The United States Department of Education has an interesting blog post on incentives in college sports, specifically, the NCAA Basketball Championships (also known as “March Madness” or “The Big Dance.”) The article is entitled “If academic performance determined who won at the Big Dance.” It focuses on how coaches’ salaries impact student academic scholarship.
Round 2 Topic Announced
The new topic was announced on Friday. It is: College athletes should be paid.
Round Two begins on Jan 27. Check the schedule tab in the next few days for match-ups.
Ready…. Set… Debate!
Winners!
Congratulations to Brooklyn’s Finest Debate Team from 368K for winning this week’s Flocabulary shout-out contest! Their shout-out can be heard on Friday’s edition of the Week in Rap. They won the “Best Expression Through Art” contest for creating two rap-poems about the current terrorist events in Paris and around the world. Congratulations, Brooklyn’s Finest!
And we’re off!
The first debate was this morning and what a lively affair indeed! The arguments were thought-out, the students were engaged, and spirits were high.
If you missed observing the debate, recordings will be posted to the website after the current round is complete.
Scholastic Debate, part 2
A recent issue of Junior Scholastic magazine presented our exact debate topic! This pdf version of the article is kind of hard to read…we recommend subscribing to the magazine to read the article in full.
Scholastic News Joins Debate
Scholastic News had a poll that asked “Should Voting Be Required by Law?” Curious to see the results? Take the poll and see!
Bart Simpson for President!
If you have ever watched The Simpsons, you may remember an episode in which Bart Simpson runs for class president:
“During a debate with Martin, Bart tells jokes and wins the class over. Afterwards, certain of Bart’s inevitable victory thanks to his popular campaigning, none of the children in his class—including himself—actually voted, giving Martin the victory with just two votes: one from himself, and the other from Wendell.” (text source)
The Critical Commons website “Free Riding in Class Elections” offers an excellent synopsis of the situation, including saucy Simpson’s video clip.
If there would have been mandatory voting, do you doubt that Bart would have won?
Automatic Voter Registration
Before a citizen can vote, he or she must register to vote. Sometimes, for whatever reason, that does not happen. People forget, or do not care, or just do not register to vote. Therefore, when an election comes around, they are ineligible to vote.
The “iVote” organization in California wants everyone who gets a driver’s license to be automatically registered to vote, which will lead to a big increase in eligible voters. But does that mean that they will actually vote in an election? What do you think?
Read the NY Times article.
Getting Ready to Debate
The first debate of the year is less than a month away…. What is your team doing to prepare?
He Got No Votes and Still Won the Election!
What if you ran an election and no one voted? This happened in Iowa, where “Candidate wins election despite getting no votes.”
Ask yourself: Is this any way to run a city (or state or country)?
(The TweenTribune article has different reading/lexile levels; choose the one best for you.)
Prison Debate Team Beats Harvard
In 2015 our debate topic was “Should private prisons be legal?”
Now read about how a prison debate team has beaten Harvard University debate team.
(The TweenTribune article has different reading/lexile levels; choose the one best for you.)
It goes to show you that just because a person is in prison does not mean that they are not smart.
Irish Penny Famine?
In 2010, our debate topic was “The United States should discontinue its use of the penny.” Is Ireland getting rid of its pennies?
“BACK STORY
The story of the slowly disappearing 1 cent coin adds another chapter on Wednesday.
That’s when shops in Ireland, on a voluntary basis, can start rounding cash purchases in euros up or down to the nearest 5 cents, to reduce the need for 1 and 2 cent coins. (A euro cent is equivalent to about 1.1 U.S. cents.)
Rounding is likely to be extremely popular, judging by a trial run in which 85 percent of consumers and 100 percent of retailers wanted to see it spread nationwide.
The Central Bank of Ireland says that, in euros, it costs 1.65 cents to make a 1 cent coin, and 1.94 cents for a 2 cent one. (In the U.S., the mint says a penny costs 1.7 cents to produce and distribute.)
Countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain have dropped their lowest-denominated coins over the last 30 years or so.
The U.S. did too, back in 1857, when the half-cent coin was eliminated, followed by the end of 2 and 3 cent coins.
How long will the American penny last? Some coin experts say for only about 10 years.
Victoria Shannon contributed reporting.”
(From NY Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/nytnow/latest-news-afghanistan-south-china-sea-kansas-city-royals.html, retrieved October 27, 2015.
Drone Crash in OK Prison? Not Okay.
This incredible news story touches on TWO of last year’s debate topics (“The U.S. should continue to use drones” and “Should private prisons be legal?”).
Read Contraband-carrying drone crashes at Oklahoma State Penitentiary. There is a nice video clip, too.
Student Contract
Antonio Vastano, veteran debate teacher from 25R, submitted the Student Debate Contract he uses with his students. You may find it useful as well.
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Ready… Set…
Debate! The Round One calendar and topic are now posted in the Schedule tab above. Remember to confirm your debate and let us know your team name. The t-shirt order for the PRO/ CON uniforms is going in today so make sure that your teacher has sent in your order info.
In the meantime… 13 countries have mandatory voting laws. Could it work for us? Tune in to see what the teams have to say!
Almost Ready for Round One
The new teams are taking shape and are almost ready to jump into debate season. If your team has already chosen a name, tell us what it is in the comments area below.
In other news, who watched the Democratic debates last week? What did you think?
The topic and calendar for the first round will be announced soon, so check back for details…
First Workshop Tomorrow
The first Debate workshop is Friday October 9, 2015.
Cara writes:
“Teachers will be introduced to the exciting District 75 online debate program. Workshop will include approaches to collaborative planning and learning incorporating technology and current events. Returning and new debate teachers (ELA, Social Studies, Technology and classroom teachers) are welcome. Participation signifies commitment to the Debate program for the entire school year. The program is targeted towards students in Standardized Assessment, and advanced learners in Alternate Assessment. This PD will specifically support CCLS in speaking and listening.”
We look forward to seeing you there tomorrow!
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Welcome Back!
Welcome Back, Debaters! We are almost ready to begin our new year of debate. Please remind your teachers to register for the Debate Workshop on October 9, and send in your ideas for new topics to Cara or Charles. We can’t wait for the new season to take off!
Plane vs Drone
A near-collision happened over the skies of New York as a passenger jet had to dodge a drone.
Slave Wages at Private Prison?
A lawsuit alleges that some people awaiting trial were forced to work for $1 a day, or face solitary confinement, at a private prison.
