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…
While reading a relatively unrelated opinion piece in today’s New York Times, I was reminded of a comment left by Jen on one of my recent Savage Inequalities posts. She asked whether Kozol addressed the question of inequality between states … 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…
I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about FIX, but my opinion after dining there last night is that it’s overrated and overpriced. I’m not generally particularly snobby about food or demanding about service, and though I like to … Read more…
On Friday morning, we got the chance to explore the region of Zion called The Narrows that we had to pass on Sunday. As the name suggests, it’s a particularly narrow portion of the canyon that is both one of … Read more…
The plan for Thursday was to rise early, rent appropriate gear, and hike/wade Zion’s most famous region, The Narrows. Emily woke up not feeling particularly well, however, and so we nixed that and I got breakfast alone while she slept. … Read more…
I’m currently on vacation, spending Thanksgiving with my girlfriend in Utah’s Zion Canyon. Yesterday, we hiked a beautiful trail called Angel’s Landing. Though most of it was paved, it was still strenuous at times, as were ascending over 1000 feet … Read more…
There are a lot of things I like about living in Boston that I didn’t like about the area where I grew up in Maryland. But I do miss my family, which particularly on my father’s side is very close, … 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…
Sorry for the long silence, I was out of town for a wedding and didn’t have much time to update. Quick funny story from the wedding: I caught the garter when the groom threw it, which apparently meant I had … 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…
I was browsing this blog from a Vegas taxi driver and was very glad to see this post about all the racism surrounding NBA All Star Weekend. I was in Vegas while Mandalay Bay was hosting the NBA All Star … Read more…
Over continental breakfast, Emily and I discuss what to do about the last episode of Sopranos, which was to air that night. Though Emily is not a fan of the show, I very much am. The complication was that, lacking … Read more…
For those who don’t know, my girlfriend Emily is moving to Las Vegas for work, and I drove out with her to help her move and then to stay through the WSOP. After a solid week of driving cross-country from … Read more…
We’re now three days into road trip to Vegas. Sorry for the lack of updates, we’re spending most of each day on the road and getting in too late for me to do something coherent with limited internet access. Not … Read more…
I came across a very interesting/disturbing report today from the New York Civil Liberties Union entitled “Criminalizing the Classroom“. The following is an excerpt from the Executive Summary: “Since the NYPD took control of school safety in 1998, the number … Read more…
Sorry for the lack of updates guys, I haven’t played much recently and have generally been busier than usual. Every summer I have a pretty large research project that entails assembling some five hundred pages of materials on the upcoming … 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’ve been trying to balance a ton of stuff lately, between poker, my writing, my work with the Boston Debate League and the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, my finances, etc. I’m also kind of absent minded and procrastinatory, … Read more…
I started watching the Sopranos after receiving the first two seasons on DVD for Christmas my senior year of college. My roommate, Logan, and I were hooked immediately, and we soon dragged our friend Jen in as well. At that … Read more…
I elected not to torture myself playing the big Sunday tournaments today, opting instead for Easter brunch with the girlfriend followed by Sopranos with friends in the evening. Brunch was at the Doubletree Suites in Cambridge. It was a nice … 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’m just back from a week out West with Emily. Though we flew in and out of Vegas and stayed there Friday night, I didn’t end up playing any poker. Mostly we were there hiking, enjoying some warm weather (while … 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…