NEWS
DEBATING : A WAY TO THE SELF
Debating helps us work towards an answer to the question – ‘ Who are you ?’
‘ Who are you ?’ That ’ s not an easy question for adults to answer in the 21st century , let alone for teenagers . Boys who are growing up today must grapple with their shifting identities within a society that is also grappling with its own . In the past 12 months we have witnessed racial reckonings around the world , a coup in Myanmar , an unprecedented victory for the employment security of LGBT people in America , and a global pandemic – the management of which has posed fundamental challenges to the bedrock of western democracies .
Amid these seismic shifts , we boys must build our selves from the fragments of individual experience , bound together by the mortar of conviction : what we believe .
For me , debating has created that mortar . It has illuminated and clarified the world , revealing its nuances , complexities and contradictions , each of which defy the bumper-sticker-length political slogan or social media hashtag . There is beauty to this view of the world and its ‘ truths ’, not as black and white , right and wrong , but as an ongoing series of conversations and debates which prod at a common humanity . And so , to be a debater is to be a participant in that conversation which spans millennia about how to be a human , what to value , how and what to love .
So often in 2021 we view those with whom we disagree as our enemies – not even worth a second thought or a moment ’ s consideration . In a world where our social media feeds are filled with our opponents being ‘ owned ’, ‘ schooled ’ and ‘ destroyed ’, debating offers a comforting reprieve . It
DEBATERS ANDRES BURITICA MONROY AND MAX FAN ( BOTH YEAR 12 )
is a reminder that not every hill is worth dying on , not every argument must have a clear ‘ winner ’ or ‘ loser ’, but rather that each dialogue brings us closer to a more compelling truth .
This year more than 100 Scotch debaters have joined that conversation through the Debaters ’ Association of Victoria ’ s schools competition – the largest English-speaking debating competition in the world .
In it , students are asked to consider questions of how we teach controversial texts and why , whether Victoria should remain part of the Belt and Road Initiative , and whether the transgressions of public figures should result in their ‘ cancelling ’.
On these topics , students are forced to take a side and argue their point . The competition demands of them the utmost rigour and unscrupulous attention to detail . By defending a view – especially one with which they may not agree – debaters gain understanding and empathy for the other side of an issue . It is that empathy which is the essential quality of a good debater .
But debating offers more than that . It asks that debaters apply the same scalpel to their own beliefs which they use on those of others . And it is through this relentless self-questioning that we arrive at a greater understanding of our own identity and get closer to an answer to that question – ‘ Who are you ?’.
In 2020 debating flourished in an online format , with Scotch participating in online debates with schools across Asia . Last year we emerged national champions in the open division of the National Virtual Debating Competition and runners-up in the Year 9 / 10 division . Ronan Ahl and Christopher O ’ Connell ( both of Year 10 ) were selected to represent Australia at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition , hosted by South Korea , while two Scotch teams were state finalists at the Evatt Model United Nations .
There has been a strong start in 2021 to Scotch debating . Joshua Qin ( Year 10 ) and I have been selected in the Victorian state team , which trains until May when the National Schools Debating Championships will be held in Tasmania . With the DAV season about to commence , the buzz of adrenaline has returned to the English classrooms on Wednesday evenings , as debaters are frantically preparing for their first rounds . We wish them the best !
MAX FAN – YEAR 12
32 Great Scot Issue 162 – April 2021