<p>My son is a 9th grader in one of the elite boarding schools which is frequently mentioned in this forum. He has passion (and talent) on debating and politics.
He loves his current school and the school is absolutely fantastic.
However, the school has pretty inactive debating club - no tournaments involved, no debating coach. </p>
<p>We have a dilemma whether its better to transfer to other boarding school which has active debating club, or give up the debating activity and stay at the current school.</p>
<p>If we decide to transfer, then which schools have great debating club?
Hotchkiss, Andover, Groton, Deerfield and Choate are the list that I have now.</p>
<p>We would greatly appreciate your comments!!!</p>
<p>clearsky, mind pming me which school your son attends? debate is one of those "4 year EC"s i really want to do & im likely applying to your son's school =/</p>
<p>btw: listen to #2. and also, if your son REALLY feels later on in the year that debate is much more suited for him, then hotchkiss is a good choice. but he'd have to act fast; even for my school, the deadline for recommendations has already passed.</p>
<p>St. Paul's placed first in a field of 14 teams at the Roxbury Latin Parliamentary Extemporaneous Invitational Debate Tournament on September 28, 2008. A dozen New England and two Canadian independent schools sent 50 students who competed in pairs in three parliamentary extemporaneous. Don't recall the schools attending but I know Groton was there.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss is widely regarded as the top debating school in America. This year were the top American school and the fourth school overall at the second most important debate/public speaking tournament called "internationals" which has school from all around the world competing.</p>
<p>We also consistently rank as the first US team at Worlds THE most important debating tournament out there. Some of our debaters have won worlds at the past. Our current captain is (according to the tournament, the best impromptu debaters in the world - for high school anyways). </p>
<p>And today we are hosting a major debate competition at our schools but most schools do that. (Except Exeter i think ? - not sure about that correct me if i'm wrong guys.) </p>
<p>So yes, Hotchkiss has a very solid reputation as the top debate/public speaking school in the country. Much of it has to do with our brilliant coaches Mr. and Mrs. Vavpetic who are great great debaters and have a wealth of experience to offer. </p>
<p>Is there an alternate activity at his current school that uses similar skills? I'm thinking especially of mock trial or Model UN.
He can always debate in college if he is still interested later on.</p>
<p>If your s loves his school and is really happy, I think you would have to be pretty crazy about debate seriously to consider changing schools for that reason. (You might have some explaining to do why you didn't look into this before you chose a school if it was so important.) Even then, I think you would be better working within the system to try and improve it or to develop new interests in areas in which your school is strong.</p>
<p>If your son wants to be a nationally ranked debater and compete in college, he needs to transfer. Try one of the summer debate camps, although the best are by invitation only. Contact Northwestern University and inquire about the summer debate programs for high school students; I do, however, think that the student needs to be ranked nationally to attend. Serious debate is almost a way of life in college, but universities such as Northwestern & Alabama won't even talk to a prospective student debater without a national ranking. UCLA also has debate camps/programs in the summer which are less restrictive than those at Northwestern University.
My son won a couple of first places in individual & team debates while at an elite New England prep boarding school, but Northwestern & Alabama wouldn't even respond to his requests for info. about their forensics/debate teams as he did not attend summer programs & was not nationally ranked.
That being shared, if your son enjoys Phillips Exeter Academy, then he should attempt to establish a competitive team & plan on attending debate camps (which are serious endeavors) during his summers.</p>
<p>When your son was deciding which school to attend last year, how did debate figure into the decision? If he (wisely, IMO) chose his school for broader reasons that this particular activity, and he likes it on the whole, why is he second guessing now? Are there other ways he can pursue this interest, or are there other interests he can focus on? Going through the application process and entering a new school seems like a huge process for the potential gain. Even if a different school has a great debate team, you would have to understand what your son's opportunities would be on the team and how the team's demands and schedule fit into his other interests.</p>
<p>I'd say transfer, except that this has only just become an issue. It obviously wasn't a huge deal last year, so why the sudden uproar? Now, your son will have to transfer if he's looking for intense competition and opportunities, the same reason you'd transfer a basketball player or soccer star. He won't be able to build a team from scratch and expect it to flourish until he graduates, so Exeter (I'm assuming) will likely not provide him the opportunities he wants. I'm looking into boarding schools (though local and public, so not the same elite category as Exeter), and the lagging debate team at my two favorites compared to my school's decent team is a HUGE reason why I may very well stay at my current school next year.</p>