Debate

About Debate

Competitive debate is offered to eighth and ninth graders through the Public Speaking course. The team will compete in up to eight meets during the school year.

Patton Junior High School debates in a league called DEBATE-KC. This is a league affiliated with the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Throughout the season, we take part in approximately eight competitions against schools throughout the Kansas City Metro. The debaters (who are in 8th and 9th grade) compete against high school students on a topic that we debate all season long. This year's topic is based on ocean exploration. It is a great activity for students who want to learn the art of persuasion and public speaking.

Debate Club Description

The debate club is great place for students to explore the art of "organized arguing." Students in debate club tend to enjoy discussing current issues and if they don't already have a strong voice and good presentation skills, they will learn these abilities in a fun, safe club environment. Students learn to create factual/logical, ethical and emotional arguments to persuade others in the club that their "side" is correct. The club uses the formal debate format. The goal is to compete in tournaments with middle and high school students.

The club's purpose is to teach and train students in the fundamentals of debate, public speaking and

essay writing.

Educate students about the art of speech and debate
Teach students how to develop research, reasoning, organizational and essay writing skills
Train students to be more confident speakers and debaters
Help students build leadership skills and improve individual responsibility
Compete with other school debate teams
Teach students to work collaboratively

Speech and debate skills help students to thrive academically and provide them with an advantage in

their careers.