4.8 (9 reviews)

by Palo Alto Speech and Debate Camp 4.9 (18 reviews)

Academic Camps,

Public Speaking Camp

Regular Debate Camp by Palo Alto Speech and Debate Camp in Palo Alto, CA

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Palo Alto High School50 Embarcadero Avenue Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301(650) 937-9831

Location

Palo Alto High School50 Embarcadero Avenue Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301(650) 937-9831

Overview

The debate curriculum will focus on teaching students ways to present arguments effectively. Every graduate of the program will learn how to create structured arguments, listen to opposing sides and refute arguments with poise, see both sides of an issue, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of positions, express thoughts clearly, adapt to a variety of audiences.

During lab sessions, students will, engage in various debates about different issues, debate both sides of issues, practice structured argumentations, analyze debates, focussing on the good and bad things about them, use evidence to back up their arguments, have fun!

At the end of the week, students will participate in a debate for parents to watch. Only two students will be in each debate, one on each side of the issue.

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Reviews

4.8 (9)

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(Regular Debate Camp)

June 12, 2024 - Adele zhou

Verified Purchase

The Friday show organization was poor.
For the L1 speech show, the scripts given for interpretive speeches were way too long, 12-15 minute per campers! The show lasted almost 2 hours without a break.
For the L1 debate camp, I was told by 3 campers that it wasn't very interesting. All the final debate topics are the same. The worst is that they scheduled 2 debates at the same time in the same room for the sake of saving time! Some counselors also talked loudly while campers were debating. I could barely hear anything my from the debaters right in front of me. The debaters had a hard time concentrating. Then there was an hour when there was nothing else to do but some bunker games. I don't understand why didn't they hold debate one-by-one if there was nothing else to do after?
Most counselors were first-year high schoolers, clearly didn't have much experience in organizing the camp. They were all very nice though.

This is helpful(1)

Palo Alto Speech and Debate Camp

June 12, 2024

Hi Adele, thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your specific notes about our Friday showcase, and will discuss it as a leadership team before our next event. To answer your question, we'd love to be able to run debate rounds one-by-one, but we have limitations to the number of classrooms we have access to, due to other camps using our campus and maintenance work. In our experience, most folks enjoy the activities and games we do at the showcase, as it gives them a sampling of what camp is like for students. Please feel free to reach out directly to me anytime if you have further questions or concerns, and thanks again for choosing PASDC.

- Kyle Hietala, Executive Director
khietala@pausd.org

(Regular Debate Camp)

June 8, 2024 - Kashmira Bakshi

Verified Purchase

My child thoroughly enjoyed this camp. The teachers of the camp were members of the PALY Debate team and were highly talented and skilled, who made the camp fun for the kids. My son stayed engaged throughout the camp and got introduced to some valuable skills. Highly recommend it for any middle-schooler.

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Palo Alto Speech and Debate Camp

June 9, 2024

Thank you so much, Kashmira! We hope to see your son again next summer.

(Regular Debate Camp)

June 19, 2022 - Priya Anant

Verified Purchase

Fantastic experience, my child learnt a lot, enjoyed her time at camp, super supportive peer group and coaches

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Questions & Answers

Is this a live class? (Regular Debate Camp) -

asked on May 28, 2020

Jun 02, 2020 - Speech Debate

Hello, yes, our curriculum will be delivered live, and counselors will work with and teach students in real time. Our camp is synchronous, or live, meaning students and counselors will be on the same Zoom calls at the same time. Does this answer your question? -

Post an answer This is helpful (2)

Hello! My son Ari was in the Regular Debate Camp today and I wanted to verify the student teacher ratio in breakout rooms. I can see in the Q&A that the student teacher is 4:1, but Ari says that the teacher student teacher ratio in breakout room was 6:1. I am concerned about adequate individualized attention as well as useful feedback given to the students. Can you please give a little more information about this? Thank you, Mabel Wong (Regular Debate Camp) -

asked on Jun 14, 2021

Jun 15, 2021 - Speech Debate

Hello, the student-teacher ratio in your students's lab, as well as all our labs, is 4:1. Your student's regular debate lab has 17 campers and 5 counselors, so the ratio is closer to 3:1. The reason why your camper's group had a few more students was because certain activities require larger group environments in order to simulate a debate environment. For this reason, when students participate in these activities, they are often in larger groups with more than 4 students. However, students always have the opportunity to work in small groups and individually with counselors in breakout rooms to receive individualized attention and support, and if they feel that they would like more of this help, they can always ask their counselors who will be more than happy to provide it. -

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May I know the student-teacher ratio in the class? (Regular Debate Camp) -

asked on Jun 10, 2021

Jun 10, 2021 - Speech Debate

Hello, we have a 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio in all of our classes, which allows for individualized attention. Campers also have the opportunity to work 1 on 1 with counselors in breakout rooms. -

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Hi i see the age requirement is 8, but when i tried to register my rising 4th grader, it says this camp is for G5-G8. Can’t i register my rising 4th grader this summer, 2025? (Regular Debate Camp)

asked on Jan 11, 2025

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About Palo Alto Speech and Debate Camp

Palo Alto Speech and Debate Camp (PASDC) improves kids’ critical thinking and public speaking skills in a fun, social camp setting. Many campers attend both…

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