ARGUING TO CONNECT

By J.J. McGawn

Making these connections between opposing views stimulates our brains to be more creative and innovative, opening up solutions for problem solving.

When eighth-grade debate student, Teagan W. challenged her own bias and preconceived opinion about eating meat, she had to get creative to argue that eating meat was best. “I enjoyed debating, ‘whether or not people should eat meat.’ Most of the evidence I had going in was on the side that people should not eat meat. But we won arguing the opposing side with a creative argument I came up with about how our agriculture system couldn’t support everyone switching to a vegetarian lifestyle because the soil would get worn out from growing that many crops. It wouldn’t be sustainable.” She was pleased with the result and the process getting there.

Srini Pillay, Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School describes how our brains fire when we try to map out similarities and make connections between two opposing views. In Psychology Today, Pillay writes, “The more we map similarities between ideas that are very different, the more key

‘innovation hubs’ like the frontopolar cortex activate. But we are also biased against creativity because of the challenge change brings.” Our brains function differently when we work hard to understand an opposing viewpoint. It is so difficult in fact, to make these connections of similarities between opposing views that Pillay says, “we often just give up.”

Making these connections between opposing views stimulates our brains to be more creative and innovative, opening up solutions for problem solving. Pillay suggests that sometimes by exploring creative connections, we can come up with solutions we probably wouldn’t find with linear thinking. Isn’t that what education is all about?

Eyes on the Prize

Debate students are motivated by winning competitions and earning trophies. That inspiration drives Pegasus sixth, seventh and eighth-grade debaters to analyze topics from opposing views. Armed with data and facts mined from sources screened for bias, students open their minds to more than they thought possible, creating stronger, creative voices for change. As debate teacher Josh Thimons explains, “The hook of the program is that the students are competing for and getting trophies in the end. But the trophies are really irrelevant. In that process of preparing for competition, the students are motivated and accountable to the team in an area where their teammates really care.” The drive to work hard for the trophies and not disappoint their teammates motivates students to carefully prepare and analyze winning arguments on both sides of a topic.

Complex Topics

As part of the Orange County Debate League, Pegasus debate students prepare two topics over a month and a half prior to their debate competition. One topic is often weightier, such as “is Saudi Arabia an ally or enemy?” or “should ocean exploration be valued over space exploration?” The second is more of an everyday topic about their pets or school schedule for example. At first blush, some of the weightier topics might seem to be too much for middle schoolers, but the students are up for the challenge and enjoy delving into these important issues of the day. Seventh grader Phoebe J. explained, “I like learning about the topics because they are recent topics that big people are talking about. It is fun to research them rather than just knowing that they happened.” Eighth grader Teagan W. agrees, “I have had a lot of political discussions with my friends and teammates [because of debate] and that was fun because you usually don’t get to do that.” The simple act of accessing topics normally reserved for adults broadens the students’ minds and opens new avenues for thought and discussion.

Addressing topics students wouldn’t usually talk about, helps them make connections in surprising places. Eighth grader Shaurya M. explains, “Both of my parents really encouraged me to get interested in current events, so I like talking with them about my debate topics. They ask me about my points and sometimes suggest another viewpoint. It is fun to talk with them about it and it’s helped me win.” The family dinner can be a great place to brainstorm different arguments and angles on topics. And it might even help the students strengthen their arguments on either side.

Bias (n): an inclination of temperament or outlook

In the first class after the topics for the next debate are announced, Thimons challenges the students’ biases. “When we get a new topic, we usually spend a class discussing their ‘priors’ [or preconceived biases] without digging into intense research. I want to understand what they already know and their biases before going into the debate. For example, one topic is, ‘students should get the day after Halloween off school.’ That is an example of a topic that the students know a lot about, and they have a strong bias.” He goes on to explain, “I spend much of the first class pushing them from their initial bias. Learning takes place best when your preconceived notions are questioned.”

Students were curious and almost triumphant describing when their prior biases were questioned, and during the debate preparation, they sometimes ended up changing their minds. “On the topic of, ‘should ocean exploration be prioritized over space exploration?’ at first, I was more on

the side that space exploration was more important. But [I learned that], much of our food and some cures for illnesses come from the ocean. One ingredient of the COVID-19 vaccine is from horseshoe crab blood. From space, we use technology and get more knowledge about the universe, but I feel like the ocean is more beneficial. I switched my mind on that one and I liked that,” seventh grader Evan B. explained with a grin.

