Harvest Park Middle School
Harvest Park Middle School
Please note that this practice group was originally intended to meet at Harvest Park Middle school, but now meets at Walnut Grove Elementary in Pleasanton, CA!
This is a middle school competition practice led by our head coach and founder, Ben Fagan.
If you have questions, please email us at Info@strtgm.org.
More information about Public Forum Debate can be found here.
If you sign your student up for both terms before our first Fall session, a $200 discount is automatically applied to your purchase. This discount is reflect in our pricing.
Our students will also have the opportunity to participate in tournaments against students from other schools about once per month. Tournament fees are not included in the cost of tuition.
Please be sure to fill out the emergency contact forms and releases for this class when you sign up!
More information, including our meeting times and dates can be found below. If you have questions, please email us at Info@strtgm.org.
Stratagem Learning is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and is not affiliated with the host campus or school district.
Our team that is open to any sixth to eighth grade student who can make the course times.
This in-person practice group tentatively meets from 3:30PM to 5:30PM, subject to district approval. We’ll send out an update if these times change.
Public Forum Debate meets on Tuesdays.
This is our Public Forum practice calendar:
13 Fall Sessions:, 9/10, 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3, & 12/10.
13 Spring Sessions: 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/25, 3/4, 3/11, 3/18, 3/25, 4/1, 4/15, 4/22, & 4/29.
Our custom curriculum works to bring our students to a high level of competency in this challenging debate format, and is an ideal jumping on point for students at all levels of skill and confidence. For a typical topic we engage in a six week development cycle, spending the first two weeks of each topic on argumentation and analysis, the second set of two weeks on technique and form, and the final two weeks on full length debates. This way we cover all the bases that make for a good debater: a thorough understanding of the topic, mastery of the mechanics of the debate, and strong public speaking skills.
Students also have the opportunity to compete in tournaments against other Bay Area teams. These tournaments are very fun and reward the hard work that the students put in on each of our topics. This season we will heavily favor in person, middle school only tournaments, though we may participate in online or mixed entry tournaments if no other options are available. Tournament fees are not included in the cost of this class and must be purchased separately.
Public Forum topics are chosen by a national committee and change on a bi-monthly basis in the Fall and a monthly basis in the Spring. Past and current topics can always be found at speechanddebate.org/topics. Our first topic will be Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially expand its surveillance infrastructure along its southern border.
We anticipate being able to offer our full season in-person this school year but, to protect our students and our staff, Stratagem Learning also reserves an unlimited right to return to an online format based on the guidance of relevant school districts, health and civil authorities, and pandemic conditions at any point in the season.