Maspeth High School is still leaving Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley speechless.
This summer the school held a two-week debate camp for students from fourth through 12th grades. During the session, members and participants of the Queens Debate Institute introduced interested students to the art of debate.
Crowley, who dedicated $5,000 for the Maspeth High School debate team in this year’s budget, paid a visit to the camp at the school on Aug. 31 prior to its culminating tournament.
“The community is so proud to have a first-class debate team right here at Maspeth High School, and I enjoy seeing the team share their talents with other youth in New York City,” Crowley said. “Debate is used in so many everyday situations, and I’m pleased so many students are developing that skill so early in life.”
The Queens Debate Institute summer camp is a “two-week boot camp, teaching the fundamentals of debate from public speaking, ending with a full debate tournament on the last day of camp,” said Erik Fogel, director of the New York City Urban Debate League.
“Debate teaches every academic subject including current events, philosophy, critical theory, economics, geography, political science — many subjects that students normally do not learn until college or graduate school. As a result, every study shows that students that participate in debate have higher graduation rates, college acceptance rates, grades, test scores and every other academic indicator,” Fogel added. “Thank you to Council member Crowley for supporting Queens’ great debaters and inspiring them to apply their debate skills to real life to change the world around them.”
