Rumi B.

As a parent of an 8-year-old ESL learner, I appreciated how the course blended SPAR debating with literary analysis of A Wrinkle in Time. The provocative questions pushed my child to think on their feet and justify viewpoints, which clearly developed organization and speaking fluency over the six-week course with manageable weekly sessions.

I signed my 8-year-old up with no prior experience and appreciated that the course covered basics of argumentation, memory and organization techniques, and speech construction for multiple event types. The chance to both deliver and judge speeches felt practical, and the final presentations with an awards session were a great motivator. Overall the intensive two-week format noticeably improved their confidence and understanding of persuasion.

Overall we had a very positive experience. The single 55-minute lesson per week sometimes felt a bit short to cover all the reading and debating activities, but the ESL-friendly SPAR approach was strong.

The six-week length and one-lesson-per-week pacing felt just right for my 11-year-old. The combination of literary discussion and practice debating helped him explore multiple perspectives. I saw real gains in his literary insight and confidence speaking.