In-class debates help build life skills

Staff Editorial

In-class debates help build life skills

As society is participating in “ignorant politics,” the meaning of having a civil discussion is becoming even more distorted. People cannot seem to have a disagreement without becoming offended. The Booster staff has concluded that having class discussions will help SHS students to counteract these societal changes.

Class discussions give students an opportunity to exercise skills that are not targeted in other classes. In discussions, students must properly prepare, deliver information, and listen. Older generations have argued that our generation

needs experience with these skills. This experience is gained during these discussions and referenced for future use. Additionally, these skills are used in jobs and are valuable to students.

Students learn to manage social issues through discussions. Opinions become normalized and respectuful discussions are more likely to occur. The current political system does not have respectable discussions. As can be seen in every-day media, elected officials base their arguments on personal morals and half-truths instead of concrete facts and logic. At The Booster, we believe that this is wrong and that class discussions will aid students in participating in appropriate conversations. If students are actively engaging in class discussions, they are made aware of other perspectives, contarty to the majority of society.

Despite the number of skill-based benefits of discussions, questions have been asked about the selection of these topics. Which topics do we talk about? Where do we draw the line between controversial topics? In what classes do we talk about them? We at The Booster conclude that discussion topics shoud be based on maturity and discussion skills. Discussions should occur in social studies and English courses because these classes are not always based on concrete facts but periodically based in interpretation. This is a major contrast to science and math courses.

As a program faithful to the improvement of SHS, we at The Booster believe that teachers must incorporate discussions into their curriculum. Additionally, we believe that students should actively participate.This will change the attitude that people have about modern discussions and effectively change the way our student body presents itself.