Syllabus: Debate I Mr.

Weaver
2014-2015 Justin.Weaver@browardschools.com
Rm. 723 754-322-0500 ext. 3092


Welcome to Debate! This school year promises to be a challenging and rewarding experience. Debate is
the organized clash of ideas. Just like lawyers represent clients in trials, individuals represent ideas in
debate. Debate encourages each side to use evidence, reasoning, and persuasion to best represent their
ideas. Learning debate is a lot like learning a sport. Once you know the basic rules, the best way to learn is by
doing. One would not learn to play baseball from a book. Likewise, the best way to learn debate is by debating
often. This class, therefore, is strongly based on performance through a variety of debate forms. The skills of
debate are valuable beyond the classroom; they are the skills that colleges and employers look for. Our primary
goal is to learn and practice these life skills.

Class Objectives: Each student should demonstrate a high level of performance and development in the
following areas:

1. Research: Students will use a variety of informational resources to build a file of relevant information on a
given topic.

2. Public speaking: Students will demonstrate proficiency in basic public speaking skills such as clear and
interesting delivery, professional posture, and eye contact.

3. Argumentation: Students will build and defend a position with the use of critical thinking, logic, evidence, and
compelling language.

4. Note taking: Students will demonstrate advanced note taking technique by keeping a flow chart of the
arguments in a debate.

5. Organization: Students will demonstrate organizational skills by creating a system to categorize their research
and by maintaining clear organization during debates.

6. Active listening: Students will demonstrate their listening abilities by both responding specifically to
arguments made by their classmates and by constructively critiquing the performance of their classmates.

Attendance: Regular attendance and daily preparation for class contribute significantly to your success in our
class.

Make Up Work: The easiest way for you to make up missed performances is not to miss any at all. If you know
that you are going to be absent from class, PLEASE come see me ahead of time so that I can let you know what
you will be missing and explain to you how to prepare while you are gone. If you are absent unexpectedly, it is
YOUR responsibility to make-up any missed assignments.
***IMPORTANT: Grades for make up work will only be available for EXCUSED absences***

Late-Work Policy: Being absent does NOT excuse you from turning in any assignment on time. Assignments
and presentations are due at the beginning of class on the specified date. Any assignment that is turned in late will
have 10% deducted from the grade for every day that it is late. (Example: An assignment worth 100 points is due
on Monday, but you turn it in the following Wednesday. That assignment would have 20 points taken off of the
grade)
***If you know that you are going to miss class, turn in your assignment early to avoid a late penalty.***

Grades: Students grades will be based on performance and participation.

PARTICIPATION (25%): Be in class daily, follow class rules, be prepared to work
and critique your classmates.

PERFORMANCE (75%): Be ready to compete and/or present in class on your
assigned day. Have all necessary preparation for your in-
class competition/performance completed. Have any
required written work (cases, flow charts, etc.) ready to
turn in on assigned dates.

Plagiarism (Spoken OR Written): is passing off someone elses work or ideas (published or not) as your own
and can result in failing our class. At a MINIMUM, any occurrence of plagiarism will result in a grade of zero on
the assignment in question. ALL work must be original and for our class only (no recycled papers from other
classes).

Midterm/Final Exam: The mid-term will cover all material evaluated up until that point. The final exam will
NOT be a cumulative exam; it will only cover material covered after the midterm. However, success on the final
exam will be dependant on concepts that we will learn throughout the semester.

Grading Scale: 90-100% A 87-89% B+ 80-86% B 77-79% C+ 70-76% C
67-69% D+ 60-69% D 59-0% F

Behavior: I expect each of you to be responsible adults. I encourage the free flow of ideas and the exchange of
opinions in pursuit of the truth. However, I also expect you to be respectful of the opinions and feelings of others.
We will be discussing several controversial topics in this class, and respect during these exchanges is of
paramount importance! I expect students to: Focus on the ideas being expressed and not the person expressing
them and to think about not just what you think, but why you think, and how you might say it.

In addition, our classroom rules are:
- Electronic devices (cell phones, mp3 players, video games, etc.) should be kept away unless they
are being used as part of an APPROVED academic activity. Do not assume that you can use
them. Wait for permission.
- Each of you will be assigned your own desk to sit in and use while we are in class. You will sit in
the desk, and ONLY the desk that you have been assigned. More than likely, your assigned desk
will be changed several times throughout the school year.
- Anything belonging to YOU (papers, pencils, pens, backpacks, etc.) is to remain at YOUR desk.
The passing of items, and especially the tossing of items, will NOT be tolerated. If you or any of
your classmates need any supplies, I will be more than happy to supply them for your use in our
class.
- You will be on time, and sitting at your desk prepared to begin when the bell rings everyday.
- You will always show respect for yourself, others in the classroom, and others who use this
classroom.

Consequences: The consequences for any violation of the class rules will be:
- 1
st
Offense: Verbal Warning
- 2
nd
Offense: A phone call home
- 3
rd
& 4
th
Offense: Detention (you have 2 days to serve detentions)
- 5
th
Offense: Referral

Materials Needed: Journal Notebook (college-ruled); Paper for note taking; Two DIFFERENT colored pens.
Materials are to be brought to EVERY class.