Guided by Kids 2027 Is Accepting Applicants!
This is the 10th year for Guided by Kids, a free educational non-profit to help Omaha metro area students in grades 5-8 learn to debate and get a chance to compete at local middle school tournaments.
Fred Robertson, a retired teacher and debate coach, who is a member of the National Speech Debate Association Coaches' Hall of Fame and Payton Evans, a former Nebraska State Lincoln-Douglas Debate champion, teach all classes.
We both love debate and the new challenges it brings each year to young minds who want to learn that there are mutliple sides to any issue that be can be researched intelligently and debated with skill and poise against opponents who you respect. We teach not only how to research and write strong arguments, but also how to speak well and adjust to your audience and/or judge in a debate round.
Competitive debate is not for shouting and/or name-calling--students learn to respect their opponent and stay calm, cool, and civil. We also learn how to find solid, credible evidence and use it effectively, to listen and take notes skillfully, and, most of all, how to love constantly learning new information, ideas, arguments, and strategies.
We know from our own experience that debate has given us great opportunities to make friends; to improve ourselves as thinkers, writers, speakers, and learners; and to make us better citizens and community members. We want to share what we know about debate with students who want the same opportunities!
Classes will start on January 7, 2027 at Omaha Marian High School, with classes always meeting on Thursday evenings from 6-7:30 pm. You can check out our schedule on that page of this website. To apply, go to the application page, answer the questions thorougly, and submit to join Guided by Kids. We will cap class size at 15, although we usually do not reach that amount. Still, it is a good idea to register for Guided by Kids early to make sure you can participate.
Being in Guided by Kids will never cost a student any money. It's free. We're a non-profit and we mean it. Thanks for considering joining us at Guided by Kids!
Fred Robertson and Payton Evans, Co-Teachers, Guided by Kids
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