A group of students in Kemper County are using their critical thinking skills to tackle the issues of racism, gun control and state-mandated testing.

The debate team of sophomores, juniors, and seniors from Kemper County High are headed to a statewide competition on Jan. 31, 2020, in Hattiesburg called the Hub City Classic.

This is the first time the students are going to the competition. 

Before qualifying for the state competition, the students were split into teams and competed against each other on the school level. Students who won each competition had a chance to compete in a final debate at the high school.

The students held debates on Thursdays during the school year.

Lisa Nealy, who is in her first year of teaching at the school, said she wanted to establish the debate team for several reasons.

“I saw the need to highlight the academic talent of our brilliant and wonderful students at the school,” she said.

Once the team was established, Nealy and the students came up with a list of topics to discuss, such as same-sex or unisex bathrooms, gun control, prayer in schools, state-mandated testing in schools and sexual harassment in the workplace.

After the students chose their topics, they were required to research them to  prepare for the debates, which center around the pros and cons of those  issues. 

Taking part in the debate team requires students to use reasoning and logic skills while building critical thinking, listening and research skills, Nealy said. 

The team also provides an outlet for students besides sports, she said. 

“It teaches students to extend their knowledge beyond the classroom and think more broadly in a logical aspect,” Nealy said.

Sophomore Bryn’esha Bourrage said the team is helping her prepare for college.

“I think it’s good for me being on the team because in the future, I want to go to school to become a lawyer,” she said. “If you are a lawyer, you have to stick to a certain claim and this teaches you how to research.” 

Senior De’Anthony Bennett said the team is making history at the school.

“I am thankful we were the ones to make history and the first ones to do it,” he said. “We set a goal for the future.”

Nealy feels like the students ready for the next step in their journey. 

“We have trained our academic debate to be among the best because they are the best,” she said.