At TJ, Model UN is much more popular than debate --- more free form and more challenging.

At TJ, Model UN is much more popular than debate, including because it is more freeform and harder to win.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Policy debate is not dying on the vine nationally, far from it, and many of the traditional powerhouse schools have been joined by new names. It does, however, require time commitment from its students, probably equivalent to an additional half-class, if there were such a thing. Among the local private schools only GDS and GDS students are willing to take that commitment on, with impressive national results. TJ has the most prominent policy program among the local public schools.

By the way, many policy debaters are also multiple sport athletes, edit the school journals, and perform in the school plays, bands, or choirs. So students do find a way to do it all. Also, your middle school debater can move to policy debate in high school, many kids make that change. I know several GDS debaters volunteer some time to help coach debate at local public and private schools, including in the urban debate league.

The GDS debate program is exceptional. Top of the league.

Exactly. And many GDS debate team members when they graduate go to the top of the Ivy League

I think to myself that GDS debaters may debate policy today, but in 15-20 years they'll be making policy on the White House Staff.

+1. Very plausible.

I love GDS but why would they be anymore likely than Sidwell, Potomac, Albans, NCS, Holton, or Maret? It's stupid comments that like this that foster hate on this board towards GDS. Completely unnecessary. They just went 2-5 at the TOC, is that why you are making this comment?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Policy debate is not dying on the vine nationally, far from it, and many of the traditional powerhouse schools have been joined by new names. It does, however, require time commitment from its students, probably equivalent to an additional half-class, if there were such a thing. Among the local private schools only GDS and GDS students are willing to take that commitment on, with impressive national results. TJ has the most prominent policy program among the local public schools.

By the way, many policy debaters are also multiple sport athletes, edit the school journals, and perform in the school plays, bands, or choirs. So students do find a way to do it all. Also, your middle school debater can move to policy debate in high school, many kids make that change. I know several GDS debaters volunteer some time to help coach debate at local public and private schools, including in the urban debate league.

The GDS debate program is exceptional. Top of the league.

Exactly. And many GDS debate team members when they graduate go to the top of the Ivy League

I think to myself that GDS debaters may debate policy today, but in 15-20 years they'll be making policy on the White House Staff.

+1. Very plausible.

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Day School also has TOC entries in Original Oratory and Extemp Speaking. Nice to know it has expanded to include other types of speech and debate.

It's pretty amazing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Policy debate is not dying on the vine nationally, far from it, and many of the traditional powerhouse schools have been joined by new names. It does, however, require time commitment from its students, probably equivalent to an additional half-class, if there were such a thing. Among the local private schools only GDS and GDS students are willing to take that commitment on, with impressive national results. TJ has the most prominent policy program among the local public schools.

By the way, many policy debaters are also multiple sport athletes, edit the school journals, and perform in the school plays, bands, or choirs. So students do find a way to do it all. Also, your middle school debater can move to policy debate in high school, many kids make that change. I know several GDS debaters volunteer some time to help coach debate at local public and private schools, including in the urban debate league.

The GDS debate program is exceptional. Top of the league.

Exactly. And many GDS debate team members when they graduate go to the top of the Ivy League

I think to myself that GDS debaters may debate policy today, but in 15-20 years they'll be making policy on the White House Staff.

Update from the Tournament of Champions

In Policy Debate, GDS had one team and went 2-5 and obviously did not advance to elimination rounds. Meaning no local schools broke. Thomas Jefferson was not even at the TOC. So much for you resurgence thesis by OP.

In Gold Public Forum (the harder tournament to enter). Walt Whitman team lost in Finals on an upset. Two other Whitman teams were 3-4 in Gold.

In Silver Public Forum, lot of local presence. Whitman had two teams entered and one advanced to elimination rounds with a 5-2 record. Churchill had one team and one advanced with a 5-2 Record. Potomac School had three teams in Silver and one team advanced with a 5-2 record. One of the Potomac teams that did not advance, nonetheless had the Top Speaker in the whole Silver Division.

In Extemp Speech, Potomac had the 8th and 9th finishers. In Original Oratory, GDS and Potomac had entries that did not place at all.

As an observer, I think Whitman in Public Forum is the only resurgence though Potomac did well as well.

https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/results/bracket.mhtml?tourn_id=8965&result_id=68338

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a couple of kids debating in policy now - in addition to a whole bunch in public forum. I think the quality of policy debate has improved quite a bit at the high school level over the past couple of decades.

The Sidwell policy debaters do not participate in tournaments on the national circuit.

Sorry, but in debate (and Harvard admissions, it seems), Sidwell is not in GDS’s league.

Don't know about Harvard but vis-a-vis Debate, I agree. Teacher/Advisor doesn't want kids to compete on national circuit and not having time to travel is a silly excuse. GDS and Potomac kids have no less work than Sidwell kids.

Anonymous wrote:Potomac won first, fourth, and sixth place at the Virginia national qualifier this weekend in public forum debate. They also won the overall sweepstakes award as the top team based on aggregate performance at the tournament.

Potomac teams have now qualified for nationals, Catholic nationals, and the Tournament of Champions this year. Plus two of the top extemporaneous speakers in the nation and a top oratory contestant have qualified for nationals and for TOC.

Congratulations to Potomac's coach and students on those impressive achievements.

--- a GDS person

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a couple of kids debating in policy now - in addition to a whole bunch in public forum. I think the quality of policy debate has improved quite a bit at the high school level over the past couple of decades.

The Sidwell policy debaters do not participate in tournaments on the national circuit.

Sorry, but in debate (and Harvard admissions, it seems), Sidwell is not in GDS’s league.

Potomac won first, fourth, and sixth place at the Virginia national qualifier this weekend in public forum debate. They also won the overall sweepstakes award as the top team based on aggregate performance at the tournament.

Potomac teams have now qualified for nationals, Catholic nationals, and the Tournament of Champions this year. Plus two of the top extemporaneous speakers in the nation and a top oratory contestant have qualified for nationals and for TOC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Policy debate is not dying on the vine nationally, far from it, and many of the traditional powerhouse schools have been joined by new names. It does, however, require time commitment from its students, probably equivalent to an additional half-class, if there were such a thing. Among the local private schools only GDS and GDS students are willing to take that commitment on, with impressive national results. TJ has the most prominent policy program among the local public schools.

By the way, many policy debaters are also multiple sport athletes, edit the school journals, and perform in the school plays, bands, or choirs. So students do find a way to do it all. Also, your middle school debater can move to policy debate in high school, many kids make that change. I know several GDS debaters volunteer some time to help coach debate at local public and private schools, including in the urban debate league.

The GDS debate program is exceptional. Top of the league.

Exactly. And many GDS debate team members when they graduate go to the top of the Ivy League

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a couple of kids debating in policy now - in addition to a whole bunch in public forum. I think the quality of policy debate has improved quite a bit at the high school level over the past couple of decades.

The Sidwell policy debaters do not participate in tournaments on the national circuit.

Because, I have been told by parents, the school believes it requires too much travel, time, and resources that are better spent in other ways.

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a couple of kids debating in policy now - in addition to a whole bunch in public forum. I think the quality of policy debate has improved quite a bit at the high school level over the past couple of decades.

The Sidwell policy debaters do not participate in tournaments on the national circuit.

Sidwell has a couple of kids debating in policy now - in addition to a whole bunch in public forum. I think the quality of policy debate has improved quite a bit at the high school level over the past couple of decades.