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1. A little rant on the college admissions scandal: For the past four years, my family via mornstein.org has sponsored a summer debate camp for public school kids in memory of our late son Matthew in the DC area through the @WUDL_Debate Washington Urban Debate League
2.This past summer, we had nearly 140 kids, from rising 6th graders through high school, mostly from Title I schools. We end the two-week camp with a tournament and awards ceremony, attended by hundreds of debaters and family members. When I speak. I give the following message.
3. I believe in equal opportunity. But it is not equal opportunity when some people start at the starting blocks, others start 20 yards behind and yet others 20 yards ahead. This camp, and the teams that follow during the school year, are designed to teach kids skills for life
4. Learning to speak in front of others, to do research, to argue all sides in a vigorous but civil fashion, to learn deep substance, all can move kids closer to the starting blocks. Watching these kids take to debate, develop self-confidence and thrive is simply thrilling.
5. So far, we have had terrific success, our debaters getting into good colleges and doing well. And the 2017 winner of the Matthew Harris Ornstein Award for the debater best exemplifying his values, Jonathan Collins of DuVal HS, was named by @NAUDL1 National Debater of the Year!
6. Jonathan, a wonderful and impressive young man, is applying to colleges, aiming for the very top. Doing it the right way, through diligence and hard work (for a tech an internship this past summer, he commuted 3 hours each way!) If I knew that he did not get into a top school
7. ..because some rich parent cheated to get his or her child in ahead of Jonathan, I would explode. It is an awful thing that some people start 20 yards behind and others 20 yards ahead in the race for success in life. When some start 20 yards ahead and then bribe the referees
8. That is so much worse than awful. I hope the law treats these parents accordingly. And I hope the rest of us do what we can, with our resources, to help other kids get at least to the starting blocks.
