Why we treat debate like a sport, not a class
Placeholder essay. The argument for drills, sparring, and live feedback over slide-deck teaching.
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A short opener
Debate isn’t a content subject. It’s a performance under pressure, and the only honest way to teach it is to put students under that pressure, weekly, with a coach giving feedback in real time.
Why drills beat lectures
A student who has rebutted a hundred motions will outperform one who has read a hundred frameworks. Reps come first, theory second. Theory only sticks when you have something to attach it to.
The point of a drill is not to learn the drill. It’s to wire the reflex.
What we changed in 2024
We rebuilt the term-one curriculum around sparring, not modules. Win rate in MIDS and SSSDC moved noticeably in the right direction. More on that in a future post.