By The Island Now - Great Neck
Published: December 5, 2013
Debating the pros and cons of the five-decade-old Cuban trade embargo sounds like something United Nations officials would do, not teenagers. But for three hours every Saturday, Sameh Ahsan and Brandyn Chan of the Agape Debate Institute in Manhasset do just that, perfecting the arguments they will present in competition. “They study this for an entire year almost like a graduate student,” said Agape debate coach Richard Connelly, who runs the program’s nine locations in New York and New Jersey. “They debate both sides and believe exactly what they say.”
Since 2008, the Agape Debate Institute has worked with public, private and test prep schools throughout the tri-state area to implement public speaking and debate programs and improve students’ oratorical, argumentation and critical-thinking abilities. Earlier this month, Ahsan, a senior at Herricks High School, and Chan, an eighth grader at Great Neck South Middle School, won first prize in the Policy Debate category of the New York Urban Debate League Tournament, edging fellow Agape students Bradford Lin and Nicholas Leung for the victory. The Agape Debate Institute also won the 2013 New York State Novice High School Championship and placed in multiple categories in the 2013 National Forensics League Championships. Jon Cruz, a Bronx Science High School debate coach and former student debater from the Great Neck School District, said he has been impressed with the rapid growth of the Agape program.
“Debate is a serious business in New York, and for Agape to produce the middle school championship team so soon after its creation speaks volumes about the hard work of the students and the dedication of their coaches,” Cruz said. “I have rarely seen a new program accomplish so much and field so many kids at so many tournaments in such a short period of time.”
Connelly said he teaches his students to be independent thinkers who draw their own conclusions based on their research, rather than regurgitate facts they have collected. Agape students first learn the intricacies of a debate’s format, from policy debates to the Lincoln-Douglas style, before beginning their topical research, Connelly said. Arguments are formed over an entire year’s worth of research, with debaters learning to persuade audiences in favor of and against any particular issue.
Published: December 5, 2013
Debating the pros and cons of the five-decade-old Cuban trade embargo sounds like something United Nations officials would do, not teenagers. But for three hours every Saturday, Sameh Ahsan and Brandyn Chan of the Agape Debate Institute in Manhasset do just that, perfecting the arguments they will present in competition. “They study this for an entire year almost like a graduate student,” said Agape debate coach Richard Connelly, who runs the program’s nine locations in New York and New Jersey. “They debate both sides and believe exactly what they say.”
Since 2008, the Agape Debate Institute has worked with public, private and test prep schools throughout the tri-state area to implement public speaking and debate programs and improve students’ oratorical, argumentation and critical-thinking abilities. Earlier this month, Ahsan, a senior at Herricks High School, and Chan, an eighth grader at Great Neck South Middle School, won first prize in the Policy Debate category of the New York Urban Debate League Tournament, edging fellow Agape students Bradford Lin and Nicholas Leung for the victory. The Agape Debate Institute also won the 2013 New York State Novice High School Championship and placed in multiple categories in the 2013 National Forensics League Championships. Jon Cruz, a Bronx Science High School debate coach and former student debater from the Great Neck School District, said he has been impressed with the rapid growth of the Agape program.
“Debate is a serious business in New York, and for Agape to produce the middle school championship team so soon after its creation speaks volumes about the hard work of the students and the dedication of their coaches,” Cruz said. “I have rarely seen a new program accomplish so much and field so many kids at so many tournaments in such a short period of time.”
Connelly said he teaches his students to be independent thinkers who draw their own conclusions based on their research, rather than regurgitate facts they have collected. Agape students first learn the intricacies of a debate’s format, from policy debates to the Lincoln-Douglas style, before beginning their topical research, Connelly said. Arguments are formed over an entire year’s worth of research, with debaters learning to persuade audiences in favor of and against any particular issue.
