Orinda Intermediate School Debate Prepares Students for Life

    Ask Terry Eubanks about her debate students and a zing of joy buzzes in the air. A devoted teacher, she has nurtured many students during the last 28 years at Orinda Intermediate School (OIS).
    Terry jump-started a small debate program that bloomed into a rigorous training ground for hungry young minds. She also co-founded the East Debate League in 2005 to enable them to tackle a variety of issues impacting society. 
    This year, a few of the motions included the following: Supreme Court Justices should have term limits, club sports do more good than harm, the U.S. Government should implement carbon tax, China’s Belt and Road Initiative and California should ban short term residential rentals. 
    Students do not know which side of the argument they will be assigned at tournaments, so they prepare for both sides.
    It’s grueling work. However, the thrill for Eubanks is seeing the spark in her students who are motivated to learn. 
    “Their intellectual curiosity is astounding,” said Eubanks. “Sometimes, these kids come back to class and it’s obvious that they have spent hours. It’s not required, but they put in the time, and they arrive in class with either new or more informed perspectives.”
    Strong work ethics resulted in OIS having the highest win rate in the league this year, taking first place in four out of the five league tournaments. 
    This year’s highest-ranked OIS team was Ranav Agarwal, Chelsea Dao and Matias Thaler, who received the First Place Team Award at the final Spring Spar tournament. Dao also received an Outstanding Speaker Award while teammate Thaler nabbed the top speaker prize, The Gavel.
    What is most rewarding is helping all students learn how to go beyond simplistic binary arguments. Ultimately, it is about cultivating rigorous research skills and a deep learning mindset.
    A former OIS student, Joshua Morganstein, currently studies at Claremont McKenna. For him, OIS debate was the single most important activity he has ever done, and it prepared him well for college.
    “Terry taught me how to research, how to structure arguments and how to write,” he said.
    Morganstein also credits Eubanks for learning one of the most important life lessons. He felt invincible going into the NorCal Debate Championship in eighth grade. However, when they lost during the third round, the team felt as if the entire season had crashed and burned. Deflated, they didn’t even want to attend the fourth round. That’s when Eubanks pulled them aside.
    “She reminded us that when we lose, we need to do so with humility and grace,” said Morganstein. “Losing and setbacks are essential parts of both debate and life, but the key lies in persevering through it all.”
    His team went into their fourth round with renewed determination, qualified for the final round and won the Championship.
    “Looking back, I value the trophy we won far less than the moral lesson Terry imparted,” Morganstein added.  
    Eubanks credits the debate program’s success to strong support from the community and the school administration.
    “Our entire Orinda village has made it possible for our young scholars to develop their expansive minds,” she said. “I’m blessed to be a part of their learning journey.”