"Debating in the ESU NYDL was one of the highlights of my students' year. The ESU NY Debate League has been exceptionally welcoming and kind to us, and we are so appreciative of the high quality tournaments we were part of this year . . . they chose great topics, and created an environment where even in the most difficult situation imaginable, the kids were able to have high quality, spirited debates."

- Mark Schiller Debate Coach for Blessed Sacrament School in Washington DC

Middle School Debate

New York Debate League

Welcome to the
New York Debate League!

CLICK TO REGISTER FOR 2021-2022

2021-2022 School Year

TOURNAMENT schedule

Novice Debate Workshop October 2, 2021 (Virtual)
November 6, 2021 (Virtual)
December 4, 2021 (Virtual)
January 22, 2022 (TBD)
March 5, 2022 (TBD)
Championship Debate: April 30-May1

REMINDER: EACH SCHOOL MUST PROVIDE ONE JUDGE FOR EVERY TWO TEAMS.

2021 New York Debate League Championship

We are so proud of all our schools and students for participating in this year's program! Congratulations to the ESU NYDL Middle School Debate team from The Dalton School in New York City for winning the 2021 Middle School Debate Championship, and to all of this year's participants. Read more about this year's season.

topics fROM THE MAY 2021 CHAMPIONSHIP

- New Topics
  1. The US should not develop or use lethal autonomous weapons.
  2. Dysfunctional democracy is better than benevolent dictatorship.
  3. Overall, private schools do more good than harm.
  4. Pandemic lockdowns have done more good than harm.
  Returning Topics
  1. US citizens should be required to complete two years of national service
  2. The two-party system is bad for American democracy
  3. There should be no required subjects in high school
  4. Museums and galleries should display works of art anonymously
  5. The US should implement a UBI
  6. Abolish the senate
  7. Countries responsible for the greatest share of greenhouse gas emissions should pay reparations to the countries most threatened by climate change.

Can you host a debate at your school during the 2021/2022 season? Email us at debate@esuus.org.

click to view the topics archive

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS:

British International School of New York
City and Country School
Dwight School
East New York Middle School of Excellence
Ethical Culture Fieldston
Garden School
Hackley School
Harvey School
Hoboken Charter School
IS 220
LREI
NEST +m
Nightingale-Bamford School
Our Lady of Good Counsel
School for Global Leaders
Speyer Legacy School
The Anderson School
The Dalton School
The Island School (PS/MS 188)
The School at Columbia University
Transfiguration School
United Nations International School
Unity Preparatory Charter School
West End Secondary School

Debate Team from the Hackley School wins 2016 English-Speaking Union Middle School Debate Championship Tournament

NATIONAL NEWS – posted May 1, 2016

The Hackley School, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Kiri Fitzpatrick, Hannah Ostfield, Alex Goldman

The English-Speaking Union Middle School Debate Program capped off a successful fifth year with its annual Championship Tournament, which took place at Stone Bridge Middle School in Allentown, NJ, on April 16, 2016. All six ESU Middle School Debate Program leagues participated bringing together 250 debaters from 29 schools from New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.

The English-Speaking Union Middle School Debate Program teaches the fundamentals of argumentation and debate to students in grades 5-8. Established in 2011, the program now includes three ESU-sponsored leagues in New York, two in New Jersey and one in Washington, DC. Some 50 public, private, parochial and charter schools participate in the program, engaging more than 1,000 teenagers annually in weekly after-school debate activities designed to develop and hone student's public speaking, critical thinking, listening and debating skills.

Read Full Story

The New York Times features ESU Middle School Debate

The ESU is pleased to share today's The New York Times article, "A Diverse Mix of Pupils, Learning Civilized Dissent," featuring the ESU Middle School Debate program's New York Debate League. Now in its fourth year, the program, designed to help young adolescents develop critical thinking and language arts skills through public speaking, has reached more than 2,300 students in grades 5 to 8 in New York and New Jersey. There are nearly 900 individual debates through this program annually.

The article underscores one of the Middle School Debate program's strengths—bringing together students from various backgrounds that, as Brianna Scott (a seventh grader at Success Academy Harlem West) says, "prepare[s] you to go out into the world."

Read the article here