NOT JUST A DEBATE CAMP

Your child will not only learn how to become the best debater they can be — they will also gain valuable skills that will propel them forward in all areas of life. From confidence to persuasive speaking to being a thought leader, your child will become the best version of themself.

A PARENT'S PERSPECTIVE

By Dave McGinnis

I am a debate coach, a debate camp instructor, and a parent of a successful debater. For the past three summers, I’ve chosen to send my son to NSD, and we will be sending him again this summer.

Like most parents, my first concern is always my son’s safety and well-being. NSD employs a residential life staff — adult professionals who monitor students’ experience, check them in and out so that someone always knows where each student is at, takes care of them when they are ill, enforces the rules, and helps them when they have any of a variety of problems. NSD employs several people solely for this function — these are not camp instructors pulling double-duty.

As a coach, my primary concern is always the quality of my students’ educational experiences, and as a proud dad, that concern is magnified! The two best aspects of NSD are the quality of its instructors and, vitally, the quality of the student body. My son, Conal, first attended NSD after 7th grade. He was very new to debate. Yet his lab instructors were all top-flight debaters and coaches; all three of them had attended the TOC and two of them had attended multiple times and “cleared” to TOC elims. This was a “low” lab, meaning a lab for relatively inexperienced debaters; but at NSD, every lab is coached by champion-level instructors. In addition, outside of lab time, Conal had the opportunity to interact with every instructor at the camp through lectures and individual mentoring sessions. He could choose to work with anyone from a recent TOC champion to a PhD candidate in philosophy.

Possibly even more important is the fact that NSD attracts many of the top debaters in the country. The caliber of my students’ colleagues at camp drives my students to learn more. NSD hosts students from all levels of debate — from novices to national champions. The fact that the top level of debaters at NSD are among the best in the nation is a huge benefit to the entire camp, because it raises the bar for everyone involved.

This year, after Conal’s third NSD experience, I asked him if he might want to try an alternative camp, for a change of pace. He flatly refused, telling me that his summers at NSD were among the main reasons that he qualified to the TOC as a freshman and, as a sophomore, has accumulated four TOC bids.

Many of these advantages apply to other camps you might find around the country. But over the course of a 21-year coaching career, I’ve had experience with all of them. Only NSD combines all of these characteristics.

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-David McGinnis
Head Coach at West Des Moines Valley High School

Sample Camp Syllabus

Students are grouped into labs based on experience level, which we assess by gathering information prior to camp, and these groups form the heart of the NSD experience. All NSD labs maintain a 1:5 instructors to student ratio, to enable an active, small group collaborative environment. NSD treats all students as equally important by assuring individualized attention to each and appointing veteran national circuit instructors to work in every lab. Each lab is led by both senior and junior faculty members. Labs focus on developing and leading students through a robust lifecycle of skill development that emphasizes repetition, implementation and skill mastery.

5:1 student-to-faculty ratio, or better, with a small group of 10-14 students

Led by the best debate minds in the country

Receive a core curriculum that is appropriate for each student’s level

A “homeroom” environment that meets consistently over the course of camp, so that lab leaders are familiar with each student’s needs and progress, and students form close-knit friendships

Labs enable us to teach students the core curriculum in a small group environment that facilitates the introduction of new concepts through discussion, structured activities, and collaboration in small groups

Great opportunity for fun bonding times, with lab dinners and activities for socializing

Rather than teach our core curriculum through large group lectures, we supplement daily lab meetings with additional instruction from specialist faculty who rotate in to teach in lab. Rotations consist of three 2-hour blocks of time (one a day for three days) during which labs receive instruction on specialized topics by two instructors who are experts in those topic areas. Rotations capture the benefits of large group lectures (introducing students to new staff, and allowing the staff to speak on their strongest topics), but retain the unique benefits of lab (hands on instruction, small size, and the ability to effectively and immediately reinforce topics with drills and homework).

Learn specialized topics in debate from instructors who are expert in those topic areas

The small group lab setting is the perfect way to teach students in an environment that facilitates the introduction of new concepts through discussion, structured activities, and collaboration in small groups

Rotations meet over several days, so instructors can provide students with readings, drill materials, and assignments to be assessed at the next meeting

Learn the core curriculum through active learning and hands-on small group work

Each student is assigned a mentor group, with one faculty mentor and a total of four students. Mentor groups meet almost daily for the duration of camp, so that mentors can track students’ progress and needs over the course of camp. This creates a terrific environment for students to receive a specific curriculum tailored to each individual student’s needs and interests. In mentor group, students receive customized drills, ask questions they have from other parts of their curricular day, and work on research projects and case construction.

