Why+debate?

Debate allows students to learn, improve, and excel in the types of skills that are required for their future. These include


 * Research
 * Analysis
 * Listening
 * Communication
 * Cooperative Problem Solving
 * Self-Confidence
 * Creativity
 * Individual Initiative
 * Focus and Discipline

These skills are also recognized by the following colleges & universities who recruit and/or provide debate scholarships!
 * [|Baylor University]
 * [|Dartmouth College]
 * [|Georgetown University]
 * Harvard University
 * [|Michigan State University]
 * [|Northwestern University]
 * SMU
 * [|Wake Forest]
 * Univ. of Kansas
 * Univ. of Kentucky- Lexington
 * Univ. of Michigan
 * Univ. of Southern California
 * Univ. of Texas

In addition to institution specific scholarships, here are some other organization scholarships that your students might be interested in and eligible for as a result of their debate success
 * NFL's [|Circle of Champions Scholarships]

As proof of the success of the Greenhill debate program, check out how our alumni our doing.


 * But don't take our word on it!** Below are various scholarly articles proving the benefits of debate!

Allen, Mike, Sandra Berkowitz, Steve Hunt and Allan Louden. “A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Forensics and Communication Education on Critical Thinking.” 48 //Communication Education// (January 1999): http://groups.wfu.edu/debate/MiscSites/MetaArticle1999.doc. This quantitative study argues that participation in forensics is one of the most valuable communication instructional tools to impact critical thinking. Participation improves the thinking of those involved in competitive debate.

Barber, Iowaka. “Agreeing to Disagree.” //Open Society//. Summer 1998: 14-15. <[|http://debate.uvm.edu/udl/barber98.html>.] Using the New York City UDL as a backdrop, this article focuses on how debate has helped students that are socially disadvantaged to sharpen their research skills and increase their access to scholarship opportunities.

Barfield, Kenny Dale, EdD. "A study of the relationship between active participation in interscholastic debating and the development of critical thinking skills with implications for school administrators and instructional leaders." The University of Alabama, 1989, 238 pages; AAT 9000083. This quantitative study tests whether debate enhances test scores in reading comprehension, grade point averages, and the deveopment of critical thinking skills.

Bellon, Joe. "A Research-Based Justification for Debate Across the Curriculum." ARGUMENTATION AND ADVOCACY. Winter 2000: 161-175. Bellon discusses how debate can connect students to advocacies outside of the classroom as well as advancing arguments about how debate can increase grade point averages.

Collier, Linda. “Argument for Success: A Study of Academic Debate in the Urban High Schools of Chicago, Kansas City, New York, St. Louis, and Seattle.” Submitted to Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences. June 2004. http://www.ndtceda.com/archives/200501/att-0038/01-ArgumentforSuccess_Linda_Collier.pdf This quantitative study argues that competitive policy debate improves reading scores, decreases high-risk behavior and improves student attitude towards higher education.

Crawford, Rob. "In Defense of Competitive Speech." ROSTRUM. November 2003, http://www.nflonline.org/uploads/Rostrum/speechcrawford1103.pdf. Crawford discusses the links between forensics participation and other English standards.

Jones, Del. “Debating skills come in handy in business.” //USA Today// (29 September 2004): http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2004-09-29-ceo-debates_x.htm. This article argues that the discipline promoted in academic debate has been the key to success of a lot of CEOs. Skills, such as research, preparing clients for meetings, and interview skills, are all discussed.

Keller, Julia. “Arguably, the best.” //Chicago Tribune//. (21 May 2003): http://www.debate.northwestern.edu/archives/thebest/. Although this article focuses specifically on the Northwestern University debate team, the article gives a good summary of what competitive debate is and the college scholarships that are available.

Levine, Mel. “College graduates aren’t ready for the real world.” 51 //Chronicle of Higher Education:// 18 February 2005: infotrac. This opinion article focuses primarily on shortfalls of American undergraduate students in regards to critical thinking skills, managing heavy workloads, and organization. Although it is a brief mention, the author argues that schools should invest in a debate program to try to prepare their students for life after graduation.

Luong, Minh. “Forensics and College Admissions.” //NFL Rostrum// (November 2000): http://www.nflonline.org/Rostrum/NovZeroOne. This article discusses the WSJ report in regards to participation in speech and debate and college admissions.

"National Study Finds Debate Can Dramatically Increase Student Reading Skills." OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE. May 13, 2004. http://www.soros.org/initiatives/youth/news/study_20040513, This study finds a strong correlation between participation in debate and reading skills - an improvement of up to 25% can occur with the addition of debate in comparison to just taking English classes alone.

Parcher, Jeffrey. “The Value of Debate.” Adapted from the Report of the Philodemic Debate Society, Georgetown University. 1998. < [|http://www.tmsdebate.org/main/forensics/snfl/debate_just2.htm>.] This is one of our community’s premier pieces that justifies the academic value of competitive debate programs. The article argues that debate promotes critical thinking skills, research skills, organization, oral communication skills, listening skills, and the development of ethics in regards to advocacy.

Ross, Sherwood. “Workplace: College debaters get head start on exec track.” REUTERS. (03 June 2002): http://www.debate.northwestern.edu/archives/reuters/. This short news article discusses the recruitment and targeting that businesses do for collegiate debaters. It also discusses the higher academic standings that debaters achieve in class rank.

Stannard, Matt. “The Underview: Deliberation, Democracy, and Debate.” Faculty Senate Series Speech, University of Wyoming. 18 April 2006. http://theunderview.blogspot.com/2006/04/deliberation-democracy-and-debate.html. This article takes a more philosophical approach, arguing that “switch-side” debate allows for students to develop personal agency. Stannard argues that exposing students to oppositional ideas allows the development of a deliberative human being.

Tsank, Stephanie. “The world of high school debate – a good thing to argue for.” //North// //County Times//. 25 October 2005: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/10/26/news/community/20_00_2110_25_05.txt. This brief news article defines policy and LD debate in terms that an administrator that is learning about the activity can understand.