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Post by yang on Sept 4, 2009 13:07:44 GMT -5
Worst of Luck! Get debating!
Remember: ANY POST made in here will count as a team post for a topic so only post debate info here.
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Post by panzerizz on Sept 4, 2009 16:33:40 GMT -5
Topic C: All Schools should require their students to wear uniforms
Team B: Against
Representing my team, i'm against the idea of school uniforms. its is rigid and too formal. in terms of human rights, obviously it gonna restrict and limit the capabilities of teenagers to express themselves. everyone has the right to wear what they like as long as it is decent.
School uniforms including the accessories are expensive. Hence, it can cause financial burden in low-income family whereby they have to buy several sets of them.
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Post by Lilytiger on Sept 4, 2009 19:34:13 GMT -5
Topic A: television has a negative influence on society
Team: Against
Television has had a positive influence on society because it allows more cultural sharing- which builds understanding- and it allows for immediate sharing of essential information within a society.
Without television, cultural sharing would be very limited. Through television programming, we can learn about other cultures, their beliefs, their manner of living, their family lives and other aspects that we couldn't learn unless we became a part of their culture. From documentaries to dramas to family comedies, individual cultures are represented throughout the spectrum of tv channels.
The many news channels available enable us to learn essential information on an immediate basis. Warnings of storms, like Hurricane Katrina, or attacks, like 9/11 can be broadcast immediately. Government officials can relay directions and information to all households as soon as possible.
Without television, we would have to wait for neewspapers- often one or two days after the event- to get information. That could be deadly in many cases.
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Post by Cybergrl on Sept 4, 2009 20:16:31 GMT -5
Topic A: television has a negative influence on society
Team: For
Television has a negative affect on children. The average child spends approximately 28 hours per week watching television. By the time a child reaches the age of 18 they will have seen 16,000 murders and 200,000 other acts of violence. American media is the most violent in the world; 80 percent of American television programs contain violence.
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Post by Cybergrl on Sept 5, 2009 10:22:53 GMT -5
Topic B: The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports should be legalized
Team: For
Athletes have the right to choose whether they want to use performance-enhancing drugs or not. They should consult a doctor and be taken under medical supervision.
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Post by Cybergrl on Sept 5, 2009 10:28:17 GMT -5
Topic C: All Schools should require their students to wear uniforms
Team: For
Students who wear school uniforms perform better academically in school. Students are often so focused on their wardrobe that it distracts them from learning. Mandatory uniform policy will remove this distraction and improve student attention. Uniforms set a more serious tone within the school environment that is conducive to learning and can improve student performance. School uniforms improve student attendance. Children can spend a great deal of time planning and choosing their daily clothing, and uniforms allow students to use this time to sleep or study.
School uniforms are more affordable to families because there is not as much pressure to buy expensive, trendy clothing. Uniforms are made to last, and can be washed easily and frequently. After the initial cost of buying uniforms, there is no need to spend as much money on clothing. Uniforms cost less than trendy children’s clothing.
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Post by panzerizz on Sept 5, 2009 10:44:45 GMT -5
darn it cyber, ur english is good, lol
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Post by Rod Blagojevich on Sept 5, 2009 11:42:23 GMT -5
I am so fucking confused...Am I allowed to post a FOR for any of these topic, or no because Cinderella has?
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Post by Lilytiger on Sept 5, 2009 13:44:08 GMT -5
Each team gets three posts per topic, Rod.
Topic C: All Schools should require their students to wear uniforms
Team: Against
Uniforms breed uniformity. During the school-age years, students are making choices that form their unique personalities and outlooks. One of the few ways they can do this during school hours is through the way they dress. By taking away the one way they can express who they are for 8 hours per day, we are limiting their ability to develop their own originality. The physical presence of having to look like the other students encourages the students to think alike on a subliminal level.
Students do judge each other based on the way they are dressed, but studies show that uniforms do not end school bullying. In fact, they could add to the problem. Teachers and staff members would have more difficulty identifying bullies on the playground and in the cafeteria (or other large common areas) because all of the students would be dressed alike. rom a distance, inentification could be quite difficult, if not impossible.
Another area of difficulty occurs in the manner of procurement. It isn't enough to say that students must wear navy pants and white shirts. Styles, color lots, and design vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. No matter how specific the school is in regards to design and color, the only way to ensure true uniformity within uniforms is to purchase all uniforms from one vendor. This is called a monopoly. In Britain, schools have faced charges of corruption because school officials worked in collusion with specific manufacturers. The school officials proffited, and the manufacturers effectively stamped out their competition.
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Post by Heather on Sept 5, 2009 14:27:21 GMT -5
Topic C: All Schools should require their students to wear uniforms
Team: For
School uniforms give students higher self esteem than schools without uniforms. After all, parents do not have to buy expensive name brand clothing in order for their children to blend in the crowd or be popular.
