IN-Tech debaters triumph

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The IN-Tech Academy’s (M.S./H.S. 368) debate team has yet another victory to celebrate. Two students made it as semi-finalists to the NYC Urban Debate League (UDL) Bronx Championship, placing fourth on April 18. 

Seventh-grade student Benjamin Minaya and Obdulio Martinez were excited about the opportunity.

“We were going against teams that were really good, so the pressure was really on and I was trying to do my best,” Obdulio said.

“When we found out we were going to win a gavel… my heart was beating so fast because I was so excited, and that tournament was really, really fun just because we were the only two representatives from our school,” Benjamin added.

Displayed on a large table lay several of their trophies and photographs of the team with Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and local officials.

The students feel they are getting a lot out of being part of the debate team.

“After I joined the debate team, it’s helped me with my reading levels, I could participate in the class more, I could analyze, especially in English… I have a better way of understanding what the teacher is talking about in class,” student Eriselis Pizarro said.

They are preparing themselves for their future professional choices, too, student Jiana Sosa argued.

“All these skills that we’re gaining we’ll be able to adapt for our future, for example jobs, like a lawyer or a politician,” she said. 

The debate team competes almost every month. Themes range from whether the death penalty should be abolished in the United States to animal cloning issues. 

“We work on current events... The last one we just finished debating was how to alleviate income inequality,” team captain Michelle Cobos said.

Dean of discipline and debate coach Wendy Spector launched the debate team in January 2015 with five students. It grew into a group of 12 by the end of the school year and now gathers 45 students every Monday and Wednesday. Next year there will also be a high-school team.

“We work in smaller groups, we practice speech skills, research skills, different strategies — it’s really been a very successful year,” Ms. Spector described.

IN-Tech collaborates with the Riverdale Neighborhood House and has partnered with Horace Mann School and the Bronx High School of Science.

 “It gives them a positive place; we’re family,” Ms. Spector said. “They work together, which builds teamwork and success, confidence, self-esteem.”

In-Tech, M.S. 368, Wendy Spector, Debate Team, Benjamin Minaya, Obdulio Martinez, Alice Guilhamon

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