4:1 student-to-faculty ratio, or better

Groups are matched by experience level, so that each group is a set of peers with similar needs

Forge close connections with mentor and fellow mentees, and provide students an additional instructor who will closely track their progress throughout camp

Receive structured drills, feedback on cases and assignments, assistance with special research projects, and the opportunity for Q&A’s in a small group environment

Great opportunity for fun bonding times, with mentor group dinners and activities for socializing

All students attending NSD have practice debates on most days, judged by our expert instructors, who provide extensive round feedback on what students should do to improve. Some of these rounds will occur in the annual NSD Camp Tournament, which provides a competitive opportunity for students to showcase the skills they have learned over camp.

Rounds are paired based on skill level, so that students debate rounds with peer competitors

Great opportunity for students to implement the new skills they learn at camp and receive feedback from experts on the arguments they have written

Each round is paired with structured, expert feedback on the details of each speech

Practice rounds provide excellent material for instructors to lead students through structured “redo” speeches, so that students make steady progress on debate skills

We end most days with office hours, modeled on the office hour system used by many colleges and universities. During office hours, all of our faculty are available to meet with students individually (or in small groups, if they prefer), and students are empowered to select the topics for each of their office hours meetings. This makes office hours an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about topics that interest them, develop new skills, receive assistance on homework, and do structured practice by redoing speeches from rounds they have debated or by having instructors create custom drills calibrated to their needs.

Access to all of our top faculty

One-on-one meeting time

Students select what they would like to work on

Receive customized drills, assistance with homework, and insight from top faculty

Paired with open work time, so that students can switch fluidly between office hours meetings with faculty and collaborative work with their peers

In elective seminars, students learn about niche topics–from debate strategy to philosophy to political theory–from specialist instructors. Students choose from a wide range of elective seminar options, so they can attend the seminars that most interest them.

Seminar offerings provide options for students of every skill level, from novice to advanced varsity

Opportunity for students to chart their own course, and select topics in areas of debate and academia that spark their interest

Learn from faculty who are most specialized in and passionate about the seminar topic area

Great opportunity for students to interact with additional instructors at camp

With the introduction of concepts, example materials, and research tips, seminars are a great way for students to jump start their own work on a seminar topic

Students have the opportunity to practice and showcase their new skills in a supportive, educational environment with our end of camp tournament. All students participate in preliminary rounds, and students who perform well also participate in elimination rounds, which also serve as showcase demonstration debates for all students to watch.

All students participate in six preliminary rounds, with helpful analysis and feedback from our faculty judges

Qualifying students debate in elimination rounds, while other students have the opportunity to learn by watching those rounds and hearing judge feedback

“Break out” elimination rounds, so that the top younger debaters have more opportunity to make it into elimination debates

Tournament-like structure allows students to familiarize themselves with the real, in-person tournament environment

Opportunity to practice competing against top students, with excellent faculty judging

Students watch demonstration debates on the camp resolution from our younger faculty, many of whom were recently nationally top ranked debate competitors. Demonstration rounds are moderated by senior faculty, who break down the round with students in-between speeches, answer student questions, and provide a post-round analysis.

Demonstration debates featuring recent top competitors help familiarize students with the camp topic, as well as high-level debate strategy and execution

Debates are divided by skill level, so that students receive demonstrations that are attuned to their level of background knowledge and their curricular needs

Expert moderation assists students in understanding demonstrations in-depth, speech-by-speech

Materials for demonstration debates (cases, rebuttal speech documents, etc.) are distributed to students, so that they can be used for student drills

With any camp registration, students receive free access to NSD’s Skill Builder pre-camp curriculum. Skill Builder features stand-alone curriculum modules intended for independent study, built by top faculty. At camp, we want our students focused on the most valuable aspects of our sessions: intensive, interactive instruction that amplifies and deepens students’ existing skill sets and builds new ones, learning deep skills in specialty areas from top faculty, and participating in a supportive learning community with peers. Skill Builder helps students solidify background skills ahead of camp, so students can focus on what matters most while they are at camp.

Purposefully built by top debate coaches to help students improve their debate skills through focused, individual work

Step-by-step, easy to use modules with tools to improve their debate skills and arrive at camp ready to maximize their improvement

Includes drill materials and rubrics for self-assessment, so students can practice on their own

Great for students with skill areas they want to improve before camp, and for true beginners who want an introduction to debate before camp

Helps students focus on the most valuable work at camp, not on catching up

See Where NSD Debaters Rank in Live Varsity Rankings!