THE VALUE OF DEBATE AS A CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

Students, especially ones who are relatively well-motivated, frequently say they want to discuss or debate issues that are of genuine interest to them. This must partly be so because the idea of discussing and debating issues of consequence is in tune with teenage idealism. Another factor may be a growing desire on the part of many teens to experiment with adult-like ways of relating to others, and the activities of discussing and debating have very adult auras. However, successful discussions depend on a range of skills which young people may need to acquire in a largely step-by-step fashion. This is even truer of successful debates. The skills in question are ones which few 16-year olds, let alone younger pupils, have much mastery of.

That is where the activities in this chapter come in. All can play a role in developing skills required for successful discussing and debating. The chapter culminates with a full-scale debate activity (9.11, ‘Single switch debating’). Aside from being useful in themselves, these activities form potential stepping stones for any of your students who may wish to go further: into the world of extra-curricular club debates in the Oxford style (i.e. based on academic disputation), Parliamentary style (i.e. based on House of Commons debating), and Cross-Examination style (i.e. based on courtroom interrogation).