SEDA’s Impromptu Debate Guidelines - Tournament IV- USDS – February 11, 2011
This house would require that all students learn a second language.
Definitions:
This House: Education in Canada is controlled by each Province’s government.
Students: Anyone attending school that is in grades 1 –12.
Learn: To gain an understanding of something previously unknown by taking a class, or several classes over the course of a person’s academic career.
Things to think about
According to a study by the Alberta Board of Education called the “impact of second language education ” study, the benefits of learning a second language go way beyond the ability to speak a second language. The benefits can be found in many other aspects of life too, such as
- Greater cultural understanding
- Enhanced memorization and complex problem solving skills
English is no longer the most spoken language on earth. In a study done by National Geographic it was found that the population of people naming English as their Native Language is beginning to peak while languages such as Spanish, Hindi/Urdu, and Arabic continue to grow in number. It is predicted that by 2050 all of those languages will be equally ranked.
According to the linguist David Graddol, " Native English speakers—particularly monolingual ones—have been too complacent about the status of their language and the lack of need to learn other languages” In the future, people who only know a single language may have trouble participating in a ‘multi-lingual society’.
Languages beyond English are not currently a part of the mandatory curriculum in Saskatchewan. By requiring students to learn a second language major changes would have to be made to both the funding in schools and the structure of the school day. Students are already required to complete classes that fill the entire school day. How would the addition of more required classes affect the length of the school day and the amount of time spent on each subject of study?
Terms To Know
Native Language: This is the language a person has learned from birth.
Linguist: Someone whose dedicated field of study is languages.
Monolingual: Someone who understands only one language.
Multilingual Society: This is a society that has more than one significant language group. It could require people to switch between languages depending on the situation they are in.
Curriculum: This is the document that states what each student must learn in each grade. It lays out the general level of understanding and the scope of the information given in each subject so that students from different schools are at the same level academically.
Core Language: A strictly outlined section of a curriculum that ensures a standard level of knowledge is given to students in a specific area of study. Core classes are given priority over many other courses because they are deemed essential to a student’s education.
Immersion: This is a style of language education where all of the courses a student takes are taught in a language different to their Native Language in order to provide them with a thorough understanding of a second language that goes beyond basic knowledge
(Over)
Questions to Ask:
1. At what point do you consider a language learned? Is it after taking a year’s worth of classes on the subject? Or is it after many years of study? Would students have to pass a language proficiency test in order to graduate?
2. Should funding be further divided within schools where funding is already an issue and arts and other courses have begun to suffer?
3. Is there room in the school day for more to be learned when students are struggling with the already required courses?
4. Is having a second language important to the economy and personal economic freedoms? Or are other skills more important?
This house believes the Internet is harmful to education.
Definitions:
Internet: It is a network of information shared and controlled by millions of people via computers. It is a useful tool for information, games, social networking and even shopping. It is a global network that is controlled by governments and institutions within each country. According to Statistics Canada, by 2009 over 77% of Canadians had access to Internet in their homes
Education: This is the process of learning undertaken by students in schools and universities.
Things to Think About
The Internet has made research much more available to students, whether they are in elementary, secondary or high school. There is a huge amount of information on almost every topic available from both scholarly and uninformed sources. This means that students can research topics for projects and get help on homework topics right from their homes. It also makes it possible for students from rural communities to access information for research that they would not normally have access to in local libraries.
The rise of online classes and distance education has made it possible for people to attend university and further themselves academically when the time and monetary constraints of attending university would have been too great in the past. It is making higher education accessible to more people every day.
While the Internet may be a great tool for furthering education it can also be a threat. Anyone can post information to the Internet and whether or not that information is true it can be accessed by millions of users everyday. Students, especially those in elementary and high school, may not be able to discern between what is fact and what is not. This means that part of using the Internet in schools should involve Internet education so that students learn what information can be trusted and what cannot. Wikipedia is a good example of an Internet site with a wealth of unproven but easily accessible information. Students need to learn responsible Internet use.
There are also thousands of sites dedicated to selling pre-written papers and exams to students. The presence of this sort of Internet enterprise has made the jobs of teachers especially difficult as they are spending valuable time looking for plagiarized content rather than being able to focus on the skills of the students.
