March
29, 2002
New
Debate Program A College/Community Partnership
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Eric
Barnes, MHC visiting assistant professor of philosophy,
debate coordinator, and director of the DEAL Program, presents
Kerri-Ann Manning, a student at SABIS International Charter
School in Springfield, with a trophy for placing second
at a fall debate tournament at her school.
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Thanks to MHC's
Debate, Empowerment, and Leadership (DEAL) Program, a new partnership
between the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Springfield
public schools—and the enthusiasm of twenty MHC students
and their faculty adviser—debate is becoming popular among
a group of local inner-city high school students.
Until recently, debate
programs were common at wealthy suburban schools but were virtually
nonexistent in the public schools in less affluent communities,
where, it can be argued, students could derive even greater benefit
from debate. Debating enhances communication, research, and critical-thinking
skills; informs participants about a variety of issues; and helps
develop self-confident leaders who know how to resolve arguments
logically and peacefully.
Since September, DEAL
volunteers have been visiting four high schools—Commerce
and South Hadley high schools and the New Leadership and Sabis
International charter schools—to assist teachers with coaching
debates once or twice a week and to run Saturday debate tournaments.
On April 6, twenty Springfield students and their teachers will
make the trip to MHC, where they will spend the day participating
in a debate tournament and getting the feel of a college campus.
The MHC program is
modeled after the national Urban Debate League movement, which
originated at
Emory University in 1996. The goal of the program is to educate
college and high school students by bringing them together to
learn from each other. Since the fall, MHC mentors have noticed
vast improvements in the high schoolers' skills: stronger
reading comprehension; improved oral and written communication;
higher self-confidence levels; better, more active listening;
enhanced research skills; and greater intellectual curiosity.
The upcoming tournament will be an opportunity for the students
to show off these skills and will provide exposure to college
life. A major goal of the DEAL program is encouraging high school
students to go on to college and ensuring that they have the skills
necessary to excel once they are there.
To many of the high
school participants, the DEAL program has provided what often
feels lacking in their education. Monique Savage of Commerce High
School commented, "I skip classes because I'm bored,
but I want to be a lawyer so debate is perfect for me. If I'm
interested and involved in this, then maybe it will help me stay
motivated for school." Few Springfield high school students
go on to attend top colleges, but the DEAL mentors are showing
the young students that college is not beyond their reach if they
persevere in high school.
Another goal of the
DEAL program is to send skilled, well-prepared students to national-level
debate tournaments to demonstrate to everyone that they can win
against the best in the nation. Although this is a goal that the
debaters, mentors, and coaches have in their sights, the process
has come to mean far more than a trophy somewhere down the road.
The founder and director of the DEAL program, MHC debate coordinator
and Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy Eric Barnes, says,
"The impact created by debate programs and partnerships between
colleges and schools in the community is profound for both those
in the college and those in the community. We're doing a
lot of good, and we're getting a lot out of it." Plans
are under way to expand the program to twice its current size
next year.
When
they became a part of the program, the MHC mentors discussed their
interest in DEAL, noting that they "wanted to help those
with fewer opportunities than we have." Yet the mentors are
discovering that through their vastly different life experiences
and perceptions, the high school students have as much to offer
the mentors as the mentors do the younger students. As one DEAL
mentor commented, "We are breaking down the barriers of class,
race, and economic standing. In their place we see what we should
see when interacting with people: human beings."
Students
interested in joining the DEAL program should attend an information
session Tuesday, April 2, in the Porter Hall lounge from 5:30
to 6:30 pm. Dinner will be provided. For more information, contact
Eric Barnes at ebarnes@mtholyoke.edu.
—
by Elannah Cramer '04
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