
This was a great final session pre half-term with our St Andrew's Debating & Interview Club.
Our skill focus this week looked at Persuasive Language - from flattery, to opinion, hyperbole, triples, imperative commands and rhetorical questions. Well done all for engaging with this important part of public speaking and incorporating these techniques into your debates and arguments.
Our newsround saw reference to Iran and the death of the Iranian President, Man City and the premier league, the conflict in the Middle East, and the retirement of the cricketer James Anderson.
For our warm up we then turned to our interview style philosophical question with an emphasis on 'why'/justification?:
'Should we write by hand or type?'
Here arguments centred on tradition, a skill to preserve, a technique for memory and revision; against speed, efficiency, and real-life application.
Our main debate looked at the premier league VAR discussion as to whether the assistant referee technology should be scrapped? We then expanded this motion to include technology on decision making in sport more generally from tennis, to cricket and rugby union.
The group voted overwhelmingly at both tellings in favour of retaining the technology to improve decision making and avoid 'cheating'. However, an impressive opposition argued for removing VAR on the basis that it was still not perfect, and human error was part of sport, and furthermore, it raised the question of the point of the need for retaining a referee or umpire.
Well done on a super session!
Comments