Knetzger,+John

Judging Philosophy for John Knetzger

Background: John Knetzger is the head debate coach at Homestead High School in Mequon, WI and a middle level choral director in that district. He is entering his 6th year as a highly active coach/judge in Wisconsin. He will judge frequently on the local and state levels this season.

Constraints: None. But if you feel you have one, speak to the tournament director. I won't be offended.

JUDGING INFORMATION: Last year I decided my real paradigm is best labeled "good arguments." When forced to label it more traditionally, I choose tabula rasa. Teams need to use this information. Tell me where/why to weight your arguments and I will. If you don’t, I shouldn’t have to either. I won’t simply default to policy.

I prefer arguments that are well developed in the round, whatever they may be. I would much rather hear a round with arguments that their advocates understand and can clearly articulate to me than one where teams read what they think I want to hear. I also believe that judge adaptation should go both ways. We should be willing to set aside our personal beliefs about debate and listen to the round in front of us.

That being said, I am comfortable listening to critical, policy, theoretical, procedural and whatever other styles of arguments that are germane to the round. Be advised, though, I won't do the work for you, make sure you explain what your specific argument is about, not all politics DAs, e.g., are the same.

I prefer to hear clash and refutation than the reading of preformatted arguments for the entire round. Demonstrate to me that you can think critically and you will be rewarded. Don’t and your arguments will be easier to beat. This doesn't exclude more generic positions necessarily, but does require you to do more than read and extend a shell for the entire round.

A PERFECT ROUND: I was asked once by a team to describe it. It has lots of clash, lots of interesting issues (no matter what flavor they are), and lots of education. It has four debaters who are polite to each other. It would also have four rebuttals with the best line-by-lines ever heard in the history of debate. It would take me a while to determine the winner of the closest round I've seen and even longer to fill out a ballot overflowing with remarks and the RFD.

SO IN THE END: I'm a teacher. I put the educational value of debate on the top of the list of reasons to coach and judge. Everything, preferences, speaker points, everything, stems from this lens. Please seek clarification where there are questions, before the tournament or round.