This was another excellent Debating & Interview Club session.
Our skill focus this week looked at working as a 'team'. Most debating is held in a team format and those participating will be expected to work with others to succeed. For those wanting to win a debate, to be convincing as possible, harmony and teamwork are an obligation - we discussed the apt line: 'teamwork divides the task, multiplies the success'.
What was the highlight of your 'Half Term'?
This saw a superb list of activities, but importantly with excellent justification for 'why' they were highlights.
The list included amongst others:
Skiing, playdates, Club and Sporting activities/camps, and long walks and park outings.
Our newsrounds were extremely impressive including reference to: football news, the War in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, and Space discoveries.
(i) Our first motion asked whether 'sport is more important than music'?
The ancient philosopher Plato argued that music 'gives soul to the universe and wings to the mind'. Here we discussed health benefits, both mental and physical, and teamwork - whether as part of a sporting team or as part of a band, group or orchestra. We also looked at acquiring new skills. Voting split three ways with many wanting to argue for both sport and music.
(ii) For our second debate we turned to the motion: 'This House would focus on space exploration over ocean/sea exploration'.
Here the majority vote went in favour of the exploration of space in the first telling. However, by out second vote, we saw again a three way split with many feeling that both needed investment and exploration. The group saw the vital importance of space discovery and role satellites play for instance in our daily lives, but it was felt that the seas and oceans of the world crucial to world trade and to our water supplies. The group was surprised by the difference in investment between the two options, with space exploration having huge levels of investment at present.
(iii) 'This House would spend more money on education rather than on healthcare'.
The Junior Group began by rejecting the motion (75% against) with considerable concern over long waiting lists in the NHS and the importance of health for a productive life - both in terms of happiness and in terms of productivity in work. However, as the debate went on whilst acknowledging this is very much a 'chicken and egg' discussion the voting moved, with the argument centred on the need for education to make medical advances and to provide the next generation of medical professionals. In the second telling we saw again a mixed voting picture with a majority in favour of healthcare spending, but a movement towards the motion by many in the group.
Well done on another excellent session!
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