Hi my name is Talia my pronouns are they/she and I did PF and IX in high school for 3 years. I went to nationals for IX all 3 of those years. (I'm really proud of that so this is just me bragging lol) But I know a little bit about everything.

ANYWAYS my #1 thing is respect. Don't be rude to your opponents, use proper pronouns. You're attacking their case not your opponents.

I'm going to flow your case. If you end up going over by a few seconds it is okay however if it is over 10 seconds I will put my pen down and stop flowing.

I can keep up with some speed but don't spread please if I can't keep up I won't be able to write down your case, the best way to keep that from happening is sharing your case with me.

If you have questions about anything please ask!

:)

About me: I generally judge Congress, speech, and sometimes PF. In high school, I primarily did extemp (mostly international) and congress at the local, state, and national level.

In college/graduate school I studied political science and philosophy and I currently work in editing/journalism. When they come up, I can handle more theoretical/philosophical arguments, especially if they're more in the domain of political theory or IR theory. That being said I do like debating the intricacies of policy as well. This paradigm is generally tailored to Congress (which I judge most of the time) but much of it can be applied to extemp and PF.

Things I like:

- Clash is great. Call people out! Don't be afraid to get a bit aggressive especially if someone tries to pull a stunt but don't veer over into sheer meanness. Direct refutation is especially preferred, particularly if you can point out how someone misread an article by telling me what it actually says.

- Sources sources sources. Especially interesting or underutilized sources like think tanks that aren't Brookings, AEI, CFR, etc. Or interesting news sites like The Intercept or foreign news like Rudaw. Or interesting journals. One time someone cited the American Journal of Potato Research in a round and I almost died from happiness. Doing some digging for something off the beaten path a) shows you care enough to do deep research and b) leads into my next point...

- ...interesting and unique points! Don't let debate get repetitious and show me some interesting and unique ways that a bill may affect something that is unexpected. An example: did you know that investing in infrastructure in Afghanistan like highways or public transit may actually let rural terrorism become more mobile and nationwide in urban areas? Or that Tibetan freedom activists are trying to improve their cybersecurity efforts to remove an epidemic of Chinese malware? Stuff like that is great.

- Extemporaneity is also really good. I hate canned speeches because they really reduce the possibilities of debate and the ability to directly refute arguments. And it allows you to be a more dynamic and engaging speaker. I prefer when people speak with notes in Congress and PF -- it's more natural than a memorized speech.

- Impacts!!!! Lots of Congress I have seen lacks direct impacts and linking sources/arguments to them. Tell me why something matters as well as how it matters. Ultimately this is a DEBATE event, and you should reflect that in your rhetoric.

- Enunciation. Don't slur your words together. I understand speaking fast but you can do that without letting speech get mushy. Be crisp.

- POs: I love when POs have personalities even if they are kind of supposed to fade into the background. Make some puns and some observations! This goes for everyone else. I love a good joke or witty statement.

- Pronouns: This should definitely be a norm in speech and debate at this point. If you're in congress, give them while you're walking up to speak. If in PF/speech, give them to me/the team before round. I.e. "That's Representative Maxwell Fenton, school code JD. I use he/him/his pronouns."

Things I don't like:

- Don't be racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, ableist, classist etc. etc. Particularly avoid using slurs. If you get really offensive or get into a direct personal attack on someone I have no hesitation about ranking you the lowest possible score and if I know you, informing your coach of what you said.

- I hate when people judge or mention clothing on ballots and I won't dock you for not wearing a suit or whatever. I think people that do judge based on this are fundamentally classist (and maybe worse). That being said you should tuck in your shirt.

- If someone doesn't want to speak whatsoever don't push them to do it. They made the choice to show up and hang out for three hours while everyone else participated. Don't edit the docket because of this.

- Don't speak from your computer. Use a legal pad or notebook. It's super unwieldy and I'm always afraid someone will drop one.

- "Legislation" is a mass noun. There's no such thing as "a legislation," but there are such things as "pieces of legislation." Same with the word "economist" -- it's pronounced ee-KON-oh-mist, not the dreaded "eh-kon-OMM-ist." I have other word pet peeves like this but these are the big two I've seen in Congress/debate more generally.

- "Basic economics" is not evidence. Neither is "logic." Both of those things require sources and people disagree what they mean and how they matter.

- Repetition. One time I saw a Congress round where 10 people from the same school gave the same canned speeches on the No Child Left Behind Act with the same points, same sources, and same text. You will be ranked down if you rehash the same points over and over and over and over. See above for my love of interesting arguments and sources.

- Don't just sit there, particularly if you're in Congress. You're here for three hours. Give a speech or at least ask some questions.

- Disorganization. Give me a roadmap and an intro, and do the "walk" to split up your points visually as well as rhetorically.

- For intros, don't just say the subject and then move into the speech: i.e. "The national debt. I don't like it because...."

- If you're texting or Facebook messaging in round there's no way you're getting a decent rank. If you're using your phone to access sources because of a broken computer or something please tell me beforehand.

- "Are you aware...?" questions are loaded and stupid and demeans the intelligence of the speaker. Don't ask them. Same with questions that are essentially extended comments -- your statement should easily end in a question mark.

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If you have any questions, just ask me when you get to round!

