Topic: Current affairs and Debate 4

This topic has 10 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated April 22, 2021 by OliviaR.

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- at 01:32 #11478
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Hello everyone, and welcome to Current Affairs and Debating! I’m Liv, your teacher, and I can’t wait to meet those of you that are new this coming Saturday. For those of you that have been in this class before, welcome back, and I look forward to seeing you all again.
  
  Preparation for Lesson 1:
  
  Read at least 5 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful – so please do the reading!
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read the first 5 articles, and try to read at least one article from each ‘side’. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Should the Tokyo Olympic games take place this summer?
  
  Schedule:
  - Have class discussion and debate
    
    What were some compelling arguments for and against that you came across in the homework?
    
    Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 11:03 #11690
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Preparation for Lesson 2:
  
  Read 5 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful – so please do the reading!
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 5 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Should the House vote to impeach Trump?
  
  *Note: this is a distinctly different question from whether or not he should be held criminally responsible for the riots. Whilst obviously related, the implications of impeachment are different to those of criminal responsibility!
  
  Schedule:
  - Have class discussion and debate
    
    What were some compelling arguments for and against that you came across in the homework?
    
    Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 11:18 #11798
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Preparation for Lesson 3:
  
  Read 5 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful – so please do the reading!
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 5 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Does social media do more harm than good for kids under 16?
  
  Schedule:
  - Have class discussion and debate
    
    What were some compelling arguments for and against that you came across in the homework
    
    Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 07:15 #12267
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Preparation for Lesson 4:
  
  Read 5 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful – so please do the reading!
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 5 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Does school determine your success in life?
  
  Schedule:
  - Have class discussion and debate
    
    What were some compelling arguments for and against that you came across in the homework?
    
    Focused debate
    
    Feedback and comments
- at 05:19 #12506
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Preparation for Lesson 5:
  
  Hi everyone! Please read at least 5 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful – so please do the reading!
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 5 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Should we abolish the world’s monarchies?
  
  Schedule:
  - Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 14:24 #13784
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Preparation for Lesson 6:
  
  Hi everyone! Please read at least 7 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful – so please do the reading!
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 7 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Should guns be more or less regulated? What is the best way to regulate them?
  
  Schedule:
  - Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 04:59 #14128
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Preparation for Lesson 7:
  
  Hi everyone! Please read at least 7 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful – so please do the reading! This is a tough topic, but I think you guys will do a great job if you prepare 🙂
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 7 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Is facial recognition technology helpful, harmful or both? How should it be controlled, and by whom?
  
  Schedule:
  - Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 09:50 #14491
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Feedback from Lesson 7:
  
  Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, and are enjoying the week back at school.
  
  Last week’s class was really fantastic – you were all engaged, and I was particularly impressed by the sophistication of your more principled arguments concerning privacy and ownership of person. It’s been wonderful to see you all become more confident, and I’m looking forward to hearing your perspectives this weekend.
  
  Shoutouts:
  
  I’ve decided to bring back an old section called ‘shoutouts’ in order to spotlight students who have done a particularly good job in class recently. This week’s shoutouts go to Huayi and Neal!
  
  Huayi is consistently engaged with the material and is not afraid to speak when others are hesitant to. She is exceptionally confident and has developed her analytical abilities significantly over the last few weeks – avoiding assertion and instead explaining the thought processes behind her conclusions in a compelling, insightful way. She is always bursting with new and interesting ideas, and enjoys engaging her classmates by directly agreeing with/refuting their points. Fantastic job Huayi, keep up the good work!
  
  Despite struggling with internet difficulties the last couple of classes, Neal always manages to point out issues relevant to the crux of the debate in a concise and well-reasoned way. He has a particularly impressive ability to come up with unique policy proposals and ideas about how one could fix the problems debated about in the real world. He really shone in the last two debates regarding gun control (where he suggested the introduction of situational judgment tests as a requirement for licensing) and facial recognition (where he proposed time restrictions on the possession of facial recognition data gathered by law enforcement). Well done Neal! Your progress has been fantastic.
  
  Preparation for Lesson 8:
  
  Please read/watch at least 7 of the below articles for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful.
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 5 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Are humanities subjects underprioritized in the education system? Should they be? Why might they be important at the various stages of one’s education? Are STEM subjects always more helpful?
  
  Schedule:
  - Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 18:38 #14859
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Feedback from Lesson 8:
  
  Last week we debated the relative importance of, and emphasis placed on, humanities and STEM subjects. The discussion amongst the majority of students was varied and in-depth, however, it did seem as though some students were a bit tired/shy and did not participate fully as a result. Next week, it would be fantastic to see the same enthusiasm that the class had in lesson 7!
  
  Shoutouts:
  
  This week’s shoutouts go to Leo and Candice!
  
  Leo was on fire this week! He contributed thoughtfully throughout the class and managed to stay on topic, consistently offering helpful anecdotes and examples to illustrate his points. He was never afraid to speak up during lulls in the conversation, and he is a natural leader in the class. Well done Leo!
  
  Candice always brings a quiet brilliance to class discussions, offering concise and well-articulated input on the week’s debate topic. Whilst her voice is deceptively gentle, she comes to class with strong opinions and consistently presents thoughtful arguments. She is particularly good at getting to the crux of the debate when pressed. Great work Candice!
  
  Preparation for Lesson 9:
  
  Please read/watch at least 5 of the below articles and videos for class and take note of arguments for and against. In order for you to participate fully, a good grasp of background context, examples, and arguments for and against will be helpful. I’ve decided to include more videos this week as it might cater to a more diverse set of learning styles. Please let me know if you enjoy/prefer this, and I’ll make note of it for the future!
  
  TIP: Don’t automatically read/watch the first 5 links. Have a click through the links to see which ones are the most interesting to you (your favourite could end up being near the end of the list)!
  Topic:
  
  Should countries turn to nuclear energy? How should countries manage nuclear waste?
  
  Schedule:
  - Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
- at 18:44 #15098
  OliviaR
  Keymaster
  Feedback from Lesson 9:
  
  Last week we debated the pros and cons of nuclear energy and considered ways in which the harm caused by nuclear waste could be reduced or avoided entirely. Most of the class was actively engaged throughout, and particularly insightful and creative ideas were offered when discussing potential solutions to issue of nuclear waste. When pressed, nearly every student was able to expand on their arguments and ideas, providing extensive analysis of the relevant issues. For next week (the final debate!) it would be wonderful to see students prioritizing developed analysis + impact for a smaller number of points (quality) over presenting many less thoughtful points (quantity).
  
  Preparation for Lesson 10:
  
  This week will be a bit different! Seeing as we’ve primarily done ‘free-flow’ or ‘open’ debate in our classes, and you have all come so far, I thought it would be interesting and fun to have a more formal debate for our final class. So, on Saturday I will announce the topic and divide you into two teams (for and against the motion). You will be given 15 minutes in a breakout room to prepare, and I will divide my time between the two rooms to guide you. Thus, there is no homework this week. The topic will be more principled, and won’t require any specialized knowledge, although you may wish to review homework from previous weeks in order to have a good grasp of examples and ideas that may be helpful when constructing your arguments.
  
  You’ve all developed so much over the course of the last 10 weeks, and I’m excited to see how you utilize the skills that you’ve learned in the final debate!
  
  Topic:
  
  ???
  
  Schedule:
  - 15 minute team prep
  - Focused debate
  - Feedback and comments
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