OUR PHILOSOPHY

The vision statement on our home page succinctly states the philosophy of the LDEP. Feel free to download a printer-friendly version of the vision statment.

In addition to that, we have adopted a set of broad coaching ideals, listed here, to which we have pledged ourselves as coaches. We encourage all coaches to embrace and strive to achieve these ideals.

The LDEP encourages all Lincoln-Douglas debate coaches to actively promote the educational value of the activity by:

1. Prioritizing long-term educational goals over short-term competitive rewards.

2. Encouraging students to research and prepare their own cases.

3. Teaching students to conduct ethical research and citation.

4. Supporting tournaments that implement educationally constructive policies.

5. Mentoring judges to evaluate rounds objectively on the basis of argumentation and persuasive delivery.

6. Hiring and promoting the use of judges who demonstrate a commitment to fostering the educational value of LD.

7. Researching summer workshops and supporting only those with a strong educational mission and a substantial presence of adult educators.

8. Generally reflecting on the educational rationale for their coaching practices.

9. Exemplifying and reinforcing norms of tournament decorum and communal respect.

These Coaching Ideals are also available in a PDF document for easy printing and distribution.

Both the LDEP Vision Statement and the Coaching Ideals are included in our official brochure, which you are also welcome to download and distribute.