king of Extemp Prep

You think you know everything there is to know about running extemp prep, but every tournament is going to present its own unique challenges.

Today, for example, at the Washington State IE Tournament, I was asked at 7:39 if I could run the extemp room, starting at 8:00. Sure, I said. What I didn't know: the usual location, a lecture hall, was take up by some kind of conference, so all 60-odd extempers and their massive tubs of evidence were crammed into one tiny, echo-y classroom upstairs. Luckily another was available across the hall, so I split 3A and 4A in two, figuring I could monitor both groups pretty easily.

But there still wasn't enough space. One team camped out in the hall for the first round. It wasn't working. Eventually we cleared a third classroom next door, so in all, I'm running three prep rooms at the same time.

I'm amazed it's working.

run a smarter extemp prep room

So you've been asked to run extemp prep. It's daunting. You have to post panels (rooms and speaking order) and topics (three per speaker, every 7 minutes), move speakers around in panels when their debate rounds run late, and keep anxious novices quiet and sane. If you fail, the entire tournament will run late.

Here are some tips to help you not fail.

1. When extempers enter, have them sign in by circling the number next to their code. This lets you immediately know who's late, and, more important who can be moved around. This is the single smartest thing you can do, which is why I'm placing it first.

2. Necessary materials: dry erase board and markers, masking tape (clear tape is too tough to peel off surfaces), scissors, pens, paper, a timer or digital clock, a booming voice, patience.

3. Announce the rules before you start posting. Re-announce them when the tardy teams show up.

4. Keep the rules simple. I have three: no talking, no electronic devices (such as cell phones or iPods), do not leave without permission.

5. Convince tournament authorities to provide an extra half hour between the first A rounds, if they're running successively.

6. Bring something to read when the first three speakers have already left and the pace slows down.

7. Place topics in at least two locations, so you aren't gored to death in the onslaught when you post Speaker #1.

8. Remind students to double-check the posting before leaving.

9. Circulate around the room to check for chicanery.

10. Have a direct way to communicate with the tab room, either via walkie-talkie or cell phone. It may save your life.

11. Do all these things well, and you will be cursed by your success and asked to run extemp prep forever and ever amen.

extemp world rocked: Christian Science Monitor to go online-only

Extempers have relied on the Christian Science Monitor for years. No other citation carries so much weight with such panache. The CSM, though, apparently lacks readers outside the forensics community, and is dropping its print circulation to focus on its digital reach.

Come April, the Boston-based general-interest paper — founded in 1908 and the winner of seven Pulitzer Prizes — will print only a weekend edition after struggling financially for decades, its editor announced today.

The Monitor's circulation has fallen from a peak of 230,000 in 1970 to about 50,000 now, while its online traffic has soared. The newspaper gets about 5 million page-views a month, compared with about 4 million five years ago and 1 million a decade ago.

The Monitor was one of the first newspapers in the country to put content online, beginning in 1995, when correspondent David Rohde was taken prisoner in Bosnia.

"Obviously, this is going to help with our costs, but it also enables us to put much more emphasis on the Web and basically put our reporting assets and our editorial assets where we think growth will be in a very tough industry in the future, which we think is the Web," said Editor John Yemma, who was The Boston Globe's multimedia editor before he moved to the Monitor in June.

Well, National Forensic League, when're we going to drop the facade altogether, and allow Google in the prep room?

finished, unfinished

Finished: Speech and Debate's run at state. Our top performer was Erik Luetkehans, who claimed 2nd in Humorous Interp with a nearly perfect excerpt from Larry Shue's classic The Foreigner. August Mattson, another junior, in his second mention on this blog, finished tied for 7th in Lincoln Douglas. Most of my team members are underclassmen, so watch out for next year.

Unfinished: Speech and Debate's postseason, since Masato Ulmer earned a berth in U.S. Extemp for the National Forensic League tournament in Las Vegas this June. Winner gets to face Teller (of Penn and) in a speak-off.

Finished: My NCAA bracket. That's what happens when National Board makes you put off and put off the more important things in life, so instead of ten carefully crafted masterpieces, you have one dashed off in three minutes. (C'mon, Butler!)

Unfinished: Speaking of, that National Board portfolio isn't getting any done-er. At least, not today.

Finished: The Seattle (Super)Sonics. They suck, and they're leaving, which sucks.

Unfinished: Tacky tie blogging for this week. Putting off important things, indeed.

Finished: This post.

Super Tuesday, indeed

1. Taught five classes.
2. Wore one tacky tie and vintage polyester jacket.
3. Took students to district speech tournament (the qualifier for state).
4. Ran extemp prep. (I am king of extemp prep.)
5. Returned triumphant students to school circa 10:00 p.m. Drove home.
6. Checked election results while battling some weird sort of Facebook virus that has overtaken my wife's computer.
7. Pondered the possibility of a third party run.
8. Slept, eyes open.
9. Mentally prepped self for tomorrow's early rise.
10. Blogged this.

I learned it at Nat Quals

As I mentally prepare for another day of judging speech and debate, I consider what I have learned so far:

• The average home costs only $40,000. I can finally afford a home. (Later on, I decided you could say the median home costs $10,000--and when someone asks how that's possible, say you're talking about homes built in the median.) (Guess rising problem of foreclosure is a myth.) (Three parentheses in a row.)
• Religion is important in America, because many Americans listen to Michal Savage.
• This is not a test case for the consumer credit PuFo resolution: "I don't think it's gonna happen--some guy's not going to blow all his cash on a trip to Europe, then come back home and screw his kids."
• The Economist is bimonthly, or maybe monthly, as are Time and Newsweek. (It's time to abolish "sources" in extemp. Without any accountability, they are total B.S.) (Be sure to tell your story, Josh.)
• Public Forum debate is intellectually and morally bankrupt. Also, it hurts.
  

up and atom

Or, I should say, "Up and at them!" Simpsons fans, is it ever too early?

Solid rounds last night for our novice LDers; optimism from my StuCoers. Today, more debate and speech. For me, more time in the Tab Room, cleaning up yesterday's mistakes.

We get an extra hour to sleep tonight. I will cherish it.

P.S. Don't bet on sports.


Update: We're back, with superiors in Extemp and Impromptu, and 1st and 3rd in Student Congress. We survived a flat tire (ran over a razor blade in the parking lot) and Narrows Bridge traffic.

If you're interested, check out this piece on the transformative power of debate, and a call for donations to the Seattle Debate Foundation.