Often, when folks hear that our curriculum features Debate starting in Kindergarten, we get a few questioning looks. How do you teach debate to five-year-olds? Well, first you have to have an amazing Debate teacher like Speyer's Ms. MacKay…and then just sit back and watch it unfold! We thought we would check in with her to get the scoop on what is happening in Debate in the Lower School these days…and this is what she shared!
Read MoreForget dusting or vacuuming…Speyer Debaters know how to SWEEP! Speyer teams took the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place spots at last weekend’s NYPL tournament at The Hackley School while also bringing home the Top Speaker's gavel and the Overall School Award (and did this while debating in front of guest judge former World Chess Champion and political activist Garry Kasparov)! In fact, Speyer snagged 8 out of the top 10 speaker spots! We have this wonderful Debate recap by our esteemed Debate Coach Mr. Glasser!
Read MoreOur very first weekend back at school, the Speyer debate team jumped right back into competition by heading north to attend a tournament at WHEELS in Washington Heights. They tackled the extremely weighty subjects of: Ban the Private Ownership of Firearms; Public Colleges and Universities Should be Free; and Parents Should Have the Right to Use Corporal Punishment at Home. Speyer Debate Coach Mr. Glasser has all of the details!
Read MoreWe have two words to describe our Dragon Debate so far: Perfect season! Yes, our Dragon debaters have been quite busy these past two months, competing at various tournaments where they have clinched first place overall in each of them! Click to read all of the details from our intrepid Debate Coach Mr. Glasser, including news about our own Speyer-hosted tournament!
Read MoreOnce again, Dragon Debate kicked off the 2019-2020 season wowing the competition. Last weekend’s event was by far the largest season opening event in the Urban Debate League, with almost 400 students from 36 schools in two states in attendance! With an undefeated record, Speyer’s team of Zach V., Mikeala G., and Nathan G. won the tournament!
Read MoreOur Dragon Debaters dominated the NYC Debate tournaments and took their stellar skills to the two-day Urban Debate League State Championship this past weekend. Having the greatest number of Parliamentary debaters who qualified to attend, Speyer was, once again, a force for other schools’ teams to contend with. We have all of the details and results from our Debate Coach Mr. Glasser!
Read MoreThat’s right…three straight wins for the Dragon Debaters! Going head to head or should we says argument to argument with all of the top schools from New York and New Jersey, Speyer’s debate team trekked uptown to Hamilton Grange School…and, once again, everyone knew Speyer was not going to give away their shot to take the top prizes.
Read MoreQuick: state a few reasons to close Rikers Island. Now, come up with many to support it remaining open. Now, do the same exercise with the topic of safe injection sites or significantly increase funding for space exploration. This gives you a little glimpse into the life of a Speyer Debater. In two recent tournaments, the Speyer Debate Team took on teams from schools around the city and with all of the fabulous results, we have guest writer Debate Coach Mr. Glasser!
Read MoreAs autumn leaves fall to the ground, so does the gavel to the desk when Debate season kicks off…and this year, it came earlier than usual! Once again, to recap all of the exciting Debate news, we have guest writer and Debate Coach extraordinaire Mr. Glasser!
Read MoreIt's the holiday season! It's a time for gathering with friends and family, time for talking and conversation...and perhaps time for some minor debates across the dinner table.
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