The Debate Begins Again

     Last fall, 32 home school students hailing from eight states and one Canadian province gathered to test their newly-acquired debate skills at the first National Home School Debate Tournament in Virginia. This year, HSLDA is offering the same opportunity to home schooled students throughout North America. The 1998 National Tournament will be held in Northern Virginia on June 26-27, 1998.

1998 Topic
     This year’s topic is a hotly debated U.S. policy issue—Resolved: that Congress should enact laws which discourage the relocation of U.S. businesses to foreign countries. The topic challenges home school students to research important implications of growing entanglement of U.S. businesses within the world economy and its effect upon our nation.

A Unique Opportunity
     Don’t miss this chance—give your children the opportunity to learn how to reason, debate, and communicate effectively! From the time of the ancient Greeks, debate has been instrumental in shaping the philosophy, politics, and culture of society. America’s Founding Fathers highly valued the right to argue freely, enshrining that principle in the First Amendment to our Constitution. Political rulers will become tyrants, the Founders argued, unless citizens are guaranteed the right to speak and debate freely about issues that affect their lives.
     Continually bombarded by the mass media, today’s American culture is filled with messages contrary to God’s truth. Prepare your children to enter the communication age and the public arena equipped with the skills they need to understand the world’s arguments, identify what is wrong with those arguments, and effectively offer godly solutions.

Qualifications
     Any student who is home schooled at least 51% of the time, is at least 13, and is no more than 18 years old on September 1, 1998, is eligible to debate. To qualify for the National Tournament, a debate team (two qualified debaters) must participate in either a state or open tournament. The top finishers in these tournaments will be eligible to come to the National Tournament.

Signing Up
     The debate section contains a list of upcoming tournaments. For additional 1998 debate information, contact Katie Farris at HSLDA, (540) 338-5600. If your state or region is not on this list and you are interested in starting a tournament, please contact Katie.

Suggested Debate Materials
     HSLDA offers guides to proper debating techniques and successful implementation of a debate tournament. An Introduction to Argumentation & Debate written by Christy Farris, a Cedarville College debater, is an 83 page textbook covering all the fundamentals of formal debate including logic, research, stock issues, affirmative case construction, negative strategies, evidence, delivery, and more.
     A two-volume companion video hosted by Cedarville Debate Team coach Deborah Haffey is also available. Each 45-minute video features a lecture and actual debate with commentary by Mrs. Haffey.
     See the bookstore catalog for pricing and ordering information.