September updates

MSD currently has four schools that will participate in our network this year and hopes to add more soon.

If your school is interested in a speech and debate club or classes during the day as part of the school’s curriculum, we are currently offering three free classes and a one-year membership in the National Speech and Debate Association, the world’s largest speech and debate organization. If enough schools join we can hold a district tournament where the top students qualify for the NSDA nationals in the US. Mekong Speech and Debate also works with organizations in Taiwan and Indonesia and we plan to hold an online tournament next semester. This would give your students a low cost opportunity to have international competition in speech and debate.

Additionally, we are so proud to announce our first ever judge and teacher training program! This 10-week course is designed to introduce college students and educators in Cambodia to speech and debate events offered by the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) in the U.S. This course is only available for students that have already graduated from high school. There is no fee or cost to attend the training! Attendees that complete the program will have priority when Mekong Speech & Debate hires judges for tournaments and needs assistants for its online and in person classes.

The 10-week course will cover speech events like impromptu, declamation, humorous & dramatic interpretation, original oratory, and extemporaneous speaking. Debate events include public forum, Lincoln-Douglas, policy debate, World Schools Debate, and Congressional debate. Training will be online and meet once a week for one hour. The specific time and day are dependent on the attendees. Please let us know your availability in the form below. Space will be limited to 10 people to ensure that participants get individual attention and support.

David Childree will lead the judge and training program. He has taught and coached public speaking and debate for 20 years. He has 10 national champions, and he coached 9 students to become #1 debaters in the US. He has coached over 300 students to Debate Nationals in the US. His debaters frequently win trophies at top national tournaments: Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Emory, Debate Nationals, and more. Mr. Childree was founding faculty of the Harvard University summer institutes for debate, where he directed, coached, and wrote curriculum for U.S. and international debate programs. He also directed debate institutes and camps in Wake Forest University, California, Florida, Ningbo, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and more. Mr. Childree also has certifications in classroom education, education for gifted students, education for students with special needs, and education for second language learners. He teaches online courses and camps, as well as offline camps, and currently offers courses and programs for a variety of speech and debate formats.