Poly Students Exercise Their Debate and Public Speaking Skills Beyond the Classroom

Poly’s debate program is a robust and engaging journey for Middle and Upper School students who want to get involved in competitions. Two Poly students, DJ M. ’30 and Kara K. ’27, recently participated in competitions beyond the classroom to showcase the skills they developed through Poly's on-campus debate opportunities.

Middle School student DJ M. '30 submitted a video recording of him delivering President Reagan’s “1983 Radio Address on Independence Day” to the Ronald Reagan Oratory Competition and was selected as one of five finalists in the Middle School division from over 2,000 submissions from all over the U.S.  The five middle school finalists and five high school finalists received an all-expenses-paid trip to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley to compete in the championship round.  DJ's speech on Ronald Reagan's "1982 Radio Address to the Nation on Armed Forces Day" won the Middle School division.

When asked about the experience, DJ said, “Winning this national public speaking award is honestly still kind of surreal for me. At the competition, I was nervous at first because everyone was so talented, but what surprised me most was how friendly and encouraging they were. It felt more like a community than a competition.”

Poly Upper School student Kara K. ’27 just received the Academic All-American Award (AAA) from the National Speech and Debate Association. She is the fifth Polytechnic Student to receive the award in Poly’s history. Only 2% of all speech and debate students nationwide earn this award, an amazing achievement for any student. 

PolyNews asked Kara about winning the award and about her experience in the Upper School debate programs. She commented, “I'm honored to be recognized as an Academic All-American. I'm proud to be just one of the many debaters nationally who dedicate immense effort and time to the activity, pushing competitions to higher levels each year. I'm also really grateful to everyone who keeps the debate program running at such a high level. In particular, I continue to look up to my captains who led me as an underclassman. They really motivated me to stick with debate, especially when I felt disheartened or unmotivated. This year in particular, I felt especially supported at every tournament—thanks to Coach Murray leading the program and Coaches Saper and Dexter guiding us before every round.”

“Funnily, when I first began debate, I didn't have any specific goals or accolades I was aiming for (and didn't even know that I had the opportunity to win the AAA award until this year), but I truly fell in love with the program, and began looking for more opportunities to grow as a debater. While I'm honored to be recognized, material awards have never been the end goal, and I'm looking forward to continuing to improve my skills and leadership within the team.“

Kara, like DJ, participated in competitions that surprised them by challenging them to go beyond their comfort zones. Kara reflected, “My experience of competition has changed significantly over my debate career. My freshman year was pretty rough to say the least. I frequently felt overwhelming anxiety before rounds. As a freshman, my hand would literally shake as I took notes on my opponents' cases from nerves. Speaking and performance anxiety are something I've definitely struggled with, but through more practice and preparation, it has improved. Even though my initial results weren't ideal, I genuinely loved the process of improving every tournament.”

As an Upper School student, Kara is beginning to seriously consider her future life goals. Her work in debate at Poly has built foundational skills for what she would like to do later in her career. She said, “Over three years dedicating not only school time but also my summers to Policy and Lincoln-Douglass debate, I've realized that debate, while being a fun, competitive activity, is more than just a game.”

 

“Debate is definitely the most important academic activity I participate in. It's been invaluable in developing skills and has set me up for success in classes like AP English Language and AP U.S. History. I personally enjoy doing my own research, and I've read academic literature on topics including security studies, international relations, feminist international relations, and coloniality scholarship.” 

For any Poly students out there who don’t participate in the debate programs, both Kara and DJ agree that they should try. Kara encouraged others, saying, “Any curious student should seriously consider joining debate. While some benefits of debate can be gained in class, competition uniquely challenges students to consider both sides of an issue. Switching sides reduces dogmatism because, in order to win, students must prepare to win on both sides of a topic. I think competition cultivates unique critical thinking skills because it requires students to be inherently skeptical of what they hear. Fake news, extreme opinions, and black-and-white thinking are not only everywhere but also rewarded, and debate can provide all students with a set of tools to navigate modern media.” 

DJ adds, “Middle School mock trial and debate have helped me grow not just as a speaker, but as a person. They push me to think more critically about ideas and express them clearly. I’d encourage any Middle School student—if you’re even a little interested, just try a mock trial or debate. You might surprise yourself.”