Many people underestimate the importance of developing public speaking and debate skills, according to a student from Richmond.
Vincent Teng, from James McKinney elementary, started the school's first debate club to help fellow students speak confidently in front of large audiences.
The McKinney Debate Club has 14 members who practice small debates in a public forum style, Teng explained.
Canadian debate format, which is used in Parliament, are also taught to club members.
"I want to share that debating is fun and it gives you a lot of courage to speak in front of an audience," said Teng.
"This club is to help encourage other kids to gain confidence in speaking without fear and a way for the general public to take debate clubs more seriously."
Teng began learning debate from his coach Annie Zhou, a McMath student, in 2022. Since then, he has competed and won in local debate tournaments.
The 12-year-old believes being clear and concise in speaking is key to good public speaking because it makes you appear more professional.
"Public speaking is a really big part of school because you need to give speeches," he said, adding these skills have helped him during school presentations.
But managing a club at 12 years old isn't easy.
Teng told the Richmond News McKinney Debate Club members often feel overlooked by teachers and staff and are "not taken seriously."
"It would be nice to have teachers who help lead the club, but right now I have to do it by myself," said Teng
"Sometimes, we have to schedule our club times around the teachers who take over a room that we booked for club activities... even though we've done our due diligence in telling staff what time, where and when we're hosting the club in advance."
The club aims to compete in the provincial debate tournaments this year, but would only be able to with the help of school teachers.
"We want to improve and compete and to do so, we need to be taken seriously by those in our school," said Teng.
Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected]. To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter. Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
