Civic participation starts early. Students begin to find their place in public life in middle school. Debate can provide students with tools and a platform for expressing their ideas in public. Through debate, students learn to critically analyze texts, see multiple perspectives, and advocate for change to the status quo. This service-learning course pairs civically-engaged Wesleyan students with middle and high school teachers and students. Wesleyan students will design and test parliamentary debate training materials on our campus. Then, the class will help to implement the training materials at public schools in Middletown and Hartford. Our class will also mentor high school student apprentices who will help to run two interscholastic debate competitions. Wesleyan students will be assessed on their: 1. contributions to training materials, 2. preparation for mentoring and coaching sessions, 3. contributions to middle school debate competitions and campus trips, 4. reflection papers/presentations on effectiveness in working with public school partners, and 5. contribution to the class report: "Supporting Middle School Debate Collaborations in Connecticut." |