Saturday, January 1, 2011
Debate
When we get back from the break we are going to start a unit on debate. This will help us all improve our powers of argument and persuasion without needing to sit in class and write and rewrite prompts. I would like you to think about what goes into a good debate and how that is different from the discussions we have been trying to generate with our Socratic circles. Any ideas/links/tips from the internet are valid to bring up here as well.
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41 comments:
this is going to be so much fun! i love debating. i have three tips, be confident, always pay attention what the other person says, (you do need to agrue agaisnt it..), and know what youre going to say, you dont want to slip up and accdentily give them something they can use to their advantage.
this is going to be a challenge for those who don't speak as much in class to express their opinions. Don't be afraid to say what you want there is no right or wrong answer in debate be confident and don't be afraid to have some attitude just don't be disrespectful.
I think that this might be fun!!! It's kind of like a bid argument, except more civilized. It gives people the chance to fully express their opinions and ideas on specific topics. The only thing that kind of concerns me is the topic of the debate. It has to be a good one because if it isn't, then there is nothing to say and it will be pointless. Overall though, I'm actually pretty excited!!!
I agree with Rory, the topic of the debate is very important otherwise nobody will have anything to say. Also it should be a topic we sort of care about because that will make it so we discuss it better in the debate. I found a link on debating skills, and I read it finding the first bit of the article to be really helpful. Check it out here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8619277.stm
I agree woth Rory, that this will be a good idea. It will allow people to share thier opinions, and not to be wrong about what they say. Also along with Rory, the topic we are debating has to be an interesting one or there will be nothing to talk about. Overall I think this will be a good idea.
In order to have a successful debate, the person should not only be confident, but should argue about something they really care about. The difference between a debate and a discussion is that in a discussion everyone is calm, just discussing the given topic/ story, not necessarily trying to convince anyone whether they are right or wrong. Whereas, in a debate there is a lot of tension and the debaters actually have to convince each other instead of just sharing ideas. Overall, I think this will be a great opportunity for many students to branch out, and show leadership in the classroom.
I like this idea! That is probably because i love arguing with people but beside that... it will be sooo much better than writing prompts, like you said Mr. Horvath. From what I know about debating, you have to be confident in whatever you may be trying to say. In addition, you should not treat a debate like a Socratic circle because...well...they are totally different! In a Socratic circle,you are basically just putting your thoughts on the table and you are free to kind of... change your mind (more of a descussion rather than an argument). However, in a debate, you should stick your grounds and stand up for what you believe in (more of an argument than a discussion)! Those are just a few tips from my own experience! Anybody have more?
I love this idea! I love to debate! I love twisting people's words and using them to my advantage! It's great because when I do that, they eventually start contradicting themselves, and their whole argument just falls apart!!! I'm super excited!! However, I'm not sure if I'll be any good at debating in a large group.
I like this idea! It lets you say whatever you want to say. Just like Zoe said, this is a lot different from a socratic cirlce. In the socratic circles you discuss a topic but you don't fight about it. In a debate you have your opioion and your trying to make the other side agree with you.
I love this idea as well... some tips: Do not hesitate, that makes people think you are not confident and are questioning your thought. Do not be afraid to speak up, if you are quiet the whole time, then you finally talk, people will think you don't know what you're talking about. I can't wait!
u need to have at least two different opinions in a depated. if u dont then it wont be a deabte u will be discussing about the topic and not aruguing about it
In a debate, you have to be persuasive. You need to have a strong tone, and opinions. You do not listen to what the other side has to say, unlike in a socratic circle. You defend yourself and persuade others. This will be more fun for me, and we won't have to write as many esssays.
this is going to be fun, i love debating, do you have any ideas on debate topics?
I think this will be a greta topic to discuss because in our socratic circle we are have some trouble using devils advocate which is debating and this can really help us.
I think this is a great idea because it will help give the quieter groups of people a chance to speak up and there is no wrong answer.
in a debate you need to have people that have different ideas on a topic. if people have the same idea then it won't be a debate. also like zschulz said, it has to be an interesting topic or else the debate will be bad and each side will lose interest in it.
I think devils advocate is important in a debate. It helps to see what the person really knows about what they’re supporting.
I like this idea as well! TO have a good debate you need poeple who have strong opinions on the topic and people who are willing to fight with others to get them to agree with what they have to say. Also like George said this is a good way to show how persuasive you can be because in order to get you point across and get people to agree with you you need to have a good sense of persuasion.
A debate is different from a Socratic circle because you stick with your opinion right? Plus its more competitive. Well since youd have to fully support what you think, then I'd say to have a lot of backup for any statements you make. In a debate, someone is sure to play devil's advocate, so youd want to drill in your point. Also, you should be confident in what you say because people will try to prove it wrong.
