The CASMA debating program prepares students to use language with increasing fluency and accuracy, as a powerful tool of persuasion. Students will develop oral communication and writing skills required for success in all school subjects. They will improve listening and speaking skills through participation in open discussions, controlled debate and a wide variety of rhetorical activities. Indeed, debating helps students express themselves with confidence, but it also teaches them to think critically, to respond precisely and most importantly, to listen attentively. Every lesson, the students’ toolboxes become increasingly filled with rhetorical devices, knowledge of current events and logical fallacies. If you aren’t a critical thinker when you enter the program, it’s only a matter of time before you become one.