“ Debating to a blank and silent screen is much more intimidating than speaking to actual people !”
A particularly memorable motion that comes to mind : ‘ This house , as a parent living in a country with strongly conservative values , would raise their children feminist ,’ had me and my partner , Proud Puangmaha , aghast as to how on earth we could argue against this . Our entire group chat afterwards joked about how during our preparation time there was either celebration ( government side ) or dumbfounded silence ( opposition side ). Eventually we did come up with an argument about the roles of parents in protecting their children and afterwards I remember thinking , this would only happen in debate . I think this epitomises why I enjoy it so much ; discussing controversial policies or impossible scenarios , where you argue for an allocated side .
There has been so much progression in Sevenoaks debating this year : in our adapting to different formats , our speaker clarity and our teamwork . Seeing everyone on Teams every Thursday lunch , and hearing their five-minute impassioned speeches , was a welcome change from the trials of online learning . Through debating we were able to gain that sense of collaboration which was often lost when working from home . While we missed out on physical competitions , we still got to compete and bond as a community , as shown by examples of our debating communications on our WhatsApp chat – debating memes were shared and there were rapturous congratulations from each other for successes at competitions ! Despite universal problems , such as bad wifi connections , accidental un-mutings and the sound of a car alarm outside , I think it would be fair to say that debate at Sevenoaks has not only survived but thrived this year .
Madeleine Whiteley , Lower Sixth
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