Is Debate Dead?

It might be another casualty of the Internet, yes sir/ma'am.

Let’s start with a little personal narrative, as that might make this post more resonant for some: Probably my main extracurricular activity in high school was debate. I went to a fancy private school in New York City, and I was part of Junior Statesmen of America (JSA). I did it in 9th grade and was pretty good at it, then I think some of us got busted early 10th grade for drinking on a trip, so I got suspended from it for a bit … came back in 11th grade and was mowing down fools in debates for about six months. Made some good friends through it at other high schools around the Northeast, and then in 12th grade a lot of my non-in-my-own-HS friends were JSA people. In short, it was a big deal for me most of ages 15 to 18, give or take.

I would not say I was a “nuanced” debater and anyone that knew me in that time frame would agree, I bet. I was pretty funny at points and I understand the 35,000-foot level of issues, but not always all the individual elements. I created this character called “Little Timmy” who was always being wronged by things like gun control, abortion, single moms, drugs in schools, etc. I got a lot of wins with Little Timmy because I painted this whole narrative for the audience before I got to my real point. I probably could have been a politician at 16, except I already had some skeletons in my closet by then (and have gotten a few more in the intervening 22 years).

Some of my JSA peeps went on and had actual political (and mostly legal) careers doing big stuff with big, impressive titles, salaries, and companies. They were all inclined to a success mindset beforehand, probably, because mostly this was rich white kids debating each other, but I’d like to think the JSA era prepared them for tougher conversations and back-and-forths of adulthood. I think a bunch of them would admit that, probably. (Because relationships change over time, I cannot say I actively talk to a lot of people I debated abortion with at 15.)

Now we come to the core question: Has debate declined over time? And does that mirror a broader problem in American/global society?

Caveat: I will throw some research into this post, but some of it is also “gut feel,” so I apologize for that in advance. I’ll begin with the research elements, though.

Is debate declining in high schools?