Last updated April 2023.

Joe Rankin

Bettendorf High School

jrankin@bettendorf.k12.ia.us

UPDATED: October 4th, 2022

I'm not sure what happened to my previous Paradigm that was posted, but it appears to have been erased/lost. My apologies as I just learned of this at the Simpson Storm tournament (Sat, Oct 1, 2022) this past weekend.

My name is Joe Rankin and I am the head coach at Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, IA. I have been the head coach at Bettendorf since the 2005-2006 school year. I primarily coach Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Congressional Debate, and Extemporaneous Speaking...however, I am familiar and have coached all NSDA sanctioned speech/debate events over my time at Bettendorf.

In terms of my coaching paradigm, I'd generally consider these the 'highlights:'

1. I prefer topical debate. The resolution was voted on by coaches and students through the NSDA voting process. That's what I want to hear about.
2. I can generally handle 'speed,' but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. I'd rather help you develop skills that you will actually utilize interacting with other human beings outside of this one particular subset of existence - so I'd much prefer a rate that is more akin to real-world applications.
3. You can make whatever arguments you want to make...but I generally haven't voted on many things associating with theory, kritiks (or however you want to misspell the word critique), or other generally non-topical arguments you make in the round. It takes more work for me to believe those types of arguments are true and not a whole lot of work to make me believe those types of arguments are generally false. So, I wouldn't encourage this type of argumentation in front of me.

I figure that is sufficient for now. If you have any questions, I tend to give you that window before the round begins while setting up to judge. If not, please feel free to ask before the round. The end goal of the round for me is a competitive academic environment that is focused on education. I don't mind answering questions that will help all of us improve moving forward.

Updated 11/11/2022

Email: nrantilla@gmail.com

Hello, my name is Noah Rantilla, nice to meet you! I'm a second-year college student at the University of Iowa, studying psychology and philosophy. During my high school debate career, I mainly focused on LD debate, though I greatly enjoyed Congress as well.

DEBATE:

I have the most experience with judging LD debate; PF and Policy aren't really something I know much about. To put it simply, I'm a traditional judge who prefers depth>breadth, logic>evidence, and truth>tech. Do I know about tricks, T, K, PICs, CPs, and other things? Yes. Do I want to see them in the round? No. Will I vote on them? Probably not. Are there some topics that clearly invite one of the above? Yes. Does that make it more acceptable? Yes. Does that mean I like hearing it? No.

How do I feel about speed? I prefer slow debate but I recognize debaters like to go quickly and that's fine. Spreading is a big no however, if I can't understand you I won't flow it and I am willing to drop a debater for that. I will not yell clear unless there is some technical problem or ambient noise, if you are just going too fast, that's the risk you assume. I'm 19 years old and was a VLD debater, so I would say I can handle any speed you wouldn't call spreading, but still.

What are my thoughts on evidence and logic? I value good logic and evidence > good logic with no evidence > bad logic with good evidence > bad logic with bad evidence. I am a truth over tech judge, meaning just because you said it in the round DOES NOT mean it is true, and just because your opponent did not respond to something DOES NOT make it true. I recognize the huge strategic implications of that, but just to be clear, if you say "a job's guarantee will cost us millions, plunging the economy into a recession and possibly sparking nuclear war," I will still give you full weight for that argument, especially if your opponent doesn't respond, because it is at least theoretically possible and makes sense logically. All I'm saying here is running "20 off" with 18 aprioris that don't make any sense, then claiming "I auto-win because they dropped apriori 11 and 13" will not win my ballot.

SPEECH:

I have very little experience with speech, both as a competitor and as a judge. I look for eye contact, appropriate tone of voice/emotion to what you're saying, not using a script, appropriate amounts of body language, etc. I recognize all of those come off as extremely subjective standards, but I really don't have any better way to put it. I will keep time, my clock overrules yours, but I will give hand signals if requested.

CONGRESS:

I only did a little Congress in high school, but I greatly enjoyed it. I judge Congress much like I judge speech, focusing on the performative aspect, though I am very interested in what is being said as well. Apparently it is normal to bring a notepad or computer up when speaking, and this is fine, but I still will judge people's eye contact. I enjoy "soft questions," though I find it funny when the speaker doesn't realize what's happening and gets defensive. PO will automatically get 4th place unless they or other competitors perform incredibly (good or bad).

Do not qualify, justify, or explain before or after you speak. This is the performance. I am the judge. Impress me.

All movements (Feet, hands, body, eyes) should have a purpose.

Interps should have arcs and PAs should have thesis statements.

Speech must be clear and understandable if reading quickly. I appreciate when rounds stay topical however I am open to theory as well as other types of arguments.

UPDATED: Nov. 2021

I am an assistant coach at Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, IA. I am now in my 6th year as a coach at BHS. I coach primarily speech.

1. When it comes to judging debate, I am looking for a speed level slightly above conversation speed. I do not care for fast speakers since competitors are supposed to be convincing the judge and not outspeaking the competition.

2. For the delivery of the case, I am looking for competitors to clearly lay out their case by stating what are their contentions and subpoints.

3. While debating, I am looking for clear connections to the impacts of your evidence and case.

4. Also, while debating I am looking for competitors to be civil and allow each other to ask questions and not cut each other off.