I as well will enjoy this topic. I find it exciting to have your ideas heard, while trying to convince the other person that your opinion is the right one, and the only one. I have to say that the most important part of a debate is having support to why you think something! Anyone can but an idea out there, but it’s difficult to support it enough with evidence to make your thought strong. The goal in a debate is to win in which the other person agrees with your thought on the topic.
i agree with you ^. i think that its good that our thoughts are heard.
I like this idea a lot! I agree with earlier comments that it may be difficult for quieter students to enjoy and participate in the debates. they need to come out of their shell. I am excited for the debates to start.
I really like this idea more than a socratic circle and it will be easier to talk about it because someone is always challenging you. The only way we can have a successful debate is if everyone is confindent about what they think and they have reasons to back it up.
Debate seems like it's going to be more challenging than socratic circle but thats is a good thing, but the only way to have a debate done right is if everyone is involved, and are sure of what they say makes sense.
Briana Moniz
The debate unit sounds like a good idea because i love to debate about ideas and it would get people involed in the socratic circle.
I think debating is more difficult than just discussing. You need a lot more strong supporting details and you have to be confident with what you say. I think devil's advocate is a great strategy for debating. I also think that when your debating it is important to have an idea of what you are going to say before you just blurt out that you don't agree. You have to know why and explain your opinions. I hope I get over my nerves though because I think this could be fun.
I think debating would be a great idea! Especially because I don't enjoy socratic circles most of the time, but I would love to start debating. There are so many great debate topics to debate over. For example,can social networking websites replace face to face interaction?
was an example of a debate topic I found online.There are so many greayt debate topics to talk about,especially with all of the situations going on in our world today. I really think that debating in school would help us improve some of our social skills, but also our debating skills.
I think having debates is a great idea, especially since some Socratic cirlces have turned into debates without anyone realizing it. With a Socratic circle, you should be putting ideas together but in a debate there are two ideas (usually) and you have to proove yours right. I think this will even help us in Socratic circles because it will really teach us that we need to have support for what we say, or it has absolutely no validity.
Debating sounds like a good unit. We debate about different topics in our everyday lives and this could help us learn to do it even better.
I think that debates would definetly help us write persuasive essays because we need to see what makes people convinced.When I think debate, I think controlled argument. I like debates better than Socratic circles because I like to prove a point.
I agree with Jenny on how this would improve our persuasion skills. I think we will do better in debates because a lot of people like to know that they are right. I don't like it when people tell me I'm wrong, so this will be a good chance to prove them the real answer.
I agree with Jenny too because like Nicole said, everyone likes to know that they're right. I'm pretty excited to debate because it fun when you get to try to prove people wrong and persuade them to do what you want or to agree with you.
I think that when we start debate it will give us all a chance to really stand up for what we think is right and like jenny said, i think it also will help us with our persuasive essays.
i think after doing a debate unit it will improve our persuasive skills. also i think it will get more people into the conversation than socratic circles did.
For a good debate you need a statement, evedince, and why you believe this. For evidence you can use a stat,anecdote (weakest suppot) and much more. Without this your argument is very weak and you will lose the debate
I am pretty excited for debating! Two things do make me concerned though. If the topic, as some people have already said, it has to be a good topic otherwise people won't want to talk because, who wants to talk about something boring? The second thing that I am not looking forward to is that we are not allowed to choose the side that we debate for. This is not good because sometimes, we might not agree with the side we have to debate about, therefore, our debate might not be the best, because we don't agree with the side we are trying to persuade people to agree with. (That was a S.E.W What statement)
When it comes to debate you can't be wrong that is why there are 2 things that are really important in debating. 1 you have to explain why you think of something and 2 you shouldn't really be able to agree with someone else because there are many other things you could say.
I like debate a lot. What I like about it is that you can be strong about what your presenting and it feels good to do that. You also have to be very persuasive. you want to convince the other side to do what you want them to do.
I think that i will enjoy debating much more than the socratic circle and i think that we will get more life skills out of it like argueing because debating is essentially arguing over a topic and taking the stance that you beleive is right. We can not onlyu use our debating skills in the classroom but also in real life. For example, when we are at home arguing with our parents, we will now have a better chance at winning that agrument because of our prior debating experience. Therefore by debating in class we can greatly expand our knowledge to the outside world.
I really like the idea of debates. I think it would be fun to prove your point and "argue" with the opposing side. In 6th grade, my teacher had us do a debate over an economic topic. It was really interesting to see what people could come up with to back up their opinion. Overall, I am looking forward to start debate
I really like the idea of having a debate unit! Some advice that I have is to know what your going to say so you don't mess up while your talking in front of the class and to just be confident in your opinions. Don't be afraid to express those opinions and have fun with what your'e saying.
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