During a debate each team will take turns arguing both sides of a proposition. The best way to know how to defend what you believe is to thoroughly understand all of your opponents arguments. By learning to debate both sides of the proposition, students will learn the skills necessary to defend what they truly believe.
RCMS Debate Team
Debate Club -
All RCMS students from 5th -8th Grade are invited to join. Mrs. Kortenhoeven will continue to be the Debate Coach for our second season in the Inland Valley Debate League (IVDL). Emily Sizemore and Jamie Brown will serve as assistants for the team. Debate Practice will be held Wednesdays after school from 3-4pm.
All RCMS students from 5th -8th Grade are invited to join. Mrs. Kortenhoeven will continue to be the Debate Coach for our second season in the Inland Valley Debate League (IVDL). Emily Sizemore and Jamie Brown will serve as assistants for the team. Debate Practice will be held Wednesdays after school from 3-4pm.
Proposition & Opposition
- The proposition sits on the judges left and makes a case for the motion.
- The opposition sits on the judge's right and argues against the case that is made for the motion.
- Heckling: Banging desks, shouting 'Hear! Hear!' and saying 'shame!' are appropriate means of heckling. It is and act of good will to bang a desk when anyone takes the floor for a speech. It is also helpful for debaters to bang desks when a speaker on their side has made a good point. Shouting 'Hear! Hear!' is another way to affirm good arguments. Debaters should say 'shame' if they feel a team has accidently misrepresented previous arguments or has said something deplorable. It is not appropriate to shame every argument made by an opposing team.
- Use of Flow Sheet: Debaters, the judge, or anyone else actively following the debate, take notes on a flow sheet. Debaters structure arguments around their flow sheet because it helps them stay organized during a debate. The papers you see at the debaters' tables and on the podium are their flow sheets.
Speaker Positions
- First Proposition Constructive (5 min): This is the first speech presented in a debate. The first proposition speaker uses this speech to introduce the motion, provide an interpretation of the motion, and outline the major arguments for his or her side. This speech is the foundation for the whole entire debate.
- First Opposition Constructive (5 min): It is the role of this speaker to both engage arguments from the previous speech and give new arguments to advance the opposition case. It is critical that this speaker engages all information he or she has on their flow sheet.
- Second Proposition Constructive (5 min): The nature of this speech resembles the first opposition constructive. This is the last chance for the proposition to introduce new arguments. First, this speaker should give a brief summary of proposition arguments brought up earlier in the debate. Then, the speaker should engage in line by line refutation. The speech should end with a relevant conclusion that informs the judge about the major issue of the debate.
- Second Opposition Constructive (5 min): This is the last chance for the opposition to present new arguments. A second opposition speaker can continue line by line refutation, advance new arguments to the case, add depth to previous arguments, and engage in analysis about which arguments are important, inconsistent, or unimportant to the resolution of the debate.
- Opposition Rebuttal (3 min): The speaker must identify a few important issues and use these as independent proofs about why the opposition should win. No new arguments are allowed at this point in the debate.
- Proposition Rebuttal (3 min): This is the final speech in the debate. The speaker should answer arguments brought up in both the second opposition constructive and the opposition rebuttal speeches. Using the critical issues of the debate, the speech should culminate in a few independent proofs about why the proposition side has won the debate.