11-05-2021
IN WAR WITH WORDS
“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it” says the French writer, Joseph Joubert. The Online English Debate Competition -2021 organised by the English Department of Indian School Sohar on 9th May 2021 provided the enthusiastic young debaters of the school an opportunity to dispute and settle the ever-interesting issue: Is Social Media Changing the People for the Better? The topic was given to the participants three hours in advance only. There were five teams constituting two participants each, who argued for and against the motion, respectively.
HOD (English), Mrs. Divya Johari in her welcome address, struck right into the competition notifying that it is an extended learning activity which will familiarise the students with burning topics of the times. As the competition commenced, the participants were all geared up and also were fully passionate to win. They emphasised their points with supported assertions and continual citation of authorities. They exhibited convincing knowledge of the resolution. The war of words was strong enough to prove that they deeply delved into the topic. The debate emphasised that it is a gladiatorial combat of the intellect. The confidently presented arguments supported by apt body language was quite impressive. The debate was evaluated based on various criteria: content, diction and clarity, persuasion, presentation style and rebuttal.
When the battle of minds came to an end with conflicts confronted, Team 3 constituting Rohan Suchitran and Sree Sankar Pradeep emerged winners not only for being defensive about their objective and also for sticking to their points till the end, but for the clear diction and style. Rohan Suchitran, the Best Speaker was closely followed by First Runner Up, Pranjal Gupta and Second Runner Up, Sree Sankar Pradeep. The Best Rebuttal was won by Pranjal Gupta. The jury had all praises for the excellent sportsmanship spirit of the participants and was also amazed at their dedicated preparation in the very short time provided, the debating skills and the confidence.
Mrs. Francisca Menezes while proposing the Vote of Thanks thanked moderator Mr Brendon Lee, Mrs. Sudha P who executed the lot taking to decide the order of speaking, using the Picker Wheel, coordinators Mrs Sherley Joseph & Mrs Francisca Menezes, overall activity in charge & HOD Mrs. Divya Johari, Vice Principal Dr Vinu Kumar and Principal Mrs. Sanchita Verma for their continuous support and guidance.
The debate forced us to support Margaret Heffernan who said, “For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.”
PARTICIPANTS OF THE ONLINE DEBATE COMPETITION 2021
|
Team No. |
Name |
FOR/AGAINST |
Class |
|
1 |
Kushal M Nithya Ajayan |
FOR AGAINST |
XI |
|
2 |
Meghna Jayakumar Naba Siddiqua |
FOR AGAINST |
XI |
|
3 |
Rohan Suchitran Sree Shankar Pradeep |
FOR AGAINST |
XI |
|
4 |
Mohammad Shadman Siddique Pranjal Gupta |
FOR AGAINST |
XII |
|
5 |
Ayesha Abrar Kavya Malviya |
FOR AGAINST |
XII |
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