Debating News

Clare Mackie, English and Humanities Teacher

Round 1 of the DAV Debating season commenced on 28 February, as Kilvington hosted schools from the surrounding area.

Years 11 and 12 students, debating in a combined VCE Grade, discussed the premise ‘that Australia should implement a universal basic income’.

Congratulations to Elisabeth Yeo, Toshi Preston and Jack Kirkham for being named Best Speaker in their respective debates.

In C Grade, Year 10s advocated ‘that we should ban all cars powered by fossil fuels by 2025’, with William Douglas nominated as the Best Speaker in his debate. Years 8 and 9 in D Grade both argued the affirmative side ‘that the Olympics should expand to include non-sporting events’.

Some honourable mentions for the evening include Sarah Yeo who, as a Year 8 student, stepped in at the last moment to a VCE Grade debate to avoid a forfeit. Thank you Sarah for your willingness to take on this challenge. Also, we congratulate Caitlin Johnston who debuted in her first inter-school debate in this round. Thank you also to Ms Fay Lancman, Miss Lauren Wade and Miss Laura Furze for assisting on the evening.

Reflections by Debaters:

Sarah Yeo, Year 8

On 28 February, the first DAV debate was held at Kilvington Grammar School. I was preparing for my D-Grade debate when I was asked to step into the role of first speaker of the negative team for a VCE grade debate. I was on a team of Year 11 students versing a team of that age from McKinnon Secondary College. While it was a nerve-wrecking experience, I also learnt a lot from it. And although we lost, I am grateful for the opportunity to debate with an older year level. Overall, being adaptable and flexible was a key factor to putting up a fight!

Elisabeth Yeo, Year 11

Returning to competitive debating after a few months break was a challenge! We all felt that our skills were a bit rusty, and were consequentially nervous before the debate started. However, once the speaking began, we rediscovered our love for debating and spoke to the best of our abilities. We were lucky enough to secure a win for Round 1, which shows that if you persist and adapt to the challenges that you face, you may be rewarded for your efforts!

Virtual Debating Update!

In early March we commenced the Virtual Debating season, with the Years 11/12 team and the Years 9/10 team competing after School against students from New South Wales and Queensland.

In Virtual Debating, students use conference calling technology and a webcam to connect with another Australian school. They get an hour to prepare speeches before debating against their opposition. An adjudicator also logs in from somewhere around Australia to determine the winner.

The Open Team countered the premise that 'poverty should be used as a defence against non-violent crimes’ in a sophisticated, high level debate against Pittwater House, a school in Sydney.

While the team was not deemed the winners of the debate, Elisabeth, Toshi and Toby all reflected that they really enjoyed having the opportunity to debate something so difficult and learned a lot in the process.

In the Years 9/10 debate, Cassidy Lyovic, William Douglas and Isaac Miles-Fine defended the motion that 'employers should have the right to hire and fire based on information on social media.' The team presented a strong and well constructed debate and were decided to be the winners of this debate, with William Douglas the Best Speaker.

Congratulations to all students for their participation in debating at Kilvington!