Classroom Debate

Current Events    

For my current events Article I decided to go another route away from Ancient China and choose a new topic. This time, I added a twist and went outside my comfort zone to do the lesson. For my article, I chose to discuss the topic of discipline in schools. Specifically in question, the use of resource officers or police officers. 

It comes with no surprise that the topic of discipline and behavior in schools is yet again in main stream media. We've seen the images and videos of defiant behavior but, what exactly is the right and wrong when it comes to dealing with behavior. Is the use of resource officers considered excessive or do the schools need more protection?

Sadly, in this time we live in, schools have slowly transitioned to a fortress that is almost impossible to penetrate. The fear is there of students or strangers causing harm to students and staff. So, what is the right answer. 

To help answer my dilemma, I decided to hold a mini classroom debate on the topic. 

To help guide my debate, I determined the topic of which to debate about. The classroom was split into two groups. I acted as moderator, or Anderson Cooper for the day. My role was to simply guide the debate into a argument and fact based dialogue. 

The rules were simple, after being given time to read and watch a video (neutral to the support of the topic) groups had a few minutes to prepare their opening arguments and allow the opposing to do so as well. The format continued for arguments, counter arguments and finally, a closing statement by both sides. 

The result in my opinion was a success. Classmates did not hurt each other following the debate however they were committed to their cause. Using the Current events article tied to the Classroom Debate helped the classmates (and myself) gather information on a topic that in this case, is personal to our profession. 

- MW