Debate is an excellent opportunity for children to articulate ideas in an organized, universally recognized form which will instill confidence, poise and verbal acuity. It will assist in the development of critical thinking, persuasive argumentation and creative problem-solving. While a good education will reward correct answers, few other programs reward verbal and intellectual reasoning. These skills will be carried forward into the university and career environments, allowing students to rise in fields which demand the ability to quickly and persuasively express ideas, such as in medical, financial and science.

School-Plus has an existing program which is seeking to expand. In the program, middle-school and high school students are given a topic, often a current issue, and they prepare arguments which they must support with primary sources. Each student must be prepared to persuasively argue each side, responding only to the argument advocated by his or her opponent. In the next round, the sides are switched. Students hone skills to think quickly and respond with strong sources and arguments. A calm, respectful and persuasive demeanor is always maintained.

Many of our most successful leaders attribute their written and verbal skills to their time in debate groups and clubs in middle and high school. While all due respect must be paid to sports and academic arenas, the ability to verbally express complex, multi-faceted ideas has taken many scholars from the back room to the board room. Many of our most famous politicians and business leaders attribute their poise and verbal skill to the training they received in debate programs in their high schools and colleges.