglas Debate, Spontaneous Debate, and Policy Debate. We expect to be back at approx. 5:00 PM Saturday afternoon. Be sure to bring money for meals. For more information, the information, itinerary and field trip form is available outside Rm 214 at school.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Shortridge Debate Blog! Hopefully this will help students and families better understand the class and interscholastic debate at Shortridge Magnet High School.

Right now we are preparing to start Student Congress Debate. We will use Congress Bills 2, 4, 8 and 12 from the Indiana High School Forensics Association website (www.ihsfa.org). To better understand Student Congress, go to www.nflonline.org and search "Student Congress Video." You can also read about Student Congress on Wikipedia. Just enter the search phrase, "Student Congress."