What is this?
Our introductory summer camp is a debate course for students who are in 4th to 7th grade.
Our Goal
Cogitare Academy aims to provide a rigorous and intriguing course to spark the interest of young students in debate. This course would provide every skill required to break down each of the intimidating topics, covering a variety of areas that each different coach specializes in. This year, we wish to take the content of the classes offline, in order to effectively incorporate our ideas.
Why Us?
Cogitare Academy's difference is in terms of the topics that we cover, and the main methodologies we use to achieve that goal. To be successful in debate, there are often cross-references to economics, philosophy, and much more. Instead of teaching them through introducing one specific topic (though we will do that often once they are more capable), a process that is often tedious and confusing, we inform them the different concepts that they would generally need to grasp through anecdotes and examples (such as the trolley problem) that make these concepts conceivable. Of course, each topic is different, but the approaches are similar.
Cogitare comes from the Latin infinitive "to think", and the process of information consumption, analysis, and discussion is at the core of our teaching. Our classrooms will be dictated by spontaneous discussions by students through the Harkness Table method, a way of teaching that was originated and adopted by the most prestigious U.S. boarding schools. After a thoughtful discussion, students will use what they learned in a real debate scenario every three classes. Teachers are mere facilitators of the meaningful discussions that are initiated by the students, so feel free to challenge us, as we might be wrong. At the end of our course, we would select two teams of students to debate on stage in front of the judges, parents, and their peers. All parents are welcome to the demonstration!
Course Catalog
- Debate Rules and General Strategies - How a debate is structured, how the decisions at the beginning of a round would drastically influence how to plan out the rest of the debate, and how debaters use certain sides and speaking order to their advantage.
- Framework and Crossfire - What is right, and what is wrong? How do we define and justify an action? The philosophical implications of Consequentialism and Deontology still influence how we make decisions - from national leaders to ourselves, and how that applies to debate. How do we control a crossfire and steer a round to our own criteria of right and wrong?
- Case Writing - At the beginning of a season, how do we find the right arguments, evidence, and logical statements that make a long-lasting, dependable, and cohesive case?
- Rebuttal and Offense - How do we make a strategic offense to our opponents? The rebuttal speech attempts to demolish the opponent's opposition as much as possible, so they take more time to recover from the blow. The points we make in rebuttal speeches also stretch out to Summary and Final Focus.
- Impact Calculus - Between huge economic benefits and healthcare universalization, which one should we prefer, and how do we make the right judgments? Most importantly, how do we convince others that we're making the right choice in a tradeoff scenario?
- Summary - Some call it the hardest speech of the round because it is. The responsibility to handle the opponent's offense and summarize the main winning arguments is difficult - more so when you can only do it in three minutes. Almost in every case, a flawless summary = win.
- Final Focus - The last chance to make an impression on the judges, but one has to summarize everything in the debate into a two-minute, clear, and simple speech to solidify a win or to turn back a loss.
- Logic - Do we find the conclusion through a series of examples and anecdotes, or do we do the opposite, by reinforcing a conclusion through anecdotes and evidence? How do you prove that a butterfly can or can't cause a tornado? A logical delivery and structure are key to every round.
- Intro to Economics - What's inflation and deflation, supply and demand, and how do we use it to make arguments? From creating millions of jobs to lowering drug prices, how does economics play a role in our society?
- Demo Debates - A chance for you to demonstrate your abilities in front of an audience of your peers and parents.
Location
上海市黄浦区淮海中路283号香港广场南座1607
We rented a comfortable environment for the students to collaborate, debate, and present, located within the City Center of Shanghai.
We will also have a public space for students to demonstrate their knowledge in experimental debates.
Stay tuned for more pictures coming up.
Pricing
Our classes are priced at 200 yuan per hour, which means, with ten classes and two hours per class, we would be having a 4000 yuan course. However, besides class time, students are free to ask us any questions or reserve a period to ask questions for free. If a previous student goes to any future tournaments, we are happy to give advice and also judge their mock rounds.
Schedule
We keep a relatively more flexible schedule, but generally it would be on Saturdays starting from June 26th - July 24th, 4 hours each.
Our Expectations
- Be prepared to discuss. Read and be informed on the material that we are going to talk about, and be ready to give your opinion on the subject matter, such as universal consequentialism and the invisible hand from Adam Smith.
- Be confident, even when you are just taking a guess.
- Be respectful to others, at all times.
- Have fun with it!!
Feedback and Constructive Criticism
We will give honest and helpful feedback after every class to all students so that they can improve. All the feedback will be organized and sincere.
Contact us by Wechat:
Zona Zhou: zonarubyjane (Sales)
Hosei Kishida: Hosei_Kishida (Admissions and HR Assistant)
Ronald Qiao: _ronald_ (Admissions)
Tico Liu: Tico070526 (Admissions)
Sally Lu: sallyylyq (Academics)
Sophie Anderson: suiyuejinghao1984333 (IT department)
We look forward to seeing you there!
*If you are unable to communicate by Wechat, please contact ronaldqiao7@gmail.com or +86 15900973916 so we can figure out a communication method.
Cogitare Academy Directors
2020.5.18
