Southville International School and Colleges’ (SISC) official Debate Club held its first Debate's Basic Orientation Student Seminar (D’BOSS) last August 13-14 of 2021 to equip students of the Southville Global Education Network (SGEN) with the essentials of debate prior to the opening of classes.
53 high school debaters from across SGEN—which includes SISC, South Mansfield College (SMC), Stonyhurst Southville International School-Malarayat (SSIS-M), and International Baccalaureate (IB)—honed their public speaking and critical thinking skills in this online workshop via Zoom.
“D’BOSS was the very first event for us [newly-elected officers], and it served as a kickoff event to see who was joining the club,” says Club President Jaeda Johnson. The seminar was divided into Basic and Advanced Divisions where beginners learned debate fundamentals in the former while veterans sharpened their skills in the latter. Debaters took part in Committee Sessions facilitated by the club officers themselves before applying their learnings in live Debate Rounds.
Previously, Basic Orientation Seminars (BOS) were held annually during the academic year excluding SISC’s sister schools. D’BOSS, on the other hand, serves not only as a primer for upcoming debates and an expansion of communication between other SGEN debaters, but also as an additional seminar besides BOS.
Official Club Moderator, Ms. Eddielyn “Eddie” Bote, mentions, “The thirst among debaters and beginner debaters has become the motivation of the officers to draft a proposal and have [a seminar] implemented before the academic year begins.”
The SISC Debate Club was founded last 2019 by Southville Alumni Cuit Cerbito and David Ramos following their participation in the World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) 2018. Its original purpose was to encourage and spread the culture of debate among Monarchs. It continues to be assisted by SISC’s English Department and is now entering its third year.
Politicians in the making
Opening Remarks from IB Program Director Sir John Wraith were centered on encouraging the debaters to give their all, and highlighted the power that words can have. He says, “Show the teaching staff [what] you can achieve, what you can comprehend, what makes you able to bluff your way out of the situation; you’ll be politicians in the making.”
The Committee Sessions commenced, following a brief orientation on the learning expectations of the seminar and a Kahoot icebreaker. Debaters transferred to breakout rooms with their corresponding divisions, and a series of presentations and discussions on their topics headed by the Debate Club’s officers ensued.
The Basic Division introduced rookie debaters to the Asian Parliamentary format, including the basics key terms such as motions, argumentation, speechmaking, and rebuttals. Level Communications Officer for Grades 7-8 Juan Alfonso Lobien remarks, “There were many questions raised about coherent speech-making and speaker roles. It meant they were into the discussion.”
Meanwhile, the Advanced Division taught the British Parliamentary format. With an emphasis on consequences, straight-to-the-point lectures offered a look into fallacies, points of information, and comparisons with Asian Parliamentary. Despite that, essential topics remained the same. For both divisions, the appropriateness of debate, the government (pro) vs the opposition (anti), speaker roles were thoroughly elaborated.
A Socratic Circle for both divisions happened once all lessons had been discussed. Here, club officers gave their debaters a range of prompts for debaters to share their opinions on them. It was their attempt to get comfortable speaking aloud their points, so varying arguments flew across the room. Advanced Division debater Abrianna Wilson recalls, “I quite enjoyed [the Socratic Circle] because they really help you think quickly. It was also interesting to hear everyone's different points and possible arguments about our topic.”
The debaters returned to the plenary where it was announced that live Debate Rounds were to commence the next day. The motion: the house believes that libraries and bookstores are obsolete. Both beginner and veteran debaters were given a day to research all aspects of the motion, as neither knew which side they would be on. Basic Division debater Mikaela “Lyka” Cabaero comments, “Since the motion was given a day before, I had plenty of time to think of points for both government and opposition.”
Debate is for everyone
D’BOSS’ second day started off with a Model Debate—a demonstration of how an actual debate plays out. Clashing on the motion that hacktivism is a legitimate way of protest, the officers, masters of their craft, argued their points on the fly with most exhausting their time limits. Ultimately, it served as a reference for what debaters should do in the upcoming rounds.
In six pre-assigned teams for each side, beginner and veteran debaters were given just 15 minutes to work together and create a cohesive argument from individual research. Connectivity errors and choppy audio did not hold them back while they used Zoom, Messenger, Hangouts, and in-document chats to communicate.
Divided into six breakout rooms, six Debate Rounds occurred in each simultaneously. Officers adjudicated their assigned rounds, and with the setting of the timer, debaters unmuted their mics and spoke their arguments. A multitude of points was given highlighting the various advantages or disadvantages of print material. There came points about why libraries should stay as not all text can be translated and digitized easily, as well as why books should go due to environmental concerns; all speeches used statistics and research to back them up.
First, second, third, and even fourth speakers elaborated their arguments, with some speeches being as brief as a minute while others were comprehensive enough to reach five. Some continued where their previous speaker left off while others rebutted what their opponents mentioned.
Level Communications Officer for Grades 11-12 Arcee Chanco claims that he “could give nothing but praises” right after his adjudicated Debate Round. President Johnson reminisces on when a debater rebutted their opponent by asking if they researched from a library or online. Juan was impressed too, saying, “My curiosity curdled in small puddles, so I had to ask if it was the first time they’d ever debated in the past.”
Five government wins and a single tie were the announced results. Attendees of both days were given Certificates of Participation. The seminar officially closed with the remarks of SGEN Director of Communications Daniel Steel where he reiterated what the seminar has taught and the overall importance of debate. “You are the next generation [of leaders], scholars, captains of industry, and game-changers,” he says.
D’BOSS concluded as a significant milestone for the Debate Club. Juan paid tribute to club founders Cuit and David, saying, “This seminar was a continuation of their legacy. D’BOSS aimed to encourage young students to love debating.”
Ms. Eddie, who mentored her students throughout the creation of the seminar, goes on to say, “I am still in awe knowing the fact that this activity was student-led, and I am still amazed by how the officers have poured their hearts just to make sure that everyone learns and loves debate.”
President Johnson adds, “One of the goals that Debate Club had when it was founded [that was fulfilled in D’BOSS] would probably be that it got to really teach more people . . . that debate isn’t just for people who are into academics or people who really love public speaking, but that debate is for everyone.”
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