Coach/Teacher Workshop Draws to a Close

Steve Llano of St. John's University and Rhydian Morgan judge a debate

The five-day Coach/Teacher Workshop is drawing to a close here at the World Debate Institute. It has been an action packed week for them, and they have gotten even more than they bargained for. On Thursday, for example, each coach was presented with a huge pile of DVDs and CDs of instructional materials in every single debate format of interest. They have been introduced to Lincoln Douglas, policy, parliamentary and public forum debate. They are full of questions and anxious to learn.

Steve Llano of St. John's University has been directing the classes, but has had help from Jackie Massey, Rhydian Morgan, Alfred Snider and others. Steve is perfect for this position because he has been both a high school and a college coach and has experience in all of these formats, as well as having a doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

About the class, Steve said, "It was engaging, enlightening and practical. The teachers discussed everything from the basics of modern argumentation theory to the pragmatics of how to have the first meeting to start their debate teams off. Any teacher interested in improving the quality of critical thought at his or her school would have no trouble finding all the tools to do so in this workshop."