The Power of Debate

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” –Atticus to Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Chapter 3)

We know we should consider things from different perspectives in order to gain a more accurate picture of a situation or an issue, but it isn’t always easy to do, is it? More often than not, we nod our heads in agreement with Atticus’s wise words, but, in reality, we stubbornly cling to our own ideas without really considering other perspectives.

Studying literature helps us to see and realize perspectives we may not have ever considered, but the art of debate forces us to truly think about and argue two sides to an issue.

Some Background—Debate in the Classroom

While the members of the Speech & Debate Team prepare cases for a new debate topic every one or two months (depending on whether they compete in Public Forum or Lincoln-Douglas debate), students in my Speech Communications class only prepare for a full, Public Forum debate at the end of the year. When I introduce debate, we do a number of class debate activities, but due to the size of the class, each student only participates in one full-length debate in May. I give students a list of recent PF (Public Forum) and LD (Lincoln-Douglas) debate topics, and they can either select resolutions from that list and/or create their own resolutions. Once students form teams and I determine the debate pairings (which teams will debate each other), the pairs of teams select their debate resolution together from the compiled class list. This May, students debated on a range of topics, from the legalization of marijuana (yes, cliché, I know), to making cigarettes illegal, to stand-your-ground laws, to gay marriage. Since these students only do one debate, I allow them some choice when it comes to their topic, and, depending on the students’ skill and confidence levels, I’m okay with them debating what would be a cliché topic for a persuasive essay.

Students prepare both sides of the debate (affirmative and negative), just like they would in competition, even though they will only argue one side. At first, some of the students are frustrated with what seems like a ton of extra work, but I keep explaining that since they don’t know what side they will be arguing (until the coin toss just before their debate), they must be prepared, and the “extra” preparation helps them to consider opposing arguments for each case. The students are also frustrated with the idea that they may have to argue the side that goes against what they personally think or believe. That, I tell them, is the beauty of debate, and it is also where skill truly comes into play.

Seeing the Power of Debate

After he/she debates, each student writes a reflection on how the debate went, what they would do differently if they had another round of debate, and which side they felt won the debate and why. In these reflections, students share the struggles they had with the debate.

This year, one particular student’s reflection was very insightful and encouraging. This particular student did not have a lot of confidence in his speaking skills all year, and, although he had prepared for his debate, he didn’t seem very excited or confident before the debate began. And then the debate started, and about ten minutes in, he just came alive! I was hearing a lot of holes in the opposing team’s arguments, and, to my pleasant surprise, my not-so-confident student pointed out each hole and provided excellent rebuttal and attack throughout the debate! He was on fire! What I was most impressed with, however, was this student’s reflection. In his reflection, he shared that when the debate started, he knew it was going to be a challenge because he had to argue the affirmative and that side went against his personal beliefs. However, going through the debate, he completely changed his mind and agreed with the affirmative. (Note-The purpose of debate is not to "convert" students to another view. The purpose is to get them to think deeply and critically about two sides of an issue.)  I asked this student about his reflection.

“The debate really made you change your mind?”

“Totally!” He said. “Before the debate, I was always against it. But preparing for and then going through the debate, I realized I didn’t have a good reason as to why. The debate made me realize that I didn’t have an argument at all—just a belief without support. I had never considered the other side before.”

Wow! And the debate topic? The legalization of gay marriage. Now, the topic could have been anything. (Although I do wonder if those who say they are against gay marriage have really thought through their reasoning as this student did through the act of debating the topic.) The point is that the debate made the student consider another view and the one he had held. He truly thought about the issue, analyzed the issue, and, in the end, he knew what he believed and why. He’s not holding to a belief just “because.”  

Giving students the tools to become stronger, more confident speakers

This past Tuesday, my English department spent our in-service day discussing oral communication skills. We started with a discussion of Erik Palmer's Well Spoken. After reading some good reviews of Palmer's book (and seeing that Kelly Gallagher wrote the foreword), I purchased and read the book last spring and then recommended it to my department chair. She then purchased copies for every teacher in our department, and we decided the book would become the focus of a department workshop. We worked together to create what became a very productive in-service.

There are a plethora of books on public speaking out there, and as a Speech & Debate teacher and coach, I've read (and own) many of them. Palmer's new book is perhaps the best resource for teachers of any content area. It is concise (only 148 pages), clear, and organized, with practical ideas and suggestions that can easily be implemented into any classroom, not just English classrooms. The question of how to teach oral communication skills more effectively seems to come up quite a bit in my English department, and Palmer's book is the perfect little handbook full of answers and ideas to get teachers started! (You can also check out Palmer's website.)

