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QUO VADIS SPEECH & DEBATE CLUBWelcome to the home page of the Quo Vadis Speech & Debate Club! Our mission statement: To assist families in developing skills in their children in order that they can be effective ambassadors for Christ in this lost world. To fulfill this mission we use a two-fold approach - competition and community communication. Our club meets on Fridays only in the fall semester. For 2010, we will meet from September 3 - December 10. We meet from 11 AM - 3 PM and have a variety of activities for the whole family to work on communication skills. Our club "home" is the Faith Community Center in Lafayette. Visitors are always welcome!
Familes can chose to do either speech or debate or both. The club meeting is required however. We ask that the family's oldest child be at least 12 by 1/1/11 to join. However, we sometimes waive this age recommendation. Please have a discussion with us if you're interested!! There are activities for younger siblings as well:
Speech activities just for them
Gym and swim program
Bright Lights
Boys’ Group!
REGISTRATION FOR FALL 2010 IS OPEN! Deadline to register is June 15!
Competitive speech and debate are wonderful skill-building activities that teach a huge variety of skills to students, discipline their minds, and train them to be effective communicators in our culture for Christ. Many families think the required time is too much and that they can't fit it into their all ready busy lives. However, if one looks at how much training a child can receive and how many other courses that can be supplemented while writing speeches, doing research for debate, learning to graciously express one's thoughts and views to others, parents may find that this really is a more time effective means of accomplishing multiple goals. Communicating for Christ in Our Club - Conflict Resolution 1. Competition We encourage our students to compete because this is the fastest way to get in the required practice to actually develop these skills. In addition, there's nothing like being judged to encourage students to strive for excellence. Finally, tournaments are fun. Students make homeschooled friends from around the Midwest. Students must be 12 years old by January 1, 2011 to compete in most tourneys for the next season that runs from late fall through Nationals, which takes place during June. There are a few tournaments for children younger than 12. The competitions in which our students compete are governed by a national league called National Christian Forensic and Communications Association (NCFCA). Some tournaments are sanctioned by NCFCA and are thereby considered "qualifiers" which allow competitors to "qualify" for Nationals. Competitors must be members of NCFCA to compete in these tournaments. Other competitions are considered "practice" tournaments and are hosted by local forensics clubs. These still typically follow NCFCA rules and regulations. At the bottom of this page is a listing of the various kinds of events in which a student can compete. There are links to the various rules and ballots for each event as well. . 2. Community Communication We also believe that students can be using their communication skills NOW to impact their world. While competition is good, it is only a tool to achieve our ultimate goal - to be ambassadors for Christ. If we leave the students only competing, they often don't make that transition into going into their community! Therefore, we added a new dimension to our club. In the spring of 2009, our club members used their emerging communication skills to raise over $3000 to provide water purification systems for third world countries. In 2010 the community project was to raise awareness of the dangers of the United Nations' Convention of the Rights of the Child and to build support for a parental rights amendment. In the spring of 2011 we hope to offer a "worldview camp" at a local community center.
______________________________________________________________________ Platform Events Persuasive - a persuasive speech is an original speech intended to persuade the audience to adopt a particular point of view or course of action. Original Oratory - an original speech given on any topic the speaker chooses
Illustrated Oratory - an original platform speech which informs or explains a particular topic with the use of visual aids. Interpretative Events Dramatic Interpretation - The competitor selects a piece of literature to interpret. (movie or TV transcripts are not allowed). A winning participant will display understanding of his/her selection and communicate that understanding to the audience in an artistic way. Humorous Interpretation - This event is like dramatic interpretation except that the selection is limited to material which is humorous in nature. Duo Interpretation - This event is like any of the other interpretive events except that it is for two performers. Limited Preparation Events Impromptu - In this event the participant draws a topic and is given two minutes to prepare a (up to) 5 minute speech. Topics (provided by the tournament director) are either quotations or abstract words. Apologetics- It is a limited preparation speech in which the speaker is given four minutes to prepare a six-minute speech on a topic related to defending his/her faith.
DEBATE Team Policy (TP) Debate Public policy debate is about matters of public policy such as might be debated in a legislative setting or a community meeting. A winning debate team will clearly present a problem and provide a plan to solve this problem. (or clearly show that what their opponents presented isn't a significant problem or that their plan will not solve the problem). Everything in debate must be backed by reliable evidence. Definitions of terms are often important. TP Resolution for the 2010-11 Season Resolved: That the United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policy toward Russia. Lincoln Douglas (LD) Debate This is an individual (vs. team) event. Instead of presenting and solving a specific problem, as is done in policy debate, LD debate deals with valuing one concept over another concept. A winning participant may present evidence but (s)he will define his/her value, present its major premises, and give justification to convince the judge that their value should be given precedence over the opponent's value. LD Resolution for the 2010-11 Season Resolved: A government's legitimacy is determined more by its respect for popular sovereignty than individual rights. Lincoln Douglas Judges' Manual
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