I dislike the NeoNov topic for nearly the same reason as I was appalled by the OldNov topic. It removes the particular offensiveness, which is positive. But it’s also unfortunate in some ways, because we’re left with a topic I find undebatable, but which now lacks offensiveness as a builder of consensus to forge our [...]
“Resolved: An Islamic cultural center should be built near Ground Zero”. Oh-kay. On the affirmative side, you have property rights and freedom of religion. On the negative, you have innuendo, guilt by association, and mob rule. That should make for a cheerful tournament. That the so-called Ground Zero Mosque is even a national issue is [...]
If a debater can learn only one skill, I would choose for them to learn weighing. To progress beyond saying “You are TOTALLY WRONG and I am TOTALLY RIGHT” and instead say “These six things you say are right, but I feel that these four factors I’m talking about are more compelling still” is a [...]
I remain mostly unconvinced of the safety of the case disclosure lists. I think people are taking the legal side of this query too seriously to the exclusion of the real meat of my concern, which is the long term impact of putting a large body of students’ work on the public internet under their [...]
If you are or were a smart kid, or are someone who deals with smart kids, and haven’t read Ender’s Game, your education is incomplete. It’s a science fiction book, but don’t let that scare you; I’m not a scifi person either. The book centers around a kid named Ender, who’s 6-12 years old in [...]