GOZONE Debating = Action Learning
1 Children learn more when they see, hear and do something.
2 Debating is action learning. You can experiment and use your imagination as you work with the rules of debating. All your different talents can come into it. Your love of dramatic tone and your curiosity about things are helpful tools to convince others.
3 Many people are social learners and gain more from working in a team, bouncing ideas around with a team.
4 Very imaginative children find a great outlet in debating for the constant flow of ideas and possibilities that their minds produce. In a normal class setting this flow can be dis-ruptive, in a small team in debating it finds an outlet. We brainstorm it all out onto a huge sheet for future reference.
5 Public speaking is less terrifying if you start young before all the layers of self consciousness multiply. You start by trying to convince your team mates. We play arguing games. There is an In-house debate first.
6 If you know how to prepare and put information together, you want to share and you have something real to say.
7 If everyone contributes in our society we have a richer range of thoughts to consider before we decide. Sometimes the quiet thoughtful observer adds the missing observation which makes sense of a problem needing to be resolved. We want quiet people to feel confident to speak out when they choose to do so.
8 Debating in primary school is more for fun and challenge, it gives children the chance to play and learn how arguing works with less pressure.
9 If we put the emphasis on learning and not on winning, it’s less scary and many more children will move through their shyness and speak out. They build an inner strength which allows them to respond in the moment and not depend on others to tell them.
Serena, Ellen and Annique – GOZONE Debating Silver Medal Winners
Arguing “That music can change the World”, these PLC Year 6 Debaters won Silver Awards in the 2008 Grand Final at All Saints College.
Is it alright to post part of this on my blog if I post a reference to this website?
Hey admin. I have a simple request. I was just googleing for some information on this topic you wrote and found this post. Some really great stuff you shared here. Can I please link to this post on my new website I’m workin on? It would be great:). I will check back again later to see how you responded. Thank you, Kristine Johnson .
Dear Nagelpilz
I operate a business teaching primary school children debating. I would approve a link as long as it doesn’t have inappropriate adult content.
with thanks
Lesli Grant
Once I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new feedback are added- checkbox and now every time a remark is added I get four emails with the identical comment. Is there any manner you’ll be able to take away me from that service? Thanks!
I am sorry, I had my website set up by someone else, I don’t know how to fix this. Could you try going in again and unticking the box?
apologies
Lesli
Hello, I also have mine own blog and I want to write on it what I found on yours. You wrote interesting things and I want to use your words on my site. May I? Greeting.
The standard practice is to quote the person and give credit by mentioning their name. Eg Lesli Grant of GOZONE Debating says….I don’t mind as long as the blog is not involving adult themes/sexual issues. I work with children, I”m not interested in links with sites which are disrespectful of others. As long as these things are honoured, you can quote me.
Lesli
This will be a very big imagination that you are furnishing and you hand it away for free. I savour seeing websites that begin to see the value of furnishing a prime resource for free. I truly enjoyed reading your Wiley Post. Thanks!
Can I just say what a relief to search out someone who actually is aware of what they’re talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to convey an issue to make it important. More folks have to read this and understand this aspect of the story.
In the awesome scheme of things you’ll secure an A for hard work. Where you confused me personally was first in all the facts. You know, people say, details make or break the argument.. And it could not be more correct right here. Having said that, allow me reveal to you precisely what did give good results. The writing is quite convincing and this is possibly the reason why I am taking the effort in order to comment. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. Second, even though I can certainly see the jumps in reason you come up with, I am not necessarily sure of how you appear to connect your details that produce the actual final result. For now I shall yield to your point however hope in the foreseeable future you actually connect the dots better.
I started to write articles on this website to support my small business- GOZONE Debating, which provides debating lessons to Primary schools Year 5-7 in Perth, Western Australia. My aim was to share with parents and teachers some of the benefits of learning debating at Primary school. I think in some cases there isn’t enough challenge for students in Primary School. Students in this age group are so enthusiastic, they crave the opportunity to jump into something really complex and learn more than one thing at the same time. To do something exciting- imperfectly but courageously.
I’m promoting an experiential learning experience. The chance to stand up in front of people and have your say about things. (before you have all the knowledge, strategy and confidence normally associated with debating) I actually think this can motivate those who are struggling with their reading and writing skills. Verbal experience comes before writing skill according to primary teachers I’ve consulted.
I distilled a list of the things I had observed occurring when children took up the challenge of putting forth their ideas at such a young age. Every statement on the list was a summary of many experiences and reflections from my life as a teacher and learner.
I’m not surprised you aren’t convinced with so little information. This list was meant to be an advertisement for the work I do in schools. The idea was to create enough interest that a teacher or parent might make contact regarding a program in their school. Or to discuss the ideas more fully. Most people don’t make the time to read long explanations- they don’t have the time or interest.
While I teach debating to young people, I’m really a practical, intuitive thinker. I find my mind makes new links between bits of information which other people don’t usually put together. It’s a creative process that I don’t have control of – the insights and connections just come to me. It took me a long time to realise this was different from the logical step by step deductions which others relied upon. More importantly came the recognition that this way of knowing was equally valuable in the world.
In most cases schools offer debating as an extension activity for gifted students. What I discovered is its value as a model and stimulation for those with different learning styles/speeds and uneven development.
In one of my other posts I mention a BBC Documentary series which explores some of these issues as they relate to young boys learning in primary school. It was a great relief and inspiration to find someone else with similar insights to my own.
I will reflect further on providing more detail to document and connect my ideas more fully. Luckily although the insight comes intuitively, I can with enough time usually tease out how the links were made. Thank you for your interest.
Lesli Grant
Thanks for each of your hard work on this web site. Gloria loves carrying out research and it’s really obvious why. A number of us learn all concerning the lively medium you produce very useful items by means of the blog and as well as foster participation from some others on that subject then our favorite girl is now becoming educated a lot of things. Take pleasure in the rest of the new year. You’re conducting a powerful job.
Thank you for your kind words, it would be great if every child could speak up and contribute in their lives.
Lesli Grant