Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

One of the best ways to solidify your beliefs is to try to convince someone else to agree with you. Today on Home School Heartbeat, HSLDA president Mike Smith talks about the importance of high school debate.

Mike Smith:


Organized debate is another way for homeschool students to practice helpful communication skills as they enter the world. We've been talking this week about ways to integrate pubic speaking into a homeschool curriculum. Debate is a form of public speaking that utilizes a wide variety of talent: research, strength of conviction, the effective delivery of a message, and a student's overall ability to be persuasive.


Named after the political debates for an Illinois Senate seat in 1858, the Lincoln/Douglas debate style is one of the most widely used. It includes a series of exchanges between two speakers who have been assigned opposite viewpoints on a particular topic. By nature of the competition, debaters become experts in a wide variety of current issues. In learning to take both sides of an issue, they also solidify their own beliefs and study the philosophical and logical structures of arguments.


The process of preparing for and participating in a debate is great practice for future public speakers. A child who has learned to value the truth will need to learn how to deliver that message to the rest of the world. Debates may be one of the best ways to prepare your students for the world they will encounter after graduation. And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.