Here are some highlights and additional thoughts on teaching public speaking skills in the classroom:

• I have heard a lot of teachers complain about how their students lack presentation skills. Others are noticing, too. In his introduction, Palmer discusses the National Association of Colleges and Employers survey. The results of "NACE's Job Outlook 2011 survey suggest that 'New college graduates looking to crack the still-tight job market need to hone their verbal communication skills...verbal communication skills topped the list of 'soft' skills they seek in new college graduates'" (5).  Palmer goes on to discuss similar findings in a survey of 104 Silicon Valley employers. Perhaps the most striking observation is that "employers sought improved oral presentation skills more frequently than they did written skills" (6). We need to readjust our thinking and teaching of oral communication and presentation skills. Instead of thinking "the presentations are so bad," we need to think about how we can better teach the skills. Also, we must provide opportunities for students to present and improve. The weak skills will not magically improve if students are only giving presentations once or twice a year, or even just once a quarter. Instead of thinking of presentations as an "add on" to our curriculum, we need to consistently integrate speaking opportunities. And not all speaking opportunities need to be formal. Think-Pair-Share discussions, group discussions, whole-class discussions, Socratic Seminars, group presentations, informal and/or impromptu presentations...all of these provide opportunities for students to practice their skills!
• Students also need an opportunity to reflect on their presentations. It's one thing for a student's teacher and peers to tell him/her what they need to work on, but it's a whole new, more meaning experience when a student sees these areas for him/herself! Palmer suggests that students tape themselves at home. I encourage teachers to videotape presentations in class! Aside from providing meaningful opportunities for students to practice their presentation skills, I believe that videotaping presentations, and having students watch and reflect on their presentations, is the best way for students to work on and improve their presentations skills. I record presentations in my Speech & Debate class (and team), of course, but I also record presentations my English 10 and IB English I students deliver. At first, students can be a bit anxious about the idea that their presentations are being videotaped, but they quickly see the incredible value of videotaped presentations! Students watch their video and write a critique in which they focus on their strengths and weaknesses and create goals for future presentations. NOTE: Be sure to include a statement and explanation about videotaped presentations in your course policies/syllabus! 
• We need to create a culture of comfort in our classrooms. Students need opportunities to practice their presentations skills, and they need to have a safe, comfortable environment in which to do so. There are many things that go into creating a "culture of comfort." Always starting with positive comments is essential to creating a "safe zone" in the classroom. Palmer tacks this idea on as almost an afterthought in his discussion of creating a "safe space": "Finally, let students know that positive comments are appreciated" (101; emphasis added). Starting with positive comments should be the first step in creating and maintaining a safe zone in the classroom. Not only do I require students to start positive when giving oral critiques, but they also have to start with positive comments when they write critiques of their own presentations. It makes a difference for confidence and comfort in the classroom.
• Students need to understand that visual aides must enhance presentations in order to be effective. All too often, students get so excited about creating their visual, be it a Power Point or a poster, and they start planning the visual before they plan their message! Palmer has a great chapter about using visual aids. I'll just add a helpful tip our librarians share with our students: the "10/20/30 rule" for Power Point presentations. 10/20/30: No more than 10 slides. No more than 20 words per slide. Size-30 font.
• Assessing presentations--Palmer emphasizes the importance of teaching and evaluating content and delivery separately, and he provides some helpful rubrics as well as some critiques of rubrics. As Palmer points out, though, "not all speeches have to include all elements of effective oral communication" (114). You can add skills onto the rubric as they're covered and practiced. You can even let students decide which elements they want to be assessed on based on their goals from their critiques. 

There is so much more I can say about the importance of public speaking and our responsibility as educators to incorporate meaningful presentations opportunities into our class activities and lessons! I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, questions, and ideas! I'll plan to share some public speaking teaching tips every now and then in my blog posts.

