In the last three years, Thinking Poker listeners have raised more than $25,000 for the Bay Area Urban Debate League. I’d love to set a new record this year, and to make that happen, I’ve got a special reward exclusively … Read more…
Happy Thanksgiving! As those of you who follow me on Twitter know, I’m currently in Big Bend National Park, which is one of the more remote parts of the continental United States. Not a whole lot of internets down here. … Read more…
As I did last year, I’m once again raising money this holiday season for the Bay Area Urban Debate League, a non-profit organization I’m deeply involved with as a Board member, volunteer, and donor. Debating in high school and college changed … Read more…
As reported on last week’s podcast, I’m part of an end-of-the-year fundraising drive for the Bay Area Urban Debate League, a non-profit organization I’m deeply involved with here in the Bay Area. Debating in high school and college changed my … Read more…
This is the conclusion of a trip report, the first part of which can be found here, from a high school debate tournament at which I recently volunteered. I founded the Boston Debate League in 2005 to bring competitive extracurricular … Read more…
Sorry for the recent silence – I was in Boston over the weekend running a debate tournament for the Boston Debate League. I don’t have a WYP for this week, so instead please enjoy this Trip Report which hopefully will … Read more…
I reported back in June that for the first time ever an Urban Debate League team won the National Forensics League Grand Tournament, the largest of three high school debate national championship events. The Chicago Debate League, with the help … Read more…
It wasn’t the Boston Debate League, but a team from our sister league in Chicago recently won the National Forensics League Grand Tournament in Kansas City, making them the first Urban Debate League team ever to win a national championship … Read more…
Sorry it’s been quiet for the last few days, Emily and I have been camping in the White Mountains with very limited internet access and no poker playing. I’m about to start a session now though so hopefully I’ll have … Read more…
Today’s the last day of March and the last chance for you to help out the Boston Debate League in its March for Goodness competition. This is an organization that’s near and dear to my heart, and if you’ve enjoyed … Read more…
Big thank you to everyone who’s contributed to the Boston Debate League so far to help us get more unique donors for our “March Goodness” competition (details here). If you enjoy reading this blog, and especially if you feel like … Read more…
A lot of commenters tell me that while the weird bluffs and thin value bets I post here are fun to read, they don’t feel they can apply them in the games they play. Well, today I’ve got a great … Read more…
A recent study finding tremendous academic gains for students participating in urban debate leagues has meant great things for the Boston Debate League, not only because of the impressive findings themselves, but because of the opportunity for publicity. Here’s a … Read more…
The Boston Marathon is the most prestigious and oldest continuously-run marathon in the entire world. Many people dream of running it, but participation is extremely limited and exclusive. The only way to get a spot is either to qualify with … Read more…
The Boston Debate League’s Fifth Annual City Championships took place over the weekend, and it was a great event. Nearly sixty students competed, which is actually a little low compared to the numbers we’ve had recently, but their enthusiasm more … Read more…
The Boston Herald ran an article this morning about the Boston Debate League and one of its member schools which was nearly closed by the school district: The debate team at the Academy of Public Service sailed into the “elite … Read more…
About five years ago, when I was a senior in college, I attended a panel on education reform that a professor of mine had organized. One of the panelists was “domestic terrorist” Bill Ayers. I don’t recall what Ayers was … Read more…
As some of you know, my poker playing for the last few years has supported not only myself but a debate league in the Boston Public Schools. It started as just a volunteer thing that I did with a few … Read more…
Last weekend, I accompanied several of my debaters to an urban debate league national championship in Chicago. As the director of the Boston Debate League, I rarely have the time (or inclination) to judge debates myself. However, I did judge … Read more…
I was in Providence Wednesday night for the Rhode Island Urban Debate League‘s end of the year banquet. It was a powerful event marked by three highlights: speeches from Providence mayor David Cicilline, Great Debaters star Nate Parker, and the … Read more…
I like to walk, and I liked it even more when I was in high school, so I didn’t think much of it when George (not his real name) told me he was late because he chose to walk. George … Read more…
Urban debate got some national attention yesterday thanks to an op-ed piece authored by former debater Erwin Chemerinsky for USA Today: “Research shows that participation in organized debate leagues improves literacy scores by 25% and grade point averages by 8%-10%. … Read more…
It’s got nothing to do with poker. But WJMN, a Boston hip hop station, recently interviewed me and a few students from the Boston Debate League. I’m only going to post my portion of it here, which is about 10 … Read more…
The Boston Herald ran an article today that was (half) about the Boston Debate League and an event we had yesterday in honor of MLK Day. This time they ran a nice photo of one our debaters; the lack of … Read more…
The first round of the first tournament of the Boston Debate League’s fourth season has just gotten underway. With about forty students competing, it is one of our largest events ever. Unfortunately, 90% of the debaters are from 50% of … Read more…
I’ve finally got some pictures from the BDL Summer Institute last month up on the BDL website. Click here to see them.
Sorry for the lack of updates, but as predicted, I haven’t spent a lot of time on the computer in Chicago. I’m out here for a week volunteering for the Chicago Debate Summer Institute, a two-week camp very similar to … Read more…
Today was the last day of the BDL’s week-long summer institute, and it really went better than I could have hoped. There were some snags, particularly when the post office lost three weeks worth of my mail including all of … Read more…
I’ll start by telling you that the BDL camp got off to a good start. We had twelve students on our first day, which was about as many as I’d expected when we first thought about having an institute, but … Read more…
There’s a trailer up on YouTube for the documentary, called Resolved, about high school debate in which my friend Dave plays a key role. Unfortunately he isn’t in the trailer, and in fact his students are barely shown either, but … Read more…
The Los Angeles Urban Debate League, run by my good friend David Wiltz, has been in the news lately thanks to a new documentary about the world of high school debate that highlights two of his former students. Here’s a … Read more…
Sunday’s Boston Herald contained a very nice article about the Boston Debate League, a non-profit organization that I founded and now direct. Please click here to read it! There are actually some audio clips also, though they’re hard to find. … Read more…
This weekend I’m taking a two debaters from Boston to the J. B. Fuqua Urban Debate League Celebration in Atlanta. The two debaters, Charles and Peter, are a great team. Charles is a hefty black man, smart but reserved, very … Read more…
I got a note today from a young woman I first met last summer while teaching at a debate camp for the Los Angeles and Southern California Urban Debate Leagues. She was one of the smartest, nicest, and most mature … Read more…
Sorry for the recent silence, but I’ve had a busy few days. On Tuesday, my non-profit organization, the Boston Debate League (BDL), co-hosted a luncheon with the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL). To be brutally honest, the BDL’s … Read more…
I came across this pretty cool article about a student I worked with when I was an administrator for the Chicago Debate League. Chime Asonye was definitely one of the most ambitious and talented of the hundreds of debaters in … Read more…
Saturday was the fourth Boston Debate League tournament of the 2006-07 season, the last before our two-day City Championships event. It got off to a rocky start. I had to bring coffee, donuts, awards, a computer, and a printer with … Read more…
I wake early on Saturday morning in order to get to Faneuil Hall by 8:45. The event doesn’t start until 11, but I’ve arranged for the debaters to come in early in order to work with some volunteers who will … Read more…
Some quick background for those who don’t know this already: I was a nationally competitive debater in high school and college. In a lot of ways, I credit debate for making me the person I am now: confident, smart, socially … Read more…