Schools
Salk Elementary School Presidential Debate Helps Students Stay Informed
The debaters were selected from a pool of students. They then researched their candidate and debated before the school Thursday.
Editor's note: The following is a press release from Valley View School District 365U.
With their school’s mock presidential election just a day away, 10 Jonas Salk Elementary School 5th graders debated the merits of the candidacies of President Obama and Governor Romney in front of their fellow students Thursday afternoon.
The debaters, who were selected from a pool of students after making qualifying speeches before debate moderator Jeff Ortmann, spent eight mornings before school researching their assigned candidates and developing public speaking skills.
Find out what's happening in Bolingbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“They learned how to gather ideas and put them together in a way the audience can understand them,” said 5th grade teacher Christina Grigsby, who was the “coach” for the Obama debate team.
“We asked them to be respectful and unbiased as they did their research,” added 5th grade teacher and Romney team “coach” Karen Ball, who said it was difficult because the debaters may not necessarily be actual supporters of their candidate.
Find out what's happening in Bolingbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The debaters admitted they were nervous before the debate began but all turned in outstanding performances as each team first made a general statement about issues such as the economy, healthcare, and education, and then debated a specific question raised by Ortmann.
“We had to put in lots of work about what he’s for and what he’s not for,” said David Brooks, a member of the Obama debate team.
“I’m more prepared than anyone on the Obama team,” said Benjamin Nelson, who handled the closing statement for the Romney debate team.
Obama debaters included Celia Doherty, Katrina Schell, Francisco Artega, Taryn Baker and Brooks. Romney debaters were James Tynan, Nicole Hughes, Adriana Herman, Shane Frantz and Nelson.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There are plenty of ways to keep up on Bolingbrook news:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
