Debate-Inspired Classrooms™
In the Debate-Inspired Classrooms™ program, BDL’s Instructional Coaches work with teachers, school leaders, and entire school communities to cultivate exciting and buzzing classrooms in which students experience both rigor and joy in learning.
Discourse
Students learn better when they talk more, and with each other. The Debate-Inspired Classrooms™ approach trains teachers to cultivates authentic student discussion, driven by curiosity and problem-solving.
Vibrancy
Debate-Inspired Classrooms™ fosters a unique environment of energy and joy. Our program nurtures a love of learning, transforming classrooms into vibrant, buzzing communities in which students – and teachers – collaborate to shape their own learning.
Engagement
When students’ voices, ideas, and intellect are the center of instruction, they are more engaged in the classroom. Students are the authors and architects of their own learning in Debate-Inspired Classrooms™.
An Anti-Racist Approach
In response to the landscape in education and the global context in which young people learn, we are committed to supporting young people in building the power and agency to challenge injustice.
We believe that a debate-inspired classroom is an anti-racist classroom. In anti-racist classrooms, students and teachers see themselves and their lived experiences as valued; experience classrooms in which they are free to be their full selves; act as both leaders and learners in the classroom community; and develop skills and agency to disrupt racism.
"[Debate-Inspired Classrooms™] is about equity. When I hear students stand up in a classroom and use their voice, with a thought process, with evidence, that’s a beautiful thing. Because most of our students are marginalized, they haven’t had voice in any process…with [Debate-Inspired Classrooms™], they get a voice."
- Lindsa McIntyre, BPS High School Superintendent & former principal at Jeremiah E. Burke High School
Click here to see Debate-Inspired Classrooms™ in action and to learn more.
Click here to learn more about Debate-Inspired Classrooms™ partnerships.
Have questions about DI Classrooms™, its impact, or how to start a partnership?
Contact Marisa Suescun, Director of Programs, at marisa@bostondebate.org.