Rachel Brooks
Teaching Experience: Pre-K, Kindergarten; College: Certification Examination Preparation; Middle School: Language Arts, Reading; High School: English 1, English 4, Debate 1-4, Yearbook 1-4, Archery
Education: B.A. English, B.S.E. Secondary Education, M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, Cert. in Women and Gender Studies, Cert. in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies
Judging Expectations: I coach and compete in the UIL circuit so I mostly adhere to UIL guidelines and UIL handbooks. That means I will be looking at time limits, speaking abilities, sources and documentation, dress/appearance/nonverbals/posture, and topic/prompt/category representation/adherence.
All speech events: Speech is an art. I will notice and judge pronunciation, enunciation, pacing, projection, breath control, inflection, affectation, tone, etc.
Extemp: My background is English, so I like standard formats. I love road maps and theses, topic sentences and transitions. You should include an introduction which states topic/purpose/claim, a body which presents points/contentions and research/sources/citations, and a conclusion. I do not like the extemp triangle - I find movement distracting.
Interp: My background is English, so I will recognize tone shifts and semantic choices. I expect you to have identified these things and use vocal cues and variations to emphasize them and enhance your reading. You must connect the piece to the prompt and explain that connection. Please consult UIL expectations regarding binders.
All debate events: Your job is to convince the judge and attack the problem, not to convince or attack your opponent. Stay on topic, stay on message, stay on goal. Be kind, be respectful, and be civil. There had better be some solid research with reliable sources, that is non-negotiable. Aggression is not inherently a problem, but if it's personal or rude, I will deduct. Speed reading is not inherently a problem, but if it sacrifices clarity, I will deduct. Jargon is not inherently a problem, but if I do not understand, I will deduct.
LD: I better hear some philosophy and you had better explain it.
CX: I better hear some good questions and you had better use your time appropriately.