Schools Debates: A Healthy Way To Promote Students’ Public Participation

Human being has an innate nature of putting forth their statements and trying to convince others about them. Since time immemorial, people get engaged in different conversations. These had given great results as well. The different philosophical schools are the results of the debates held in the long past. When we argue about a certain topic with each other, the truth about the debated issue becomes clear. The Unites States has a great history of presidential debates.

It is a custom there that before every Presidential Election, the candidates get engaged into a debating session. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln debated with Presidential candidate Stephen A. Douglas in seven different debates on slavery held in seven Illinois congressional districts. Good debates are always based on logical thinking and reasoning. It also values the audience of the debate and tries to come up with new facts that may contribute to the betterment of the society.

There are basically two positions in a debate- affirmative and negative. The affirmative or "pro" side in a debate argues in favor of something while the negative or "con" side argues against something. For example, the candidates who are in favor of mobile phone will put their points in favor of mobile phones while candidates against this will argue against that.
Every debate begins with a speech known as the ‘constructive speech’. In this the debaters from each group will present the basic construction of their argument.
Argument is that part of the debate where the debater states the position and tries to justify why the position is right.

There the presenters of the points put the data based on research or other studies. As position-strengthening evidence, quotes or sayings of great men can also be put. A debate may occur between one person or a group of people. Terms of time limits for speeches, the order of speeches and how arguments are to be presented determine the format of the debates. To be a good debater, one needs to be a good listener and observer. By observing the arguments put by the opposition party and analyzing them logically, one can present strong arguments and can prove the points easily. But while debating one a particular issue, the participants need to respect the arguments put by their opponents. There should be healthy discussion while engaged in such conversation.

The educational institutes often organize debates on various issues where students participate and put their views. There are host of benefits that students can reap by participating in debates. These are as follows:
• The art of persuasion can be learnt by participating in debating sessions
• This engages them in having an in-depth knowledge about the subject
• Researches show that students’ academic performance get higher by participating in such sessions
• Students’ public speaking skills are developed by taking a part in debating sessions
At the end of every debate session, each team is given the chance of concluding their arguments as a summary. This closing statement is presented by one member from each group. Debates are designed to teach advocacy skills so that students are empowered to be good judges of their own futures.

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