Debating and Public Speaking Society
Debating and Public Speaking are intrinsic to co-curricular life at KES with considerable attendance, particularly from the Lower School. There are no prerequisites for debaters to either have experience or be exceptional orators and we encourage students that are enthusiastic to attend. For ourselves, debating has helped us to venture out of our comfort zones and articulate ourselves in a much more coherent manner.
In these society meetings, we will be discussing and conducting debates on current pressing matters. This encompasses matters from the legalisation of euthanasia to the abolition of the monarchy. We are looking for current UMs and Fourths especially, in perspective of the ICYD (International Competition for Young Debaters) held at the start of next year. As we experienced first-hand, this is quite a challenging task as the motion for the debate is released only 15 minutes prior to the discussion.
At these meetings, we will be motivating students to read articles and be familiar with relevant material in the news to build an interest for current matters. With this knowledge, we will be in the position to conduct debates, in which we can pinpoint the effect of body language, voice intonation and most importantly the art of presenting your point in a logical manner, exploring all of the impacts possible. There will also be astute rebuttal from those around them, to demonstrate the importance of, “thinking on your feet.” However, the focal aim of debating isn’t simply success at competitions – it’s far from that. It acts as a stimulus to build confidence in students, converse with others around them and engage in intellectual activity.
Debating and public speaking unleashes the opportunity to not just put your point across, but to acknowledge others’ voices too. Essentially, this helps to develop critical thinking skills and curiosity in questioning the evidence behind a particular stance or conclusion. These are all skills that will stand pupils in very good stead for future life at KES.
Nikash Chekuri and Omar Amin
The Open Platform
Hark! The Open Platform ventures into a world hitherto unexplored… the world of cyber debates!
The Open Platform is a political discussion society, encouraging pupils from KES and KEHS to emerge from their fermented milieux and face challenging opposition. In solemn lieu of our beloved extended Thursday lunchtimes, we have taken Open Platform to the online world.
We are delighted to have had three lively discussions so far, this term: Universal Basic Income, Affirmative Action and Euthanasia. As I am sure you would expect of us pupils, both from KES and KEHS, we are passionate about, and eager to, express our opinions on any subject someone might throw at us. The Open Platform is the perfect place for discussing these divisive issues.
And I assure you, it is not nearly as cacophonic as housebound teenagers arguing over the internet might sound!
If you are interested, you can find out the Classroom code on Firefly. See you there!
Rishit Harsh
KES now has 30 societies and clubs up and running remotely. Students are encouraged to explore the opportunities available by visiting Firefly.
