13 August 2020

Senior Debating

Article by Ms Andrea Dart

Senior Debating

Preparation began in March for our A Grade Team’s participation in the Schools’ Competition conducted by the Debaters’ Association of Victoria (DAV). Year 12 students William Bothe, Matilda Crosgrove, Noah Gullan, Jesse Hart, Luke Lawson, and William Palmer were all keen to take part, and in the wake of the Covid-19 disruptions affecting the State we eagerly awaited the DAV’s restructuring of the program. Normally we participate in the Geelong Region’s competition, however, with face-to-face debating no longer possible, our students became part of a Thursday afternoon online event. This means that we have been able to debate against teams from a much wider range of locations whilst using Zoom as the platform.

For Round 1 we took the negative position with the topic being “That we regret the rise of streaming platforms (such as Netflix and Disney+)”. After several planning meetings at school, final preparations and the debate itself were undertaken via Zoom as we entered the first lockdown. Matilda Crosgrove presented very well in her first appearance and was strongly supported by both Noah Gullan and William Palmer. Our opponents from Northcote Secondary College presented a compelling case and took the honors with the adjudicator complimenting both teams on a close debate of good quality.

All team members took part in a practice debate via Zoom during the holiday break to prepare for the second fixture. This was Jesse Hart’s first formal debate and he acquitted himself very well when opening the affirmative case. Overall, the practice exercise was great fun and inspired some confidence for students’ next challenge against Hume Central Secondary College.

The topic for Round 2 was “That the government should outsource climate and energy policy to a panel of experts” and we argued the negative case. Noah Gullan opened the team’s case superbly, challenging the affirmative team’s proposed model and speaking for over 7 minutes. Luke Lawson’s rebuttal as second speaker was exceptionally strong and also effectively reinforced our main arguments. Third speaker William Bothe finished the counter-arguments and summed up well in another very fine performance. The adjudicator again praised both teams on their research and awarded SICG the points, with Noah Gullan announced as the Best Speaker.

Round 3 marked the commencement of the Secret Topic phase of the competition, meaning that teams had just one hour to prepare their arguments prior to speaking. The team remained at school for this debate against Melbourne Grammar and worked very efficiently to organize their case. With the topic being “That we should introduce a tax for businesses that automate tasks which could otherwise be performed by humans” we again took the negative position. The hour passed quickly with a high level of great teamwork on display.

Brainstorming resulted in the formation of arguments around the importance of innovation and pursuing other tax alternatives as more effective options. Research tasks were shared and some great evidence emerged. Whilst our opponents presented an effective and clever model to open their case, it became a fiercely contested debate. Luke Lawson argued strongly that development is key to realizing human potential and spoke for close to 6 minutes. William Palmer used evidence from international studies about the impact on employment levels, and focused on the importance of fulfillment in our work. As final speaker, William Bothe delivered some excellent counter-arguments in his 8 minute rebuttal. Whilst Melbourne Grammar proved too strong, our students will benefit immensely from this experience having learnt some valuable tips from the very clear adjudication and from observing our opponents in action. We look forward to the next Secret Topic challenge on Thursday 13 August.

Congratulations to all of our Senior Debaters on your great teamwork and fine performances so far. You can all be very proud of your efforts and achievements in representing the school so well. Thank you to both Mr Timms and Mr Exton for their encouragement and support during the Round 3 event. Special thanks are also extended to the Hart and Palmer families for hosting the team during the rounds 1 and 2 fixtures. 

The support of all parents involved is also greatly appreciated.

Ms Andrea Dart  Senior Debating Co-ordinator

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