Hamden Hall Country Day School
Educating Students in PreSchool through Grade 12
Educating Students in PreSchool through Grade 12
News Detail
Savvy Talkers: Inaugural Middle School Debate Team Heads to the Podium
A dozen middle schoolers are learning to be better listeners, thinkers, and reasoned communicators due to their involvement in Hamden Hall’s inaugural Middle School Debate Team. Moreover, the initiative fits well with an umbrella public speaking initiative launched in the Middle School over the past two years.
The team is under the direction of science teacher and Hamden Hall alumna Beth Richter, who noted that Middle School Director Brian Christman suggested the formation of a debate team.
A dozen middle schoolers are learning to be better listeners, thinkers, and reasoned communicators due to their involvement in Hamden Hall’s inaugural Middle School Debate Team. Moreover, the initiative fits well with an umbrella public speaking initiative launched in the Middle School over the past two years.
The team is under the direction of science teacher and Hamden Hall alumna Beth Richter, who noted that Middle School Director Brian Christman suggested the formation of a debate team.
“The debate team is something that has grown out of student interest,” said Mr. Christman. “Students in the past have indicated a desire to participate in formal debate. The goal is to allow those kids to learn the skills and rules associated with competitive debate so that they might go on to participate even more in our high school program. We’ve also done a lot with public speaking in the last two years in the Middle School, and debate fits into those efforts.”
For Ms. Richter, the suggestion to commence a debate program fell in step with her particular discipline.
“I was interested because, having taught both humanities and sciences at Hamden Hall, I have always felt that there is significant overlap, particularly when it comes to learning how to defend an idea using evidence,” she said.
Several members of the team have already attended a five-hour workshop as an introduction to the basic rules and strategies of parliamentary debate. Eighth-graders Joaquin Bellomio, Sophia Barry, Madeleine Bloom, Madeleine Felson, Jack Gill, and Jasmine Johnson were able to practice debating while witnessing the overall flow of a debate.
The new Middle School Debate Team will meet biweekly on Mondays and monthly during the Friday clubs’ time. The team hopes to participate in a larger workshop or scrimmage this winter, and possibly a full-scale tournament in April. According to Ms. Richter, they also hope to work with Hamden Hall’s well-established Upper School debate program, run by English instructor Bill Hunter.
With debate growing in popularity across the country, Hamden Hall is one of several new schools joining the Connecticut Middle School Debate League this year.
“Parliamentary debate is a wonderful tool for learning, encouraging teamwork, public speaking, reasoning, and note-taking skills among others. The kids will also tell you: it is a lot of fun,” maintained Ms. Richter, who noted that she “can’t imagine why” she never entered the world of debate during her time under the pines. She added that she does have a cousin who competed nationally.
1108 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, Connecticut 06517
Phone: 203-752-2600
Fax: 203-752-2651
admissions@hamdenhall.org
Hamden, Connecticut 06517
Phone: 203-752-2600
Fax: 203-752-2651
admissions@hamdenhall.org
Hamden Hall Country Day School, located less than two miles from Yale University, is one of the best private schools in Connecticut to enroll elementary, middle, and high school students. Our nurturing and inclusive community provides a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence by understanding each child and fostering their individual growth.
