Extemporaneous Speaking

Tests and cover photo

The many aspects of Haley:  Fencer, pianist, public speaker and debater, orchestral harpist, mathelete...

Final Team Policy Debate Tournament

Anyone who knows about team policy debate KNOWS its a tremendous amount of work.  It is not possible to gather too much evidence.  And you have to try to prepare to not only defend you OWN position on a topic that you choose, but to also defend your position against unknown opposing teams topics that THEY chose.  If you think about it, it almost seems impossible to really prepare for a match.  

On top of that, add a very complicated and controversial topic with many nuances and various "correct" points of view, and you can begin to realize how difficult team policy debate can be - even for advanced students!!  

Working in a team situation requires coordination and cooperation - again, not always a simple thing to do.  Especially when the parents get involved.  Just like in other competitive situations, in debate the parents will have very aggressive attitudes and take the entire thing way too seriously.  This ruin even the most enthusiastic debaters.  

Haley and her partner did very well.  TWO FULL DAYS (12+ hour days) of debate and researching, modifying their strategy, and working cooperatively.   Look at how professional they appear.