"At High School Debates, Debate Is No Longer Allowed"

And some reflections on my own high school experience

May 25, 2023

RIP to the amazing Tina Turner.

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This morning I came across this post at The Free Press, arguing essentially that robust debate and critical thinking are dead at the National Speech & Debate Association. This is the crux of the argument:

Unfortunately for students and their parents, there are countless judges at tournaments across the country whose biased paradigms disqualify them from being impartial adjudicators of debate. From “I will drop America First framing in a heartbeat,” to “I will listen to conservative-leaning arguments, but be careful,” judges are making it clear they are not only tilting the debate in a left-wing direction, they will also penalize students who don’t adhere to their ideology. 

I find this development to be depressing but unsurprising. Reading about it made me think about an experience that I had in high school that was very different from what appears to be happening today.