Early success for Bethany’s inaugural team

Bethany's new speech and debate team scored another first on Saturday, Dec. 12, when the team took third place honors in the small entry division at Elkhart Central High School. Bruin speakers swept the first three places in novice extemporaneous speaking. Joel Fidler was first, Ji Eun Han second, and Luis Lopez third. Junior Nik Diaz was fourth in novice poetry, and senior Karsten Hess was seventh in novice Congressional debate.

In Bethany’s first-ever participation in a Public Forum Debate, senior Joel Fidler and junior Ji Eun Han won one of the four rounds in which they competed at the Nov. 16 Munster Debate Tournament. While both had previously competed individually in two Congressional Debates that focused on presentation, this was their first foray into a debate that focuses on argumentation, cross-examination, and refutation. Coach Michael Yeakey was pleased with their achievement and hopes that they and other Bethany team members can build on this initial success. Both students, along with senior Tony Miller, have already earned enough points to receive the National Forensic League Merit degree—at each meet judges award points based on the quality of performance.

Michael, who has coached debate and speech in previous teaching assignments, has a passion for helping students develop public speaking skills. He says, “Debate offers students a chance to bring critical thinking skills to bear on real-life issues. The ideas that are considered require research, composition (of speeches), and a grasp of the issues being debated. Speech events give students the opportunity to hone a plethora of speaking skills.”

Indeed the students who have chosen to participate on Bethany’s inaugural team have already begun to see for themselves the value of which Michael speaks. Not surprisingly, Ji Eun, for whom English is a second language, has become more confident in speaking English. However, she also notes that in researching issues for debate, she has become much more knowledgeable about current events and issues of public interest than she normally would.

Teammate Joel Fidler, who decided to participate on spur-of-the-moment encouragement from Michael, is glad he decided to give debate and speech a try. Though he too has participated in only three competitions, he has seen a visible change in his confidence. “I used to feel nervous giving speeches in class, but now I feel much more comfortable when speaking in public.” He notes that the research he does for debate is helpful in writing essays for his senior English class.

Tony Miller, who participated in the team’s first two Congressional Debates, is now focusing primarily on preparing for upcoming speech events. With a career interest in sports journalism, Tony is particularly interested in the radio broadcasting event, in which students compete in areas such as news, editorials, commercials, on-the-spot reporting, and breaking news program. Tony, who has served as the public address announcer for 65 Bethany athletic events since the beginning of last school year alone, has found the team practices and meets particularly helpful in working on his diction.

Other members on one or both of the teams (debate and speech) include sophomore Blake Shetler, juniors Nik Diaz, David Nussbaum, and Sharisse Yoder, and seniors Karsten Hess, Sara Klassen, and Luis Lopez. Michael is open to others still joining the team yet this year. The teams participate in the Indiana High School Forensics Association and the Northwest Indiana District of the National Forensic League. For more information about Bethany's debate and speech program, including a schedule of meets, see  Debate_and_Speech or email Michael Yeakey.