There is Internet access available to students in many school classrooms and libraries and though students have to login using passwords, and there are many filters put in place, harmful or offensive materials can still be accessed or go undetected by filters. With the rise of cell phone use in schools it has become nearly impossible for schools to police the type of internet content that is being accessed.
Harmful content doesn’t always mean offensive or pornographic sites either. Students who are using class time to play online games or to use social networking sites are losing out on their education. The Internet can be a distraction that takes away from everyday learning. It has also given rise to cyber-bullying, which can affect children in and out of school.
Terms to Know
Scholarly Source: Information that has been peer-reviewed and published by a recognized journal or publisher. This is a source that can be trusted to be true.
Distance Education: Education that takes place outside of the traditional classroom. This type of education can be done at home in a person’s free time. It can also take place in a group setting that is connected through teleconference to a classroom somewhere else.
Online Predators/ Cyber Bullies: These are people who use the Internet for harmful or abusive purposes. Often they are not using their own identities. Chat rooms, social networking sites and online gaming communities are all places where people should be especially careful of who they talk to and the information that they give out.
Plagiarize: This occurs when someone takes the work or ideas of another person and uses them as their own.
Wiki: This is a community-edited document that anyone can add to or change. This isn’t the same as peer-review, and information seen here should be researched rather than trusted. But it can give you ideas for a direction to go in for projects and papers.
This house supports a four-day school week.
Definitions:
School Week: The days during a seven-day week when children attend school.
Things To Think About
A four day school week doesn’t mean less time spent in the classroom but rather more time spent on fewer days. A regular day in a four-day week could mean an earlier start and later finish time for students and teachers. The advantage to a longer day is that classes are longer so students have more time to learn and absorb complex or difficult subjects in class. This means less time spend later trying to understand and complete difficult homework with a less thorough understanding of the subject matter. For younger students though a lengthened day could be difficult. According to Dr. Giora Pillar, a renowned pediatrician and sleep physician, "Sleepy children, unlike sleepy adults, may demonstrate hyperactivity and attention-deficit behavior rather than excessive daytime sleepiness," This could lead to more, rather than less, difficulties in classrooms for teachers, especially in the younger grades.
The four-day school week has become popular in areas where school funding is an issue. Schools save a lot of money during a four-day school week on student transportation as well as facility costs such as heat and power and nutrition plans. Also, teachers, because they have a weekday in which to attend to appointments and errands, are less likely to take days off during the week. This also creates savings because of a lower need for substitute teachers. In some cases, the four-day school week is an answer to economic problems that could otherwise result in school closures. Not all of the benefits are monetary though.
Students who attend schools that have a four-day week are less likely to miss classes or drop out of school because they are given more time to recharge after the week and also more time to catch up on homework and reading on the lengthened weekends. Also, there is an increase in time available for extra curricular activities such as sports and part-time jobs, which would mean less school missed for tournaments and sporting events as well as more time on evenings and weekends for students to balance a part time job and their school responsibilities.
In some school districts, teachers who work in a school that has a four-day week take the fifth day that is unused for teaching in order to plan lessons and take part in educational seminars or workshops. This could result in a higher quality of education for students. Conversely though, students learning new subject matter just before the weekend are more likely to forget the information before classes start again three days later. Pat Mouland, a kindergarten teacher in the Coast Mountain School District in B.C has noticed “increased difficulty in establishing routines when such young students are away from the classroom for three days every week.”
Parents may also find that a four-day school week causes difficulties in the home rather than solves them. Touted as a way for families to spend more quality time together, a four-day week can instead create issues for families where both parents work out of the home at a job with a five-day week. This could cause economic stresses for families, especially in rural areas where childcare may not be readily available.
Terms to Know
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Children suffering from this disorder are easily distracted, disorganized and often forgetful. Children with this disorder, or showing symptoms of this disorder can cause problems in classrooms with their distracting and disruptive behavior.
Questions to consider:
1. What is the most important factor in deciding to change the number of days in the school week? Should it be based on economic or educational gain?
2. What changes need to be made to the education system as a whole for a four-day week to be effective?