O-Essay

Faculdade de Letras Professor: Vivian Margutti Students: Ariadne Gizele Eduardo Terra Helder Dias Márcio Rezende **The Importance of Teaching Academic Debates **
 * Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais **

Since we live in a democratic society where people can express their own idea about everything, oral expression and argumentation is a primal skill that everyone has to develop. Thinking about that, the practice of debates in the academic life should be more explored by teachers in Brazil. Students can develop basic skills by the pra ctice of academic debates like reason giving, oral expression and critical thinking. Most of our rights depend directly on debate and in our country this is something that in general people are missing. Some scholars defend that debate training is a preparation for citizenship itself. In addition, //Richard D. Rieke and Malcolm O. Sillars // in the introduction to their textbook //Argumentation and Critical Decision Making//, declare that //"the ability to participate effectively in reasoned discourse leading to critical decision making is required in virtually every aspect of life in a democracy" (1997, p. xvii).//

Academic Debates are a common practice on North American High-Schools and it is an activity that has significant value for the participants. The first value is the ability to do deep researches about the theme of the debate in order to be prepared to the dynamic of debate itself. In General, debates are structure to have two teams discussing about a subject and each team defending one point of view, so make deep researches is a basic skill that each team has to develop to be prepared for the argumentation. The teams have to predict even the arguments the opposite team could raise against its own arguments in order to have a good answer for any questions. In an Academic Debate the audience also asks questions for the groups, so they have to be prepared to counter argument.

Debates also explore the ability to discuss in public places and to defend your own ideas in an effective way. Professors that use debates to teach treat it as a kind of conquest between students t <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">o make them involved and awaken the spirit of competition of the participants. Everyone knows that is not an easy task to defend your opinion in front of a lot of people, but this task is even harder because you have to convince the audience with your argumentation and without making mistakes like use incorrect words or forget something you should say in the middle of the discussion. The debate practice helps people to keep the balance in front of an audience, to give their opinions in an effective way, to argue rationally and to critical think. These values are very important in a democratic society like ours and debates contribute to make citizens more critical about their rights and obligations.

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">People who have contact with debate practices have more success in their careers after the graduation because these practices develop many skills that help people in their life, as some authors already said: // “Because the preparation and delivery of debate arguments provides students with the opportunity to think critically, develop their academic research skills, improv // // e their communication abilities, solve problems creatively, and increase their self-confidence, support for this activity is a crucial empowerment tool for youth” (Breger 1998, p. 11; Wade 1998, p. 80). // <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">These skills in general make people think critically about their rights and about any controversial subjects. This knowledge can help individuals a lot in their regular day at the office or even at home while watching the news at television. Those who practice debates at school are more self confident to express their ideas in their jobs, in their regular life at neighborhood, at church, or even at public forums as proved. The capacity of argument clear and to convince people about your point of view is something very useful for many activities in a society.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Academic debates can be seen as a laboratory for testing and developing approaches to argumentation. <span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">According to //Alan Coverstone//, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> academic <span style="color: #111111; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">debates are insular spaces where people can test their skills on argumentation and be prepared for the future. The isolated laboratory of debate trains students to participate actively and directly in the political process //(// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">// An Inward Glance: A response to Mitchell’s Outward Activist Turn - Alan Coverstone, Princeton High School Ci //// ncinnati) // <span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. In society life, people face many different situations where they have to argument to defend their opinion. Since it is not possible to preview how these moments are going to happen, it is <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">reasonable to say <span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">that the more people practice and test themselves arguing, especially if this engagement is in wider argumentative spheres, the better people will be prepared to assume their positions as citizens that can skillfully use their <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> critical thinking and be able to contextualize and employ their skills, knowledge and strategies of argumentative discourse when in social action, especially in wider fields of public deliberation. In this context, academic debates are safe spaces where students can practice and prepare themselves for citizenship.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Furthermore, academic debates offer the opportunity of training many distinct kinds of argumentation, simulating them for different places, different social realities and levels. Inside school debates create a very useful space for training and practice with the tools of modern political discourse. In other words, this laboratory gives to students the chance to try several times their approaches to argumentation before they have to use it in real society life. Also debates help students not to get alienated as it asks them to do researches on the subject they are going to debate as well as to questioning their point of view about that subject. That allows them to rethink their concepts about the subject, which is in question as well as to wise their mind to new ideas and points of view. Thus according to //Gordon R. Mitchell (1998)//, debates are an efficient way to use the power of individuals to participate with others in shaping their world through the human capacity of language.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Also, people from different background or culture usually have different points of view about things so debating allows those people to share their thoughts and point of view as well as to defend them, according to //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">George W. Ziegelmueller and Jack Kay //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> in //Argumentation: Inquiry and Advocacy// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">: //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> //"The relevance of skill in argumentation seems self-evident to anyone living in a democratic society,".// <span style="color: #ff00ff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">A well put argument brings gains for everyone involved in a debate, as it leads individuals to understanding the others' point of view and the reasons why they think that way. So understanding other individuals point of view can break some prejudice we may have and consequently develop our sense of democracy and do not let us be alienated with a view of just one side of things.

<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Additionally, debates help people with public dialogue which is an important skill for most professions as for example; teachers, journalists, politics and so on. Austin Freeley wrote that academic de <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">bate //"provides preparation for effective participation in a democratic society" and "offers// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">preparation for leadership" //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> //(1997, p. 21, emphasis added)//. Likewise //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Semlak and Shields //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> found that //"students with debate experience were significantly better at employing the three communication skills (analysis, delivery, and organization) utilized in this study than students without the experience"// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(1977, p. 194) ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Some other studies document the professional success of debaters after graduation. For example, 15% of persons in //Keele and Matlon's// survey of former debaters went on to become "top-ranking executives" //(Keele and Matlon 1984).// This finding is consistent with the results of Center's survey, which suggests that participation in forensics is an employee attribute desired strongly by businesses, especially law firms //(Center 1982, p. 5)//. So it is more than proved than debates are very efficient to help people with public dialogue and so with their success on professional life.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> Moreover, one of the basic steps when preparing for a good debate is doing specific research on the topic. It complements your general knowledge and develops the capacity to contextualize the skills and strategies of argumentative discourse. //Simon Quinn// in the book //"Debating"// mentions that it is important to keep your research "debate-worthy" and avoid long discussions or facts that are of curiosity value only. Quinn also says that it is important some tools that can be used when doing this research. Although the Internet is an invaluable tool, people must use it properly. Simple searches, such as "capital punishment" is unlikely to yield good results. It is important to look at facts and publications produced by relevant organizations. You don't need to limit your search to websites that support your side of the debate. Aside from helping with the debate itself, specific research increases the knowledge. As students research specific areas as fields of action, it gets easier to invent strategies for intervention. This means that it is going to be easier to put in practice whatever they debated.

<span style="color: #008000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">In conclusion, debates are similar to a game, where the main goal is to win. However, we could see how important this “game” is and how it is probably the best academic tool, since one of the most important education objectives is to teach critical thinking skills along with to boosting communication skills, and debates are the greatest option to develop those. It also encourages students to look at issues that affect the society they live in and to analyze different point of views regarding specific subjects, which is a great reason why Brazil should follow countries which uses debates as a teaching tool.