Teaching Debate in Chile
You just found out you’re going to coach your school debate team. You’re thrilled, right? Well, if you’re like most debate coaches I have met, you got the job by being told you were going to be the debate coach. Non-negotiable. Sound familiar, huh?
OK, you’re the coach of the debate team. You can’t get out of it, so now what? Well, first of all, you need a team. You have to recruit some debaters.
What? How did I recruit debaters? I promised them an extra week of winter vacation. No, just kidding.
Here’s some ideas:
1. Remember what happened to you? You were told that you were the coach. So tell the students they are on your team.
What? That won’t work? Hmm. Alright, beg. I’m serious. Beg the students to come to a tryout.
What? That won’t work either?
Alright, how about this:
2. Be honest. Tell the students debating requires long hours of practice. Tell them there is lots of research they have to do. Tell them debating is difficult, and all you can guarantee is lots of long hours perfecting their debating skills.
What? Am I serious? Yes. Do I have any other options?
3. How about a movie? The most inspiring debating movie I can suggest is “The Great Debaters”, starring Denzell Washington. After they watch that movie, they will want to go out and debate somebody, anybody. Trust me, it is amaaaazing.
To sum up, your first step in being a debate coach is to recruit a team. As a matter of fact, it’s the most important thing you do. Recruit a team.
Wait, now that you have a team, now what?
Download my free Ebook, Debating in Chile. It will give you some great ideas about how to prepare your team for the debate. Click on the link: http://slidesha.re/cSVP9N
