Team Profile - Roland Park Middle School

When one hears the name Roland Park, one thinks smart, well-behaved, and intellectually curious students.  While all of these things are true, there is much more to the students on Roland Park's debate team who I interact with on a weekly basis.

It comes as no shock that such an elite school has a debate team.  The shock, however, is that the team has only existed for three years.  Heartbreaking as this may be, let's remember that these are middle school children whose first thought when hearing the word debate is "boring".  However, once a student enters into the debate community, students come to say, "debate is awesome!" and, "debate is cool because I can express myself."  Another student explained that they enjoy debate "because I can tell people they are wrong."  To an outsider looking in, this may seem trivial and childish.  But let it be known, when you give 27 children who are already opinionated an outlet to voice those opinions and the tools they need to research facts to support their opinions, get ready for the pain.

Yes, it is true that Roland Park debaters conduct their own research, and as a team they decide which arguments to run and how to run them at the next debate tournament.  This student involvement in research and case creation is the number one reason why Roland Park debaters are so successful in administering the pain at BUDL's monthly tournaments.  A student can better defend an argument when it is something they believe in and have researched themselves. 

While I lavish high praise on the wonderful students I am fortunate to work with, let me not forget to mention the outstanding coaches of these beautiful children.  Both coaches, who have been with the team since its beginning, are responsible for its 10 veteran debaters' achievements, and those of the newcomers to the activity.  By providing a nurturing environment for their debaters, Ms. Mary Jo Kirschman and Ms. Christina Hoffman, with their kind and loving personalities, were a big factor in the 1^st place team award that the ten and a half teams at the first tournament brought home to Roland Park in October.

The next time you think about Roland Park, you should think extraordinary, not only for its academics and its students, but for its team efforts to do what needs to be done, and doing it well.