22
Mar
2017
By Calvin at 12:28 GMT, 8 years ago
I was listening to Vanessa Feltz this morning on BBC Radio London (as I do every morning – I’m one of her ‘lovely listeners’) and was intrigued by her guests from an international charity called Debate Mate.
This is what Debate Mate is all about (taken from their website):
Debate Mate is a unique, international educational charity dedicated to improving social mobility using cost-effective peer-to-peer debate mentoring.
They run after school debating clubs in areas of high child poverty, facilitated by students at the best universities, which give disadvantaged young people the skills they need to become exceptional young leaders – confidence, interpersonal communication skills and higher order thinking.
They have a strong global presence, operating programmes in Nepal, Africa, Jamaica, the Middle East, and the United States.
They also run bespoke workshops for teachers looking to integrate debating into their classrooms and specialised training for students who want to “debate like a world champion.”
By teaching debating through peer-to-peer mentoring, they empower and inspire participants and provide them with powerful role models to raise their aspirations............
If you’re wondering why I’ve put this article up on my news page today it’s because this is yet another excellent opportunity for me to show our young people in a positive light.
I didn’t do debating in my school, but wish I had. Debating has rules, of course, so promotes discipline in argument. This ensures that those involved have to think their argument through carefully before having their say and, importantly, being heard. Then they have to be able to defend their position against an opposing view, which helps them to become more confident in front of their peers. It’s also a great way to prepare them for their future in work.
If you want to know more about the charity follow the link below:
Debate Mate https://debatemate.com/
