Category: Encouragement

Who’s Your Support? by: Emalyn Sharp

Posted on by Heather Neumann

It was my first year in Team Policy Debate. I was young and inexperienced, my partner even more so, and I was terrified. I thought we were going to die. And we would have, if not for our club. It was an online club, full of experienced debaters, many of whom were seniors. I had nothing to offer them. I could barely research, so I wasn’t useful in the evidence sharing department. My strategy was sub-par. It was not useful to practice debate us; In fact, I’m sure it felt more like pulling teeth.
But they didn’t mind.

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Devotional- Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Last year when the world seemed to shut down and that nothing would ever be the same, I saw so much disappointment and heart ache. I encouraged my students to remember why they do speech and debate. Their assignment- write a devotional! Why do they want to be good communicators? Who are they doing this for? How did God use them this year? And do they really think it’s all over?? This fall, as we enter a new season, I want you to remember that speech and debate may look a little different, but I can guarantee you, I agree with my student, the Lord still wants to use you…

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For all you, Speech and Debaters (and Coaches and Clubs) Start Where You Are – Aim Where You Want To Be

Posted on by Kristi Eskelund

Who's having trouble getting started right now? On anything...

In the wake of extensive 'shut downs' and tectonic shifts of our existing paradigms, most of us are having trouble gearing up to start anything back up. Nothing is working the way it has in the past. Nothing is clear about what comes a month from now, or even next week. There seems to be no long-term vision or goal that feels attainable. That makes it hard to start. And yet...start we must. It's a new beginning.

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From Virus to Virtue (The Need For Lifetime Debate) by: Laurie Dawson

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Laurie Dawson went from teaching a couple Lincoln Douglas Debate students to 40! This year, she is teaming up with Lasting Impact! to create two LD Clubs for Stoa. She has a passion to help students become life long thinkers. Laurie’s approach as a coach is innovative and heavily focused on personal engagement, aiming far beyond the high school debate realm and into adulthood. Passionate about teaching students to think and reason for themselves, Laurie believes competitive debate catalyzes both intra- and interpersonal development. The skills Laurie refined in business and non-profit leadership are the same skills imparted to her Lincoln Douglas debaters:
– to assess, research, and organize large amounts of information
– to employ traditional logic when constructing and deconstructing arguments
– to reason and persuade whilst maintaining moral and ethical integrity
Laurie coaches toward the mastery of these foundational skills and then builds upon them – line up on line. Her modern approach to classroom learning has resulted in many, even first year debaters, becoming national qualifiers…

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Online Apprehension For Speech and Debate? By: Stacy Edmond

Posted on by Heather Neumann

The concept of online speech & debate clubs, classes and tournaments, were, not too long ago, just about unheard of. Now, they are our new reality. Until recently, I was one of the many that thought the whole notion of any of our beloved speech & debate activities being done online, absolutely absurd and totally impossible. Boy, was I wrong…

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Add Fun to Virtual/Online Club – 11 Virtual Games Club Leaders Should Try

Posted on by Heather Neumann

It's a whole new world!! Is the thought of running your speech and debate club online getting you down? Heather Neumann, Founder of Lasting Impact!, has created a whole list of virtual games, activities, and fun, regardless of what online platform you are using (these could all be done in person too). Check out these great ideas on how to engage, interact, and connect with your students online this year. Remember, although club may look different from years past, students still want the opportunity to get together, express themselves, and grow through the art of communication! These game are easy and fun! Let me know what you think, and remember- You Got This!

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Imagination by: Denise Montgomery

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Denise Montgomery has a passion for literature, speech and debate, and English. Which is why she created Creativity for English and Beyond – one of the CLASSES offered through Lasting Impact! this fall. Did you know Lasting Impact! offers over 20 different opportunities to connect through classes and clubs? Check them all out in the SHOP. I hope you hear Denise’s heart in this article…

Being creative can be duck soup if we allow ourselves to be free. Ah, and therein is placed the stumbling block: free.

Imagine this: you wake up and see the day through a child’s eyes, experiencing everything of the day in the miraculously free way a child can. Wow! Sign me up for that day of days gone by…

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Being Adaptable – Try New Things! Sign Up for Online Tournament

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Four months ago if you were to tell me, I would be directing a play and a speech and debate tournament ONLINE, I thought you would have been crazy! Yes, that’s right, not only have we been working on a fully automated tournament system- I have been directing a play through Zoom. Ideal? No. Worth it? YES!

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Club Leader/Coach Appreciation – 50% OFF

Posted on by Heather Neumann

Whether or not the speech and debate season ended for your clubs, this is the time of year that a lot of Club Leaders and Coaches tend to feel a little burned out. Lasting Impact! appreciates you and wants to help in the rejuvenation towards next year… there will be a next year, right? ?

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Coping with loneliness… a devotional from Speech Club

Posted on by Heather Neumann

With the Speech and Debate Season ending abruptly, I felt the need to ask my students to reflect on what God has shown them this year (just like I did with the Senior Devotional Challenge). All of my online speech club students came up with amazing devotionals. I was blown away by what my students had learned, and how God spoke to them, encouraged them, and comforted them. The devo below stuck out to me, this too has been on my heart. My student allowed me to share it with you. Lasting Impact’s Spring Quarter starts next week. If you have a student that longs for connection, I encourage you to check out our class list. Each of these classes are community. Do not let finances hinder. Contact us, if aide is needed. Now more than ever our students need a sense of belonging. Classes are online, only 5 weeks long, and for ages 10-18. Click HERE for more info… to be encouraged keep reading…

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