Speech and Debate is a club at Gunnison High School where you can let your voice be heard. The teacher is a college professor, Michael King. He teaches philosophy, critical thinking, and honors classes at Western. Mr. King started teaching speech and debate last year, after four years of directing the Western Mock Trial program. He has also taught Trial Skill and Evidence, Constitutional Law, and Communications and English. 

Mr. King’s goals for speech and debate are for as many GHS students to join and gain confidence and to learn how to support each other, and he wants students to know what it feels like to get better at something. His main goal though, is for everyone to have fun. 

Mr. King loves teaching speech and debate. He loves teaching high schoolers because they are all at the perfect age to start to learn skills of confidence and use it to benefit the rest of our lives. Mr. King loves seeing young people discover their voices and the mojo to share themselves.

There are eight competitions for speech and debate. Some of the options to compete in are poetry, drama, debates, and speeches on whatever topic the student wishes to speak about. The first competition speech and debate has is on November 5th in Grand Junction at Central High School. Then, there are seven other competitions. There’s even a competition at GHS on December 17th. The speech and debate season ends with the 3A state championship on January 27th.

Mr. King, along with the rest of the speech and debate team, are extremely inclusive and welcoming to everyone else who wants to join. Colleges also love speech and debate on students’ records. So not only is it good for college, it’s also good to develop good skills for your future, and it’s really fun! For students who like expressing their thoughts and opinions, this is a chance for their voice to be heard. If students want to learn how to express themselves and gain confidence, this is also the place to be.