Newark students debate community issues

All nine fifth-grade classes at Kelley Intermediate School debated the pros and cons of issues the students consider important.

Each class was divided into four groups and given topics to debate with four groups from another class in the The Great Debate April 28-30.

District Enrichment Coordinator Bobbi Clifford, who facilitated and moderated the eight hours of debates, lauded teachers for the amount of work they did in preparing students for the debates.

'The debating was wonderful and the amount of time teachers spent helping students to meaningfully prepare for them was very evident this year,' said Clifford. 'Not only were the students well-versed in their subject matter, and persuasive in positions they took, but they were also more at ease with the debating. Topics debated included school dress codes, skateboarding by children on public streets; hunting animals; medical testing of animals; the cost of space exploration and more.'

While there were no actual winners or losers in the exercise, judges determined which side they felt which side was more convincing in its position. Judges offered positive comments and suggestions to members of each debating team in debriefing after each debate.

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