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Post by Michael Steele on Sept 5, 2009 23:17:26 GMT -5
Topic C: All Schools should require their students to wear uniforms Team: For Students who wear school uniforms perform better academically in school. Students are often so focused on their wardrobe that it distracts them from learning. Mandatory uniform policy will remove this distraction and improve student attention. Uniforms set a more serious tone within the school environment that is conducive to learning and can improve student performance. School uniforms improve student attendance. Children can spend a great deal of time planning and choosing their daily clothing, and uniforms allow students to use this time to sleep or study. School uniforms are more affordable to families because there is not as much pressure to buy expensive, trendy clothing. Uniforms are made to last, and can be washed easily and frequently. After the initial cost of buying uniforms, there is no need to spend as much money on clothing. Uniforms cost less than trendy children’s clothing. Cyber, Your entire argument is irrelevant, because it is not based on fact. There is no credible study linking the effects of school uniforms with increased academic performance. Your conclusions are all built on straw men arguments, with no backing in anything save opinion. "Children can spend..." "Students are often..." If you wish to make a claim, you must prove it. The truth is that academic performance rests in the willingness to learn of the student, coupled with the ability of their schooling system to instruct them. And dress code has little bearing on this. Research by Hill, Castellino, et al has shown that "significant association was identified between parent’s involvement in schooling and aspirations." (Child Development (2004) 75(5), pp.1491-1509) Indeed, the same study went so far as to say "a direct relationship was identified between parental academic involvement and achievement."
In fact, not only is the school uniform argument based solely in opinion, it has been proven that school uniforms have no significant impact on education. According to Brunsma and Rockquemore in their paper Effects of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Abuse, and Academic Achievement:
So, we have established that the pro-uniform argument is based not in evidence, but solely on feelings. And still, it has been proven that uniforms to not increase achievement.
Res ipsa loquitur. |
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Post by Michael Steele on Sept 5, 2009 23:24:48 GMT -5
Topic A: television has a negative influence on society Team: For Television has a negative affect on children. The average child spends approximately 28 hours per week watching television. By the time a child reaches the age of 18 they will have seen 16,000 murders and 200,000 other acts of violence. American media is the most violent in the world; 80 percent of American television programs contain violence. Topic A: television has a negative influence on society Team: Against This argument is based on false premises, namely, that all television is violent. However, the mere existence of channels such as the History Channel and Discovery Channel defeat this premise. PBS is also explicitly dedicated to informing the public, and has given us classic educational children's shows like Sesame Street. Even the more explicitly commercial channels have spawned great educational programming, such as Dora the Explorer. But the argument that television can be a positive good in society is not only theoretical. Daniel Anderson interviewed adolescents, and asked about their childhood viewing habits, and their subsequent academic achievement. This is what he found: The argument over television's impact on society is not simply a black or white issue. A television, by itself, is simply a box. However, what programming a family chooses to watch, how often they choose to watch, and what they take away from it, is more indicative of television's impact than it's mere existence. Watching bad programming for hours on end may turn one's mind to mush, but watching good programming is demonstrably good for a developing mind. Therefore, we cannot argue that television is a de-facto detriment to society. |
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Post by panzerizz on Sept 5, 2009 23:35:37 GMT -5
michael ftw, ;p
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Post by Danny Gokey on Sept 6, 2009 0:39:48 GMT -5
I am so fucking confused...Am I allowed to post a FOR for any of these topic, or no because Cinderella has? Yeah, I'm confused, too. I think I don't do anything cause someone from the "Against" side has already posted. |
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Post by Lilytiger on Sept 6, 2009 19:45:03 GMT -5
Round 2
Topic A: African disputes and conflicts be handled by African countries themselves, rather than by external international organisations
Team: For
In order to be seen by other countries as actively pursuing and encouraging democracy, African disputes should be handled by the countries themselves rather than by outside institutions or organizations. Because of the historical interference by other countries in African policies, some leaders- such as president Mugabe of Zimbabwe- see outside influences as a throwback to colonial interference. For African countries to grow and to stabilize, they need to find their own approaches and solutions to conflicts.
Foreign intervention also causes a lack of stability within a country. Once a peacekeeping entity intervenes, it can't help but force its own philosophy on the African country. One important aspect of culture is the unique philosophy it has developed over time. There simply is no one-size-fits-all philosophy or culture for all countries. So an entity comes in, provides a solution to the problem that is reflective of its own culture, and then leaves. Once the entity leaves, the philosophy often leaves with it, causing even more confusion. The influence that the entity had leaves when entity leaves, and often resentment of its intervention is all that is left behind.
Solutions to problems must be refelctive of the cultures and philosophy of the country itself. The only way to insure that is to have the country solve its own problems.
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