If you’re looking for new debate ideas for school, check out our list of 10 funny debate topics for middle school.
No matter how much we badmouth it and dislike it, school teaches us many useful things. It helps us develop and voice our own opinions, and regardless of what one might think, education is a relevant factor in shaping our future. We may not realize this immediately and usually, it takes a while until we finally accept it. I strongly believe in the power of education and how it influences our choices later in life, our critical thinking abilities, and our aspirations. Nothing we learn in school is accidental and everything has a purpose, one that we can’t comprehend right away. Debates are pretty common in school and despite the common opinion that they are dull or unnecessary, the benefits of debating are numerous. For those who are not certain what those benefits are, I will name a few of them. First of all, when two (or more) students argue for or against something, they actually learn valuable lessons. It is impossible for two or more people to completely agree on everything in life. When debating, students often have to represent a point of view they might not agree with and they have to do it faithfully. Besides that, despite different opinions among students in the same group, they all still have to work together and give their best to successfully represent the position they don’t quite agree with. This teaches us to accept and welcome different opinions and to learn how to overcome difficulties regarding this matter when you have a common cause to defend or fight against.
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Debating helps us develop skills that we will probably need sooner or later in many work related situations. The working environment is harsh and we often have to suppress our personal beliefs and simply do the job. We will also meet a lot of people whose opinions differ from ours, and we will have to work in a team comprised of completely different minded individuals. So the life skills we acquire through debates are really precious in ways we can’t even begin to realize at that age.
But this is not the only benefit from debating. Another useful skill that children acquire through debating is the ability to separate the speaker from the words spoken. People do not always hold the opinion they represent and we must not take it personally. This is important as we will often come across situations like these in our adulthood and we need to learn how to deal with them.
Through debating, students also come to see the power of reasoned arguments that help them improve their rhetorical abilities. They learn how to research, organize, and present information. When debating, students develop their presentation skills which are very appreciated in the working environment we mentioned earlier. Probably one of the most important benefits of debates is boosting your confidence. By increasing confidence and self-esteem, students are able to present their arguments in a more convincing and compelling way and this is likely to be extremely valuable in their future. All these skills are essential for the child’s further development so it is important to work on acquiring these skills and help children become the best they can. We need to help them polish their skills and develop critical thinking as today’s middle school debaters are tomorrow’s leaders.
I could go on and on about the benefits of debating but I believe the essential ones are enough to convince you in the importance of debates. However, a debate does not have to contain a serious topic in order to be useful and educational. Many students dislike debating for this very reason as they find the topics dull for their age. In one of our previous articles, we wrote about 15 Persuasive Debate Topics for Elementary School Students, so those who are looking such topics can find them there. But today is all about lighter, funnier, and more casual debate topics for middle school students that can achieve the same results as any serious topic.
ThoughtCo and Lifestyle Lounge have a great number of suggestions regarding this matter. We chose the most interesting and fun topics to present to you so take a look at our 10 funny debate topics for middle school.
