Urban Debate Makes it Cool to be Smart and Work Hard!

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says urban debate teams make it cool to be smart and work hard in the inner city!

On Thursday, April 12, 2012, at the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues Annual Dinner, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave an important speech identifying urban debate as a powerful tool in leveling the playing field for urban students. He noted that urban debate helps develop essential skills for college readiness, career success, and civic engagement. Duncan identified competitive debate as one of the great equalizers of educational opportunity in urban schools.

"Urban debate teams make it cool to be smart and work hard in the inner city," said Duncan. "And they are a fantastic outlet for harnessing the competitive instincts of young teens and channeling them into building the skills they need to succeed in a knowledge-based, global economy.

Urban debate teams must be promoted and celebrated. And that's one reason I was glad to support the expansion of the Chicago Debate League and the founding of NAUDL when I was CEO of the Chicago Public Schools... We [also] approved the first rigorous study of the impact of urban debate leagues on student performance. That study... found that competitive debate significantly raises graduation rates, ACT scores, and students' GPA -- and that's even after controlling for student self-selection into competitive debate."

Read the full transcript of his speech "The Power of Debate - Building the 5 C's for the 21st century" here.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated that exhaustive studies by the Department of Education have confirmed what every debater and debate coach knows: scholastic debate has substantial effects on testing, grades, and academics.   According to Secretary Duncan, studies have found that competitive debate significantly raises graduation rates, ACT scores, and students' GPA.

"To be very clear, the experience of competing on an urban debate team boosts your college readiness and your chance to succeed in life. ...Competitive urban debate is almost uniquely suited to building what's been called the 'Four C's' of 21st century skills: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. And to that list I might add a fifth "C"- for civic awareness and engagement.... By engaging students in real, complex public policy questions, competitive debate is nurturing a new generation of engaged, committed citizens. I can't tell you how hopeful that makes me feel."