An overview of my "chaotic" life and a wake-up call or two...or three...or more

Most people have their own chaos, or their own chaotic areas, in life. And each of us are unique, of course. So, what makes my life chaotic? While I don't believe my life is in a state of complete disorder, it is definitely busy and can be chaotic at times. Here's an overview of what keeps me busy:

1. Teaching--I'm a high school English teacher. I teach English 10, IB English I, and Speech & Debate. Having three preps means I spend a lot of time planning and organizing for these three classes, and I have a lot of different assignments to grade.  And, no, you can't just do the same thing each school year. I like the variety of having three different classes, but sometimes it can feel like a lot.
2. Coaching--In addition to my three teaching preps, I coach our school's Speech & Debate Team. Coaching is rewarding and, at times, it's the most fulfilling part of my teaching career. But, it takes a lot of time and dedication. The team practices each week and we have tournaments most weekend. Last school year, somewhere around twenty weekends were taken up by Speech & Debate activities. (I never did the official count because I didn't really want to know.) The team has grown and met great success over the past few years. 
3. Graduate School--I started working on my MA in Literature (not Education) in the fall of 2008. I should finish next spring (2012)! I take one or two classes each semester, including during the summer. Something that has been making my graduate school experience particularly interesting is the "foreign language proficiency" requirement. (Did I mention I'm working on a MA in Literature--English Literature??) So, since I managed to avoid this foreign language requirement in undergrad when I transferred schools, I have been taking Spanish courses in addition to my literature courses. I have taken 101 and 102...just two more to go to reach "intermediate proficiency."

In addition to the above, I also have the "normal" things to take care of--keeping up with things around the house, taking care of the "dog child," etc. My wonderful husband is very supportive and helpful with all of these areas!
On top of these things, Bradley and I also have to handle having very different work schedules. The end-of-day school bell rings at 2:10pm; Bradley often begins his shift at 2pm. He works a good number of Sundays, too, so tournament weekends often mean that we have very little time together.
And (finally?), I have a number of health issues to deal with, including a plethora of food allergies and intolerances which keep life interesting.


I like to keep busy. If I had a "personality label," it would probably read "works best when busy." When I'm not busy, I feel sluggish and unproductive. And I like to sleep...a lot. I honestly feel more productive when I have a full schedule. Sure, I get stressed from time to time and there are times when I feel burnt out, but I enjoy what I do. But  I've realized that for both my sanity and my health, I need to learn to relax more. And I actually struggle with this. I need to learn how to relax because it definitely doesn't come naturally. Even when I think I'm relaxed, others, including my husband (who knows me better than anyone), sense that I'm not. And I don't want to come across as someone who is uptight all of the time.

I've had some "need to relax" wake-up calls. Thankfully, none of these wake-up calls were serious, but as they've accumulated, they've been enough to tell me that even if I think I'm relaxed, I'm probably not, and I should think about this more and work on relaxing more.
Here are some of the wake-up calls I've had over the past few years:

1. Heart palpitations--In the fall of 2008, after moving into our house, starting at a new school, and starting graduate school, I started having pain in my chest and shortness of breath. I figured it was my asthma kicking in. When the pain really became annoying, I went to an allergist/asthma doctor and was told that, no, it's not my asthma--it's stress. The heart palpitations went away (I had a lot going on that fall), and they've only returned for a couple of brief periods of time since then.
2. "Take a chill pill"--I was driving to a Speech & Debate Team tournament with a few of the students from the team. One of the students was a new member. As I was going over times and some tournament information, this student jumped in and said, "I don't mean any disrespect by this Mrs. Fulton, but I think you need to take a chill pill." Hmmm...no student had ever said anything like that to me. I wasn't offended; I was interested. This student didn't really know me yet...or so I thought. When I asked what made him think that, he replied that I seemed like someone who gets stressed and uptight over things and I should really relax more. His bold statement and observations have stuck with me...and we still laugh about how he told me this shortly after meeting me and joining the team. :)
3. Lessons from a voice teacher--One of my former voice teachers from just a couple of years ago was determined to get me to relax! She wanted to cure me from holding onto my stress. She picked up on my nature during my first lesson with her. I wasn't fully aware of it then! While she didn't cure me, she did help during the time I took lessons with her.
4. Advice from a Spanish professor--As I walked out of our last Spanish class before our final exam just a couple of weeks ago, the professor walked out behind me and then walked beside me and asked if I would mind if she gave me some advice. I said "not at all," but I had no idea what this sweet, older woman was going to say. You guessed it--she said I should relax more. She went on to say, "Sometimes you just have to say f*** it! You don't have to do everything perfectly. Don't take life so seriously! Enjoy life!" The fact that this sweet woman said the f-word was surprising, but it made me take her seriously. And the fact that she made this observation after knowing me for only six weeks really made me think about what she said.

So the first step in solving a problem is to acknowledge that there is, in fact, a problem. My problem: I don't let myself relax enough. I need to learn to function on modes other than "110% 24/7." Now to learn to relax...