Should experiments be carried out on primates?
Should people have to do things they don’t like sometimes?
Should human cloning be legalized?
Is drinking milk healthy for people?
Of course, we all have certain ideas and points of views on these issues. What if we need to defend these ideas in a composition? Or in the context of cause-effect? Or, within a certain period of time? Or to develop counter arguments? That’s where the ENKA Middle School Debate Team comes in.
Our Middle School students from Grades 5 to 8 have begun their debating year already, with Debate Team trainings every Wednesday between 15:40-16:55, guided by our teachers as well as experienced instructors who actively participated in national and international tournaments.
Our Team members start by learning about the Parliamentary Debate system, which is the official debating style of many universities worldwide. In this system, there are two sides: the Government and the Opposition. Just as a bill is presented in the parliament, the Government team presents a bill, and the Opposition proves why it is dysfunctional. At the end, the Speaker (read: Jury) makes a decision at the end of the session, which is called Round or Match, looking at which side expressed their arguments better.
First and foremost, our students will learn the rules of the debate, how the debates are held, and the roles of team members. Later, they will work on creating affirmative and negative arguments, how they can exemplify them, and how they can link them to real life.
Özsel Doğancı, the Head of the Turkish Department, who runs the Debate Team, says that the debate teaches our students to explain their thoughts in a causal way: “Learning to present their arguments by establishing a cause-and-effect relationship is the greatest achievement students receive. The debate also provides a philosophy education that begins at an early age.”
Considering the age Team of students, the debate raises students to an intellectual point different than their peers when they engage in lengthy, detailed debated on world issues that don’t necessarily come up in their social circles, says Ms. Doğancı. She points out that debating even strengthens empathy skills: “Even with the deepest degree of dissent we experience in an argument, we need to know the basics of the concept to understand why we disagree. We need to see the positive sides of the ideas we don’t agree with– Not blindly oppose, but provide a solid and rational opposition. We already say that in the debate, your goal should not just refute the opposite idea; you must accept the pros of the other side and still prove that the idea is still not beneficial.”
This year, after the first introductory trainings end, the ENKA Debate Team of 24 people will start the schedule of one week training, alternating with one week of debate rounds. In the second semester, our ENKA Debate Team will compete with other schools at the ENKA Middle Schools Tournaments. Ms. Doğancı says that the matches keep the dynamics of the Team alive but adds, “At the same time, they listen to each other respectfully.”
ENKAns enthusiastic to argue first learn to listen effectively, to think while listening, and to become a team while presenting a logical case in a given time frame. Our students, who are educated by successful debaters from the debating teams of different universities, hear firsthand how the debating clubs at universities work and what to expect if they continue to debate at the universities in Turkey and abroad. Ms. Doğancı, who says that debating paves the way for students in determining their future goals, also adds that the debate team environment strengthens their sense of belonging as well as their self confidence when they can intelligently articulate and defend their ideas.
The ENKA Middle School Debate Team started its activities with an energetic start to the year. Our students will strengthen their knowledge with trainings from different instructors once a month during the year.
