My daughter asked me about debate, because she has to do it during her science class in her school.

I think that the debate means "competitive debate", I told her my knowledge as follows.

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When I was a college students, my friend who belonged to ESS invited me to a convention of "English competitive debate" .

I remember that I was very excited to watch the game in English.

Let me explain about the game twenty years ago.

Firstly the theme of the game is going to distribute to both teams before more more two weeks.

For example, the theme

"Govement of Japan(GOJ) should abandon the dominium of Senkaku-shotou islands"

would be given to both two teams.

The two teams starts to make logics and materials for both affirmation(from Con side) and disaffirmation(Pro side).

In those days, they were making presentation figures and graphs on A0 size paper. Now I think they might use PC presentation software.

Nobody knows which side will be assigned until the beginning of the game, so both two teams have to prepare for both Con and Pro thoroughly.

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Three important things in a competitive debate are follows.

(1)There are some rules.

Talking own way is prohibited. There is a provision for the time and order of speech. Any hooting is not allowed. There is a limit to the use of material.

(2)No matter of your beliefs and creeds

According to the theme "Govement of Japan(GOJ) should abandon the dominium of Senkaku-shotou islands" for example, it is not relate to your beliefs and creeds.

In order to win the game, you should prospect logics of the opposing team, make your original logics and estimate the counter-logic too.

(3)Discussion for the judge

You need to discuss your logic not for the opposite team but the judge. The judge would decide the winner from the objective viewpoints. So it is meaningless to overwhelm the opposite team for you, and you should prepare the objective sense of logics.

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In short,

about the theme "Govement of Japan(GOJ) should abandon the dominium of Senkaku-shotou islands"

regardless of nationality, gender, occupation, history, region, religion and belief,

we have to prepare throughout for both

affirmation(from Con side)

and disaffirmation(Pro side).

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To tell you the truth, I was scared to hear the story.

When I had lived in Colorado USA. a son of my Japanese colleague felt pain about "the competitive debate class"

Training of the debate is going to start from junior school period.

I was very surprised that There is a nation that starts the debate training, that means the teachers give exercise to children to make logic both con and pro side simultaneously,

I was shocked at the bottom of my heart.

(To be continued.)