Point and counterpoint
MRHS to host national debate competition
They’ve contemplated some of life’s most debatable questions.
Should all drugs be legalized? Is civil disobedience OK if you believe the laws are unjust in a country? Is bald sexy?
Now the Middleton Regional High School’s debate club is teaming up with The Nova Scotia Debating Society to host the 2016 National Debate Seminar from Oct. 26–31.
The seminar is held in a different province or territory each year, with delegates having the option to compete in English or French. Provinces and territories can send up to seven delegates to the national seminar.
Skylah Van Wagoner and Mia Fraser will be representing MRHS.
“Skylah is one of the most en- thusiastic debaters we’ve ever had. She would go to every single tournament. She never seems to tire of it and she has one of the sharpest minds that we’ve ever had on the team,” said David Stewart, a retired MRHS English teacher and longtime debate coach.
“I originally committed for five years and this is my 13th. The kids are just so wonderful that it’s hard to give them up.”
Van Wagoner and fellow MRHS debater Liam Taylor finished third at a national junior high debate competition last year. Fraser has also defended her point of view on the national stage.
“Mia is a fascinating kid, one of the nicest students that we’ve ever had. She debated with us right from Grade 7 and made nationals in Grade 9,” said Stewart.
Fraser, Stewart added, has a gift for introducing interesting perspectives that her competition often overlooks.
“She is a committed, militant indigenous student and a lot of her intellectual and emotional energy goes causes.”
Both Van Wagoner and Fraser are excited about the theme for the national seminar, Immigration/Emmigration: Then and Now.
They’ll partake in a prepared debate and plead their case for impromptu questions with only 15 minutes to compile an argument without turning to the Internet to gather background research.
“You have to know a lot of things about what’s going on in the world,” said Van Wagoner, a Grade 10 student.
“It’s learning but it’s also a lot of fun. It’s a different kind of learning than you normally do in school because it gives you the opportunity to actually argue with people.”
Fraser, a Grade 12 student, initially turned to debate thinking it was something that would look good on a resume. It’s proved to be much more.
“It makes it a lot easier to look at situations and be able to see the different sides of it… and to form opinions and articulate what you want to say,” she said.
Debate students learn how to form arguments on the spur of the moment while tackling impromptu questions at weekly practices, Stewart said.
“They certainly gain confidence in themselves, confidence in their ideas, confidence in their ability to express themselves in a public forum,” he said.
“They also gain friendship with students who are like them, both in our school and in other schools as well.” into indigenous