Top 10 Reasons to take Debate:

#10 Finally, a class that rewards you for being obnoxiously opinionated. You know who you are - you are the kid who just has to point out the flaws in other's thinking.  You have probably annoyed more than a few friends and even teachers.  But Debate teachers know that Free Speech is a cornerstone value of debate in a democracy and that means that as long as you can back up your opinion with analysis the debate coach will love it when you express your opinion and prove others wrong. 

#9 Earn a Letter Jacket.  O.K. Its not just the jacket, its the team competition that it symbolizes.  Once you earn the priviledge of competing, you earn points toward your letterjacket.  Active participation allows you to earn a jacket typically by the end of your first year or beginning of your second year. 

#8 Debate will raise your SAT score.  The reading and analysis that Debaters do while their having fun beating their opponents are the same skills that the SAT measures.  When your English teachers try to teach you these strategies it becomes drudge work that seems to have no point, in Debate you will do it to win and enjoy it.

#7  After taking Debate, all your other classes just seem easier.  The challenge of using information to win a competition is more difficult than just answering questions for your teacher.  The reading, organizing and speaking under pressure from your opponents requires more real intelligence than a typical class.  The topics we study in debate help you get questions right in your geography and government classes, help you fill out your essays for your English teachers and make every presentation you ever do better.

#6  It will improve your interior decorating.   Debate tournaments award great trophies, ribbons, certificates and plaques to winning debaters and top speakers.  Most members of our team compete in multiple events and have gathered shelves of knickknacks and awards. 

#5  Travel.  Our team goes to a touranment in the Austin area about 2-3 times per month.  That means you miss part of the school day on Friday to compete on Friday evening and all day Saturday.  2-3 times a year we attend competitions in Dallas, Houston, SanAntonio or other overnight trips. You can qualify for State and Nationals through debate as well.  One of the greatest things about debate is getting to visit college campuses around the state and have friends at schools all around the nation.

#4  Qualify for State.   There are two ways to qualify for state at Hendrickson HS.  The top two teams in our UIL District go to State.  The teams who earn points through our TFA tournament schedule throughout the season can qualify for state.  The odds of going to state in athletics or music are significantly slimmer.  If you have great verbal skills State Qualification is the standard for debaters who remain on the team for mulitple years and compete as varsity.  Many debaters qualify for state in multiple events.

#3  Learn Independently.  Debate is not a class where everyone does the same worksheets and then takes the same test.  In debate you make the choices about what topics you research, how you allocate your time, what stance you advocate and in which events you compete.  Students are often the teachers in the class, mentoring each other, working with partners and critiquing themselves and teammates.  This requires a high degree of maturity and self-discipline.  If you enjoy being led through a textbook one chapter at a time by the teacher, then Debate may not be a good match for your learning style.

#2  Debate looks great on a resume.  Hendrickson debaters earn lifetime membership in the National Forensic League which will help you gain respect from scholarship interviewers, college admissions comittee interviewers, law school interviewers and real-world employers for the rest of your life.  College admissions officers say that listing Debate Team on your application gives you a 60% edge over any other candidate for Ivy League Acceptance. 

#1  Make friends.  Let's face it, people who are great teammates, opinionated, intelligent, ambitious and who care about the events in the world around them are few and far between.  Debaters are smart and inclusive of anyone who enjoys the clash of argument and the excitement of working hard as part of a team.  Debate is a great place to avoid the usual clicks based on shallow things and make some friends who are from all kinds of backgrounds.  At Hendrickson, our debate team has kids who are athletes, honor students, rich, poor, popular, introverted, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, and from every ethnicity.  We are all Hawk Debaters.