French,+Kristen


 * Kristen French **
 * Mountain Brook High School **

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I am the debate coach at Mountain Brook High School in Mountain Brook, Alabama. I have also been teaching English for fourteen years. I taught theatre for five years, and I taught speech for seven years. =====

If I had to choose, I would say I am a Tabula Rasa judge.
**Style:**
 * Speed: When in doubt, **slow down.** I know speed is part of debate; however, I think it is important to actually understand what you are saying. If I can’t understand you, I will tell you to slow down. If I have to tell you twice, I will deduct points. Remember, your judge is normally the ONLY person in the room NOT looking at your case.
 * Try not to mumble or use verbal stalls. I want to actually understand what you are saying. I am actually going to flow the debate.
 * Prep Time: I have no problem if debaters choose to use some of their prep time for additional clarification questions. Just don’t leave us waiting for too long. If you are going to flash files between teams, I will not consider this part of prep time, unless you take an exorbitant amount of time..


 * Behavior: **
 * I do prefer you are not rude to the judges. I will take points off for this.
 * Do not act condescendingly towards your judges.
 * Do NOT argue with the judge(s) about the decision once the debate is over.
 * Do not speak loudly to your partner while the other team is speaking. (So rude!)
 * Have fun!

**Content:**
 * Theory: I am not a big fan of theory and will not often vote on it unless you make a really solid argument. I am a stickler for having plenty of hard evidence to prove your points but don’t run on facts alone. If you don't know what you are talking about, please don't include it in your case. This becomes obvious when you do things like try to run Foucalt but can't pronounce it or try to run Rawls but can't explain it.
 * If a varsity student writes your case for you, please make sure you know what is says, and you can actually explain it.
 * Stick with the topic. I will give the decision to the negative team if a strong topicality argument is run.
 * Don’t lie. Don’t say your opponent said something when they did not. Don’t make up facts.
 * Don't go new in the 2 and think you can win.
 * I am not a fan of performance style/ non-traditional debate. I believe you should start from the resolution and go from there.