Riverside’s new debate club has given many students the opportunity to discuss and argue about many important topics. Riverside teacher, Mr. Ben Lepore, has sponsored this club, as a way to allow students to debate many significant subjects that are happening in our school, community and world. Although they will not be competing against other schools, the students will be split into teams and debate different topics amongst themselves. By giving students the opportunity to learn how to improve their debating skills and discuss important matters, the debate club has been a great hit so far!
Lepore, who has been involved with debate in the past, described how he will be teaching students the ability to support positions with evidence. “Learning these skills are very beneficial to students who are interested in improving on their debating abilities,” said Lepore. He also said that the club provides students the opportunity to participate in something that they are interested in and to learn a variety of skills for presenting arguments in an effective way.
Lepore also explained that the students have chosen a variety of different topics to debate amongst themselves. “The topics that the students have chosen are a broad range of different subjects, such as political and social issues,” said Lepore.
Riverside grade 10 students, Clare Noble and Janna Grant, came up with the idea to form the debate club, after speaking to one of the main creators of the national debate team, Jacob Gebrewold, at the Spoken Word competition. “He encouraged us to start a debate club at Riverside and after that we proposed the idea to Mr. Lepore,” said Noble.
Through the club, they hope to learn different debate strategies and the proper ways to prepare information for their class competitions. “This club is a great opportunity to improve on my debate skills,” said Noble.
If you’re interested in debate, come to room 123 on Thursdays at lunch as this club is a great opportunity to learn and discuss many important issues with your peers.
