“Time spent arguing is, oddly enough, almost never wasted,” Christopher Hitchens, author of Letters to a Young Contrarian, once said. Few statements are as true as this one. As one will find, time spent debating in school will almost never be considered a waste. While debate is already a part of many students’ schedule, debate should be taken by more students for multiple reasons.

The first advantage one should note about taking debate is the bolster it provides to your college transcripts. There is a reason that many parents force their children to take debate class. I would not have gotten involved in debate had it not been for my parents convincing me to at least give the activity a try. Now a semester later, I am the one attempting to convince them to let me take the class for the remainder of my high school years! I was hooked from my first competition. While some may say that a student should only take debate if it is an activity that interests them, this argument is quite flawed. First of all, there are many different types of debate that exist on national levels. There is policy, public forum, congressional, and Lincoln-Douglas. Policy debate focuses primarily on research and use of evidence, and maintains one topic, or “resolution”, for an entire school year. Public Forum has a different format of speeches, is less evidence-heavy, and the topic swapped every month. Congressional debate, or “legislative”, works to simulate a “Congress” within tournaments, complete with chambers, and voting to pass legislation. The last type, Lincoln Douglas, is centered on morals, with a new question regarding personal values released every two months. Surely, among these topics one can find a format that suits them. Even if at the end of the class, a debater is not particular fond of the art, he still comes out of it with a plethora of other benefits. Christiana Quinn, a college admissions expert, writes, “These clubs [debate teams] are particularly well thought of because they help students develop critical thinking and analytical skills. Debate fosters an ability to think on one’s feet and to formulate a well-supported argument for issues”. Enrolling in the class will increase chances of getting into more colleges of choice.

If no other reason to take debate, at least consider this: it’s fun! It offers an amazing opportunity to meet new people. Ever since joining debate and attending multiple tournaments, I have not only received the opportunity of spending more time with my friends, but have even acquired acquaintances with students from other schools. Not only that, most types of debate inherently require teamwork to be successful. Policy and public forum are partner debate formats. If one still participates in congressional or Lincoln-Douglas, he is still part of the school team. Also, debate is run on a national circuit; this means that the national organization called the National Speech and Debate Organization hosts a variety of tournaments sponsored by that administration. This simply allows for more intermingling between a variety of schools and districts and chances to encounter others with similar interests. Yet another gain from taking part in debate is a skill set. Learning any of the various forms of debate will undoubtedly give someone an edge on arguments in their life! Having the knowledge of how to talk intelligently and with an analytical mind is a skill that is essential in many situations.
Lastly, and most importantly, taking debate at least once in someone’s high school career lends them multiple important life skills that otherwise one may not acquire. There have even been studies done over the difference in school performance between debaters and non-debaters. One such study conducted at the University of Missouri demonstrated “that after one year in a UDL, debaters attended school more frequently, improved their GPAs by 10%, decreased risky behaviors, and achieved a 25% increase in literacy scores relative to a non-debating control group”. An example of one of these abilities is note-taking. A debater must be able to take coherent notes in a short-hand form quickly and efficiently. This is a developed skill that a student learns as they compete in more and more tournaments, as a necessity. A further useful thing that is a must in all but one type of debate is research. Policy debate, in particular, accumulates piles and piles of research as the season progresses. My teacher once mentioned that the amount of research we do in the high school class is about equivalent to the amount that will be done in an average college course. Developing the ability and tenacity to do that bulk of fact-finding is one that will be greatly appreciated in later education. It is better to obtain that skill earlier rather than later. Finally, taking a speaking class in high school will increase the self-confidence of the student. According to a survey administered by Chapman University, public speaking is the number one fear Americans are burdened with. This surely would not be such a problem if more children took debate some time in their school days. I had always been a relatively quiet girl in school. I dreaded every cursed time we would have a class presentation to give, knowing I would only be able to offer an incoherent jumble of words I had faintly remembered memorizing the night before. However, just five weeks into my debate course, I was giving speeches in a round in front of the 25 other kids in my class. I thrived more as speaker than I ever thought possible. 

In short, debate is a must-take course in high school to procure a myriad of invaluable advantages. It will enhance college applications, it’s a great opportunity to meet new people, and offers life skills that are quite necessary to gain early in one’s career. It is something that every participant will inevitably learn and grow from.