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G8 | Chinese Debate Competition

June 6, 2023

On Children's Day, the eighth-grade students and teachers held the Chinese Debate Competition. The special graduation interview sparked waves of cheers from the audience. The debate competition and 1v1 debate prompted a series of thought-provoking discussions. Laughter dispelled the sadness of graduation as the soon-to-be graduates set sail for new adventures.

Through the debate topic "Which is more important when you are a student, where you are going or who you are going with?", the debaters and audience revisited their three years in middle school and looked forward to the direction of their future paths. Debaters were selected from Chinese classes and members of Chinese Debate Club. After two weeks of intense preparation, they would present an entertaining and engaging debate.

The opening statement and first proposition stages were intense, with the affirmative side providing well-structured arguments about the impact and priority of goals while the negative side demonstrated the positive influence of peers on one's position. After the excellent rebuttals of both second speakers, the competition progressed towards crossfire. The audience fixed their eyes on the speakers, listening tentatively to each word spoken, discussing the arguments of each side, trying to predict whether the pro or con side would win the debate. The free debate was a double test of the debaters' thinking ability and language charm. After several rounds of exciting duel, the debate ended with a sounding closing argument.

While the audience were still in the mood for more, the host announced the additional round of one versus one debate. The pro side speaker was Teresa from 8(7), and the con side speaker was Ethan from 8(9). From opening statements, to crossfire, to closing statements, the two speakers presented to the audience and judged a different perspective and understanding of the model.

Next came the time where everyone had been waiting for, the results. Student judge Joy from 8(1), pointed out some areas for improvement from a technical perspective. Three teacher judges and Mr. Shen Tianyuan, G6-8 director, also expressed their understanding of this topic and their hopes for the students.

Finally, the winners were announced, including the champion team from the Chinese Debate Club, the best speaker of the one versus one debate, the best speaker of debate competition, and the winning side.

Although there are always winners and losers in a debate, the event demonstrated that in real life, “where you go” and “who you go with” are complementary and closely related. Up to this point, the Grade 8 Chinese Debate Competition came to an end. We hope that the Chinese Debate Competition could serve as a platform for students to understand both themselves and the world from more viewpoints! Last but not least, we wish all the students a Happy Children’s Day, may our youth live on!

Written by 8-7 Teresa

Supervised by Sally Gibbs

Pictures by SL Photography Group

Edited by Serene Yang, Elaine Zhu (Intern), Niall Keenan