Urban Debate - Groups - Action Tools

Details

Name: Urban Debate
Website: http://www.naudl.org; http://www.thegreatdebaters.org
Categories: Education

Description:
This group is in support of urban debate as a way for urban high school students to build friendships, learn skills unavailable to them in the course of their normal education, express themselves and their opinions, learn about politics, education, world news, philosophy, and foreign relations.

THE VALUE OF URBAN DEBATE LEAGUES

Research shows that competitive academic debate leagues help close the achievement gap and prepare low-income youth for college. UDLs have a track record of:

IMPROVING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. Debate competition motivates students to immerse themselves in public policy research and to practice and perform spoken and written argumentation for hundreds of hours outside of the school day. Urban debaters increase their grade-point-average, attendance rates, literacy scores, and critical thinking skills. They also tend to avoid high-risk behaviors.

BUILDING A BRIDGE TO COLLEGE. While the vast majority of urban debaters have parents who did not go to college and peers who often do not graduate from high school, UDLs send more than 75% of their students to four-year colleges. UDLs have college partnerships that provide access to campus facilities and student mentors. Participants acquire the tools to succeed in college.

DEVELOPING LEADERS. According to a survey by the National Forensic League, 64% of U.S. Congressmen competed in debate or speech in high school. Debaters are disproportionately represented in leadership ranks in the law, business, and academia. With expanded horizons, and by learning to lead and compete, urban debaters are equipped to improve their schools, strengthen their communities, and ultimately broaden the nation’s leadership base.

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