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EXTENDED APPLICATION DEADLINE – NO LATE FEE!
More Time to Apply – Many families are just discovering the program and deadlines are extended for applicants.
MAY 21, 2013 – Deadline for WSDC/International High School Debate Applicants
June 15, 2013 – Deadline for All Other Programs – All Middle School, HSPDP/CHSSA High School, Leadership Communication
ADDITIONAL PROGRAM OPTION FOR 8TH GRADE STUDENTS!
Get a head start on international debating! The WSDC/International High School Program is now open to students entering the 8th grade. Some international events (e.g., Pan American Debating Championship with English and Spanish Language Divisions) are now open to 13 year-old students – the summer program will assist training younger students for US teams for those events.
WELCOME TO CLAREMONT SUMMER 2013!
MIDDLE SCHOOL DEBATE – HIGH SCHOOL DEBATE
WSDC/INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL DEBATE – COMMUNICATION LEADERSHIP
CLAREMONT SUMMER is a series of 6 debate and communication leadership programs for middle school and high schools students. The programs are sponsored by the Claremont Colleges Debate Union, one of the largest and most successful debating societies in the world. The Claremont Summer director is John Meany, Director of Forensics at Claremont McKenna College and the administrator of the Claremont Colleges Debate Union. The author or co-author of nine debate textbooks, he has administered and taught at more than 150 summer debate and professional communication program sessions in the US and abroad.
Official Instruction
The Claremont Summer programs are the only official, authorized programs for instruction in the Middle School Public Debate Program (MSPDP) and High School Public Debate Program (HSPDP) formats. These formats were developed by John Meany and Kate Shuster at the Claremont Colleges Debate Union. Tens of thousands of students participate in MS-HSPDP debating each year. Claremont Summer faculty are certified MS-HSPDP instructors – the summer programs are the only workshops extant requiring faculty and judge certification and providing MS-HSPDP certified instructors. Students learn the format, new rules and conventions, and best practices from the founders of the MS-HSPDP formats.
John Meany is the US representative on the World Schools Debating Council, the international organization responsible for the world high school debating championship. As the director of the US – World Schools Debating Championship Program (USWSDC), he selects and trains US high school students for the annual world debate championship, major regional championships, select national tournaments, and international debate and educational exchanges. he Claremont Summer international high school program offers authorized training and an integrated audition for USWSDC teams. Students learn from the national staff of the USWSDC and have the opportunity to participate in training that is directed to success at a USWSDC audition.
John Meany and Kate Shuster developed the CHSSA parliamentary debate format and wrote the model textbook (On That Point! An Introduction to Parliamentary Debate). Students participating in the California High School Speech Association’s official parliamentary debate format get the opportunity to learn from the founders.
Debate and Communication Leadership Programs
In Summer 2013, the Debate Union will sponsor 6 programs. These include 3 middle school debate sessions, 1 US high school debate format session, 1 international high school debate format session, and 1 professional communication leadership session. Students may attend more than one session. Students may attend as commuters or in-residence. No prior experience is required. There is instruction for students new to debate or public speaking; there is instruction for highly experienced students.
Outstanding Faculty – Personal Instruction
All staff are certified instructors and judges. The staff includes the creators of the MSPDP, HSPDP, and CHSSA parliamentary debate models, former debaters and coaches responsible for winning 20 secondary school and college national championships, authors of more than 15 debate textbooks, coaches of World Schools (international high school championship) squads from the US and Korea, and professional communication consultants for colleges and universities, businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations in a half dozen countries.
Programming includes a student-faculty ratio of 4-1.
Program Site – Claremont McKenna College
Programs will be held at Claremont McKenna College, one of the nation’s top ten liberal arts colleges. The college is a member ofthe The Claremont Consortium, a group of 5 undergraduate colleges (Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona, Scripps) and 2 graduate schools (Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences) modeled on the University of Oxford. The Fiske Guide for Colleges described the consortium as “a collection of intellectual resources unmatched in America.”
Claremont McKenna College is located about 35 miles east of Los Angeles. Students may choose to stay in-residence in supervised dormitories used exclusively by the summer debate/communication program or commute to their selected session. Daily scheduling is ‘family friendly.’ There are optional evening academic and recreational programs and commuting students may select to stay until 9:00 PM (families determine a pick-up time between 5:00 PM, the end of the formal academic program, and 9:00 PM, the official time that commuting students must depart).
Program Dates
• 2013 Middle School Public Debate Program
(3 MSPDP sessions)
Session 1, July 8-13
Session 2, July 13-18
Session 3, July 29-August 5 (Extended SuperSession, including full tournament)
• 2013 High School Debate
(1 HSPDP & CHSSA session)
July 22-29
• 2013 World Schools Debating Championship/International High School Debate
(1 WSDC format session, including audition for the 2013-14 US international debate traveling teams for the World Schools Debating Championship, Eurasian Championship, European Championship, Pan American Debating Championship, and Korea, China, United Kingdom, and Canada debate exchanges and more…)
June 22-29
• 2013 Leadership Communication
(1 session featuring professional communication training for high school students, including extemporaneous speaking, roundtable discussion, argumentation, resume building, essay writing, PowerPoint and multimedia presentations, leadership development, club/organization project management, and more…)
July 29-August 5
Note – Students may attend more than one session and may stay for consecutively administered programs. Students attending more than one debate session are accommodated in more advanced instructional settings during their second session.
