It is before 7:00am on a Saturday and there’s a group of students who together with their coaches are about to depart to take part in a competition in Shrewsbury. And it is not the hocky team. It’s the Milton High School Debate and Speech team.
Superintendent Gorley’s long-held dream is now a reality. The Milton High Speech and Debate team formed in September and is coached by MHS teacher Nick Fitzgerald and Phil Tedesco, a Boston attorney. Neither of them had any experience coaching a high school debate team. But they threw themselves at the proposition, working hard to learn the process and procedures and at the same time train a motivated group of students to be competitive.
The team participates in “Public Forum Debate,” which features two-man teams competing against each other, two on two. (As opposed to the more traditional Lincoln-Douglas Debate. MHS has not yet entered that form of debate.) There is one judge, who determines a winner, after a 35 minute round. The “Public Forum Debate” topics require students to be well versed in current events. Topics, which are selected by a national committee, this year have included: teacher merit-pay, President Obama’s new strategy in Afghanistan, and the various threats from failed and stable nations, and the legitimacy of Affirmative Action. Students around the country debate the same topics. Students “work out” five hours each week with their coaches preparing to compete. The most competitive students dedicate an equal or greater amount of time at home preparing and researching countless periodicals, scholarly journals, and primary documents. Debaters need to be prepared to defend and oppose both sides of the chosen topic.
The debate team, which belong to the Massachusetts Forensics League (MFL – www.massforensics.org), usually competes twice a month at local schools. The competitions can last all day (8:30-5:30) with debaters completing four rounds during each competition.
And then there is speech. As Coach Fitzgerald explains, “Those schools with competitive debate teams also have “Speech” teams. The term “Speech” encompasses a variety of events. Although “Speech” teams usually compete at the same competitions as “Debate” teams, the events are quite different. “Speech” events do not test logic or argumentation. Rather, in “Speech” events, students showcase performance and oratory skills in a competitive forum.”
Currently MHS has two students in their “Speech” contingent, both successful. Should Isabella Carter and Catherine Spino earn enough votes at their next competition, March 20th in Needham, they will qualify for the State Speech Tournament. They participate in an event called “Duo Interpretation.” This event requires students to memorize and perform a 10 minute script. Carter and Spino not surprisingly, were active in the high school musical last fall. What is surprising is that they are competing at such a high level given they only began rehearsing in January.
The coaches have expressed tremendous gratitude to a number of people who have been selfless in their support. These include Superintendent Mary Gormley, Mary Ann Sullivan from the Milton Council on Aging who’s lent a van for each of our competitions, Susan Marianelli, the Speech Coach from Milton Academy, who guided them step-by-step since from their September start, volunteering time, transportation, and expertise. Marinelli is generous to the point of currently working with the speech team as it prepares to qualify for the state tournament.
The MHS students to have formally debated this year include, from the class of 2011, Ciaran Conners, Colin Faherty, Tucker Kibbee, Kathleen Hill, Kirby Jackson, John Savino, Marshall Greenwood, from the class of 2012, Maya Rosmarin, Emma Raszemann, Gabrielle Oneissimo, Katherine Sargent, Jean Manning, and from the class of 2013, Ailsa Jeffries.
And as for that competition at Shrewsbury High School? Winning 3 of their 4 rounds, Freshman Ailsa Jeffries and Sophomore Maya Rosmarin placed 6th, out of 41 teams.
GO WILDCATS!