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Vetting research sources is key to building a strong debate argument. Learning how to discern a credible online source to find reliable facts is critical. Teagan W. explained, “We have done a lot of work on questioning if a research source is biased because even popular newspapers oftentimes have bias which can affect the credibility of what they are saying.”

Evan B. agreed. “Depending on each topic, we look for reliable sources. We look at websites ending in “.org,” “.gov” and “.edu” first because they are the most reliable. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone. You need a reliable source, a doctor or scientist. Not someone who wrote on the site without factual evidence.”

It turns out, critical thinking and savvy research skills help the students in other classes too. Shaurya M. explained, “Debate has helped me with the rest of my classes with research. We research in other classes such as English and social studies. Debate taught me how to research accurately, how to find meaningful statistics, and how to know what to look for while researching.” Getting to the meat of how to decipher credible research pays off.

Hearts and Minds

In their quest for hardware and the team win, students will put in great efforts to make sure they prepare the strongest case possible. This often involves active engagement in current events. Teagan W. described preparing for a debate in January 2021 on the topic of whether social media does more harm than good. “That was around the time of the January 6th attacks [on the U.S. Capitol building]. Since the attacks were organized on social media, we had to incorporate that into our arguments at the very last minute and that was a lot of work. It was hard that things were constantly changing, and we had to keep up with that. But even if you lose, just knowing that you were able to be there and speak your mind and fight what the other side was saying was really rewarding,” says Teagan W. Investment in the competition drives students to pay close attention to what is happening in their topic in the greater world. By caring about the competition, the students in turn care more about the topics.

Caring about the topics also helps students learn how to express their thoughts and feelings better. “Debate helped me to be more confident in my abilities and express myself better,” says Shaurya M. He went on to explain that debate helped him in another class where he was able to “show more emotions in my Shakespeare monologue which helped me get a better grade.” Articulating and expressing their own feelings is an important muscle the students learn to flex.

Students also gain access to self expression through the new vocabulary gained by discussing complex topics. Thimons explained, “Last year we debated affirmative action and it required uncomfortable conversations about race that a lot of the students had not had before. Maybe they had heard the conversations, but they had not had them themselves. There is a learning process about what language is appropriate when discussing race. Understandably, some of them struggled because it wasn’t part of their lexicon before.” Thimons continued, “Most of the time when a student says something that might be deemed offensive or disrespectful it’s not from a place of purpose, it’s just that they are unfamiliar with how to put the words together.” Stretching to digest and analyze new topics, challenges the students emotionally and intellectually and gives them access to more ways to express their thoughts and opinions.

Debate is a Team Sport

Debate is a team sport that challenges students to think differently and work together. They are motivated to work hard and do well because they are accountable to their teammates. This increases their effort level and the students enjoy collaborating. Seventh grader Evan B. explains, “Working with other people is always fun because they might have ideas and opinions you might not have ever thought of. Everyone contributes to your team. It is fun to work with people rather than alone. Doing research alone is more boring and less exciting than doing it with someone else who can help you.”

Future Leaders

Thimons hopes the debate students will continue to use their debate skills in the future. “I want the students to be future leaders of the world. They are probably not going to change the problems that ail our society while they are at Pegasus, but my hope is that they can start to build the tools to be leaders in thought. At the end of the day, everyone is a salesperson and I’m trying to help them become better salespeople of their ideas as they use their voice for positive change. Right now, they are more focused on winning tournaments and trophies, as I would be in seventh and eighth grade. But I hope that while their brains are developing at such a rapid pace and the synapses are being fired, they develop an ability to think critically, think with an open mind and with their powers of persuasion, create positive change.”

Pegasus debate students found an educational sweet spot. Working with their teammates to analyze both sides of important topics of the day opens their minds to creative thinking and new possibilities.

J.J. McGawn, mother of Brady (‘20) and Janie (‘22) is a writer, former attorney and advanced beginner tennis player. She enjoys walks on the beach with her family and rambunctious puppy. Contact: jjmcgawn@gmail.com