This sounds awesome. When will this information be updated for 2013?
Primary information is now available for 2013 and application forms and other information will be available online by December 20, 2012.
Which high school program should we choose?
There are 3 – national high school parliamentary debate (HSPDP/CHSSA formats), international high school debating (WSDC format and Team USA audition), and professional communication (non-competititve program teaching public speaking, argumentation, and presentation skills for school and career leadership, including resume building, interviewing, extemporaneous speaking, argumentation and refutation, roundtable discussion, PowerPoint presentation, club and organization administration and leadership, social and political project development, etc.)
It is possible to participate in any or all of the high school programs.
Hi, Our middle school team has some kids who are interested in attending your camp. They have been doing policy debate since 4th grade (will be going into 8th grade next year) and a few kids have been doing lincoln douglas for a couple of years. Do you do L.D. at the camp? Is one of the middle school camps for more advanced debaters or are they both the same? Thank you, Ann
The middle school sessions use the Middle School Public Debate Program format, a proprietary model created at Claremont specifically for middle school students. It is researched-based and involves serious argumentation, so the summer program is helpful for students involved in other debate formats, including policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate. In fact, our textbooks supporting the Middle School Public Debate Program and High School Public Debate Program formats were reviewed by leaders in policy and Lincoln-Douglas debating as the best texts for their respective events. Students participating in the middle school program have achieved immediate success in high school Lincoln-Douglas (and other debate and speech) competition; the debate programming clearly facilitates success in other forensic events.
The middle school and high school public debate models are standards-based and designed to maximize student learning outcomes. Although theses formats certainly provide rigorous debating training for any and all academic interscholastic competitions, the models are developed to encourage the acquisition of sophisticated professional communication skills – public speaking, argumentation, organization, note taking, team building, and refutation skills – that students will take with them beyond debate competition for use for future academic and professional success. During summer institute instruction, students learn how specific elements of the Public Debate Program formats facilitate interviewing, social professional, roundtable discussion, extemporaneous speaking, and other communication skills.
Each middle school summer session is identical, and both are appropriate for new and advanced students, with one exception. Students attending both summer sessions have an integrated program for the second session that builds on work accomplished earlier in the summer.
What is the class size? Is there a limited number of openings?
Class size for the primary instructional sessions is 6-7. The student-faculty ratio is 4-1.
The application deadline is May 1. There is a late fee for any application received after the deadline. Although space may be available, there is no guarantee of space for admission after the deadline.
Is this a program facilitated by Claremont Mckenna College, or a program that uses the college campus?
The program is sponsored by the Claremont Colleges Debate Union, an official program of Claremont McKenna College. It is directed by John Meany, the Director of Forensics at Claremont McKenna College and the administrator of the Claremont Colleges Debate Union (an undergraduate debate, professional communication, and educational outreach organization for students attending any of the five undergraduate institutions of the Claremont Consortium).
Yes, residency is available. There are students from many states, as well as a number of international students. All information regarding the program and residency is available online at claremontsummer.org.
John Meany is a living, breathing national treasure. If it were not for him, I would never have developed the confidence to advance my skills in debating and become the adult that I became. He is a remarkable human being, instructor and one of the finest academicians I have ever known. It was my humble privilege to have known him. Anyone who has the opportunity to study with Prof. Meany should afford themselves of the rare opportunity to study with the Mozart of rhetoric, speech and debate of our age.
My daughter wants to attend the middle school debate camp, since she is a 7th grader, we feel more comfortable for her to take the non-stop flight. But we found that there is no straight flight to Ontario airport, only to LAX. Would your stuff be able to pick her up at LAX?
Staff can only meet students at Ontario Airport. Staff do not transport students but will travel with them in public transportation (shuttle or taxi) from Ontario Airport to the college campus registration.
My son is entering 5th grade and is super super enthusiastic but has no experience. He is also on the younger side for 5th grade (turns 10 in December.) Am I right to assume that perhaps next year would be the time for him to join this camp for the first time?
Thank you.
If younger, then it is probably better to wait a year. If a child is particularly mature, then it is possible to register.
We have sent an application in. When will be hear if my daughter is admitted?
Certainly by May 1 or earlier.
How do we get information and an application for the summer 2013 middle school program?
Available at claremontsummer.org.
Please let me know price for one session
There are options that individualize the price. Please download the application and make your program choices. This will be the program price.
can I send application now, then send the full payment along with other forms by 5/1?
Yes.