We watched a video a few weeks ago about a school starting a debate team for their students that were having problems. It should a tremendous increase in their learning and their want to learn.

In my high school there was a step team created to help students in similar situations. It helped the girls so much and their high school dropout rate decreased.

I think in both cases the students came from families that had to work hard and didn't have time to cater to personal needs. I think the teams gave the students extra comfort and "family lives." I think the students having someone to push and make them want to do better increased their want to finish school. I think teams like these are very good; they help the students finish school, have something worth doing, and participate in making the school better as a whole.

I really enjoyed that video. In highschool I was actually captain of our debatet team ....yeah. I was cool. Even though I didn't come from a hard home life nor was I in danger of dropping out I think being involved in such extra curricular activities was extremely beneficial. We practiced every day after school and left for weekends to go compete across the state. I definitely saw my team as another "family." We all became friends, everyone helped each other out and it was very comforting to know there were other people out there who were interested in the same things you were.

Also, when all of those students in the video we watched were spending hours after school and on weekends practicing and competing they were staying out of trouble elsewhere. In order to excel at debating they had to practice and research continuously--promoting great work ethics and sparking an interest in current events. One student who was having trouble speaking and reading continuously worked on his enunciation and his research and rehearsing helped his reading level to soar above where it once was.

I think it's so fantastic for students of all backgrounds to have a passion like these students had for their debating. Whether it's academics, sports, music, theater... or debating!

The police officer of the debate team was not only the leader but he was also the father figure. If not for his passion for those kids they would not have succeeded like they did. I believe all students in school need that type of mentor to help them or motivate them throughout their school career.
My mentor was my high school band director. Not only was he a teacher but he helped his students with other various issues. He looked after all his students like they were one of his own. He gave us advice on life that many teachers failed to give. Teachers who do this show the students that they care more about the student as a person and not just a grade.

I definetly agree with Clayton in that all students need some kind of mentor to help motivate them and get them through high school. I loved the idea of the debate team because as you guys have said it helped them stay out of trouble else where when they were having practice everyday after school. I believe there should be many after school programs for students to keep them occupied and build them a strong "family" with their peers if they aren't getting that at home. I had an awesome mentor throughout my high school years and although I wasn't ever wanting to drop out, she was always there to push me along with my other peers, who naturally became my second family.

I enjoyed this video too. I think it is great to have many different extra-curricular activities to cater to the various interests students have. A lot of the time, it is sports that give children a "family" atmosphere they need. My high school had a fair number of minority students, and those who participated in extra-curricular activities tended to have higher grades and stay out of trouble more.

That video definately inspired me to at least use debates in my classroom activities. I think that it helps the students take some responsibility and ownership for what they learn, and they really have to learn their material in order to debate. One particular story that really stuck out to me was of the boy who was in the special ed classes. Once he was on the debate team, his speech got better as well as other areas and he was taken out of the special ed classes. I think it is important that we don't label kids and then assume they will never get out of that label. All kids have potential and we can encourage that and challenge them and they can excel.

Considering I want to work in Inner-city schools this video really inspired me to use debates in my classroom. I think that this might be a good way to also inforce the "American Standard English" issue as well. I was on the debate team in high school and I wish that our team has as much passion and drive as that inner-city team did.

I definitely think that the schools need programs like this. If students can get interested and excited about doing something positive such as this, it could have a really positive outcome, like we saw in the movie. I think middle school and high school sports is that way for many people. Since there are certain rules one must abide by, students don't want to take their chances in runing what a good thing they have with the sports. I think this can keep students out of trouble and in school. I think the video also gave me more of an appreciation for these programs.

Debate teams are very awesome, especially in a situation like this one. This was a perfect example of getting students to “want to learnâ€