At Socrates Hours, students can access any instructor on staff for one-on-one or small group work. Being able to work personally with instructors beyond their lab leaders and mentors means that students branch out and gain exposure to unique ideas and perspectives. Socrates Hours is one of the many opportunities that VBI students have to take charge of their own camp experience, because whatever their interests, they will find an expert to work with in our large and diverse staff.

We emphasize to our students that being the best is not simply mastering the same skills and strategies that every other debater works on. To truly maximize their potential, a debater needs to do things that other debaters will seek to emulate. The best debaters innovate. 

VBI provides a challenging, but encouraging, environment that pushes students to improve by exposing them to new ideas and challenges. We do everything we can to give debaters the tools they need to take their debating to to the next level and change the game. That starts with having the best teachers possible. From experienced teachers and coaches to the most successful and knowledgable recent graduates, every summer VBI brings together a diverse group of the best debate educators in the country. Regardless of their interests, every student will find an instructor who is not only an expert on that concept, but who is excited to help them dig in. 

But innovation is not just something we teach debaters, we take it to heart. No one thinks about debate camp more than VBI. Each year, we spend countless hours rethinking every aspect of our curriculum based on student and coach feedback and emerging debate trends, introducing new programs when necessary, and always seeking to improve on the things that work. 

Indeed, many of our most successful programs quickly become the new baseline for other summer programs. Whether it is providing students with a personal mentor, or offering a topic preparation session, we lead and others follow. 

However, while our curriculum is often imitated, it is never equalled. For example, when other camps adopted our mentorship program, participation was limited to only the most advanced students, or those who paid more to attend additional sessions. On the other hand, we have consistently improved our program year after year, guaranteeing every student a personal mentor, and creating “mentor teams” to simulate the process of working on a team during the season. 

Our goal is to make every VBI the best debate camp ever, so keep an eye out for the exciting improvements coming to VBI 2017! 

Our students and instructors often say that VBI is a family, which is true in many ways. Our small labs and mentor teams foster close friendships that many students maintain for years after attending VBI. And, because most of our instructors attended VBI as students, there is a strong sense at VBI of continuity, a common bond, between generations of debaters. 

We value this family environment both for its own sake and for its pedagogical benefits. Debate camp can be a stressful place: it is easy to be intimidated by the amazing debaters on staff and to regard other students as competitors. But VBI's family feel fosters trust between peers, and between students and instructors, because students knows that their peers and their teachers care about them. For that reason, students quickly become comfortable asking questions in lab, approaching national champions at Socrates Hours, and working with their peers towards the shared goal of getting better at debate. These benefits extend throughout the competitive season, as students learn from and support each other while competing at tournaments together. Seeing other members of the VBI family at tournaments makes students feel at home in competitive debate. That's one of the reasons why so many of our students return to VBI multiple times and are eager to return as instructors. 

VBI strives to hire instructors and serve students from all backgrounds, circuits, and idealogical persuasions. There is no one "VBI style" of debate. Instead, we believe that debaters learn the most from exposure to a diverse array of viewpoints. That is why we bring together coaches who disagree and have different backgrounds. 

Last year, students from 36 states and over 250 schools attended VBI. That is because coaches, parents, and students across the country trust VBI more than any other summer program. The VBI model works, on every circuit, and at every level. 

Regardless of whether you prefer to debate on the local or national circuits, whether you are more interested in traditional or progressive styles, or whether you are partial to highly philosophical or more public policy-focused approaches to debate, we think you deserve a debate education designed to meet each student's unique needs. Our instructors have coached students to success, or achieved success themselves, on every circuit and with every style. That’s why our students have won 11 Tournament of Champions, 10 National Speech and Debate Association championships, 10 National Catholic Forensic League titles, and countless state tournaments across the country.  Each of those tournaments requires a unique set of skills and our students have excelled across the board. 

As a result, every student at VBI is able to find instructors who are experts in the type of debate concepts and strategies they are want to learning more about, and students from across the country who share their interests. The diversity of the VBI family also means that students (and staff) are constantly exposed to new and unique perspectives, challenging their views, improving critical thinking, and helping them discover what they truly believe. 

Debate can be stressful: there is a lot of work, and the competitive aspects of debate can be overwhelming. But it is impossible to succeed in debate without loving the activity. That is why it's important for debate camp to be fun. 

Fun permeates nearly every aspect of VBI. From silly drills in lab to games at mentor team meetings, students learn from VBI how enjoyable debate can be. 

One of the staple traditions of VBI is the Omegathon, which pits labs against each other in the ultimate quest for glory. The Omegathon consists of a dozen activities throughout camp, ranging from a limbo contest and lab movie posters to a turtle race and water balloon toss. The most popular Omegathon event is the infamous "Pub Quiz" trivia night, which consists of absurdly difficult questions that (somehow) someone always answers correctly. The Omegathon champions receive a prize at the end of camp. 

Halfway through camp, students have a free day to relax and spend time with friends doing things other than debate. Examples of past free day activities include excursions to Santa Monica Pier, Chicago's Magnificent Mile, and tours of nearby colleges.