Urban Debate League- Round 1

The first round of the Urban Debate League is coming up- it will be your first chance to debate against other schools. On the day there will be 2 debates. One will be short preparation- you will have 20 minutes to prepare your arguments just like in your clubs. We are pre-announcing the motion for the other debate- it will be “This House Would Not Allow Alcohol to be Drunk on TV”. See below for some ideas and inspiration for arguments you could make. You will be debating this in your clubs next week- get thinking!

What’s the latest motion all about…?! Alcohol? TV? Things to get you thinking…

“THIS HOUSE WOULD NOT ALLOW ALCOHOL TO BE DRUNK ON TELEVISION”

Nice motion.. but what’s it all about?  

Well, first things first – it’s NOT about whether Alcohol is a good or a bad thing – that’s only part of it.  It’s about whether showing people drinking alcohol ON TV is something that we should ban?

SO, we’ve been thinking and came up with a few brainteasers to get you started…

Drinking Scene in 'American Pie' - responsible?

• Does seeing people drinking alcohol on TV in soaps (like Skins & Eastenders) and adverts make viewers more likely to abuse alcohol in their own lives? (See what these scientists found and  this Scottish girl thinks)

• In bad cases Alcohol abuse can be the cause of serious illness, misery and violence in families and on the street, but does that mean we should ban any images of drinking on TV?  Why do we  Ban things? What have we Banned in the past? ….Should we ban images of people drinking alcohol on TV?!
  

  Amy Winehouse: victim of alcoholic misery

• Just because something’s ‘harmful’ does it mean we should ban seeing it on TV? Is that a kind of censorship? We ARE a democracy…  (Anyway, isn’t Macdonalds bad for you….?)

“The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.  ~Tommy Smothers”

“Censorship reflects society’s lack of confidence in itself.  It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.  ~Potter Stewart”

• Shouldn’t  TV hold a mirror up to how things really are in the world?

• Don’t some TV shows educate viewers about the dangers of alcohol?

SKINS: Making drinking glamorous?

and just to mix it up a bit….

• Who said TV ever had a responsibility to be educational?  Can’t people make up their own minds..?

“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.  ~Voltaire”

• Are people more influenced by TV than they realise or are they more influenced by their friends.. their parents… their teachers even?  Isn’t that more important than what we see on TV?

• Or are we above all influenced to drink by celebrities, soaps and adverts that we watch?  Find out what these British teenagers think about it.

• Responsible drinking is a normal part of socialising in this country  - if we ban showing it on TV aren’t we going a bit too far?
  

  Queen Mother: Harmless Influence?

EASTENDERS: Do you want to be like Phil?

But there  are no right answers only more Questions!

• How much is copying what we see a basic fact of human behaviour that we can’t help?  Isn’t this the reason why companies put billions into to having pictures of people using their products on TV every year? Do you think seeing people drinking alcohol on TV makes us want to drink without even knowing it?

• Think about your own role models- do you model yourself on them?  Do their actions affect what you do?

• Does seeing drinking on TV make it seem cool? Will this make people drink more? How does it do this?

• Is it Drinking on TV that is the problem or just how it is done?

• Are young people more likely to be influenced by their favourite characters?

• Is all drinking a bad?  Isn’t responsible drinking a normal part of adult socialising in the UK?

“This House would not allow alcohol to be drunk on TV” – What do you think?

–     let us know, comment below!!         OR Check out the Fact Sheet to find out More!

This House Would Not Allow Alcohol to be Drunk on TV

Alcohol abuse is a massive problem in the UK.

• In 2007, in England, there were 6,541 deaths directly related to alcohol, this has increased by 19 per cent since 2001.
• It is estimated that the cost of alcohol related harm to the NHS in England is £2.7 billion in 2006/07 prices.
• Last year one in seven people admitted to Accident and Emergency departments across the UK for alcohol related health issues were under 14 years old

But think about your favourite TV programmes- how often are characters shown drinking alcohol? Alcohol is central to the story of many programmes, including shows like “Skins” and “Hollyoaks” which are aimed directly at teenagers. Soaps like “Eastenders” and “Coronation Street” often have a lot of the action set in pubs.

Is showing drinking on TV a problem? Does it contribute to Britain’s problems with alcohol by making drinking seem glamorous? Does this pressure people into drinking more than is healthy? Does it make young people more likely to drink?
Those who think that drinking on TV should be banned might argue that makes it seem normal. They could also say that TV programmes often don’t give a full picture of the consequences of drinking. It can also be claimed that seeing young characters drinking is a form of peer pressure. Are young people most likely to be affected by positive messages about alcohol?

But some might argue that we should be free to put whatever we want on TV. Drinking is a fact of life, and it would be unrealistic for alcohol to never be shown on the TV. TV programmes often show the bad side of drinking. Could seeing your favourite characters having difficulties with alcohol actually make you less likely to drink, or better able to deal with the consequences?

Seeing drinking on TV doesn’t make you do it- if people want to drink they will anyway and if they don’t want to drink, seeing it on TV won’t affect them.

So, should we not allow drinking alcohol to be shown on TV? A lot of people already believe that advertising alcohol on TV should be banned. Should we go as far as banning alcohol from TV altogether?

Here are links to some research to get you thinking about the arguments you might make:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7921858.stm

http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article65.html

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/lifestyle/positive-alcohol-consumption-messages-on-tv-shows-wipe-off-negative-messages_100171487.html

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This House Would Abolish Christmas

Should Christmas be banned?
Christmas- religious festival, celebration of family and friendship, or over-hyped, commercialised rip-off? Join the Christmas debate!

Some people think it’s too commercial and pressure to buy expensive gifts ruins the spirit. Others think it promotes the generosity so often missing from day to day life. Is it a fun filled break from winter gloom, or an excuse to binge on unhealthy food and drink? Does it bring families together or cause unnecessary rows? And is Santa a jolly festive friend or a burglar in a big red disguise?

Comment to let us know what you think.

Who’s Going to Win?

This week most Debate Mate clubs are taking part in their first full formal debate. This is the format of debating you will be doing in the Urban Debate League and the Richard Koch Cup.

Who thinks their club is good enough to win? Who thinks their club is the best in the UK?  Let us know by commenting here…

This House would ban violent video games

Were you at the Debate Mate Launch in London?  Did you see the debate on banning violent video games?

What did you think?  What side did you agree with?  Were any speakers particularly good?  Did anyone say anything that you disagreed with?

Let us know what you think…  Post a comment on the blog.  Tell us who you are and what school you’re from and then let us know your opinion.

 

The Debate Mate programme starts this week!

The Debate Mate programme starts now!

Young people from 70 schools across the UK are taking part, working with student debaters from the top universities in the country to set up their own debate clubs.

Pretty soon your club will have the opportunity to debate against other schools in the Urban Debate League and in April 2010 you will take part in the one of the biggest debating competitions in Britain, the Richard Koch Cup.

Are you taking part in a Debate Mate club?  Are you looking forward to it?  Is your school going to win? Tell us what you think by commenting on the blog.

If you want to write an article about anything that interests you or you have debated in your Debate Mate club email blogging@debatemate.com.

We hope you enjoy debating!

This House would punish parents for the crimes of their children

Were you at the Debate Mate Launch in London, Birmingham or Manchester?  Did you see the debate on punishing parents for the crimes of their children?

What did you think?  What side did you agree with?  Were any speakers particularly good?  Did anyone say anything that was not?

 

Let us know what you think…  Post a comment on the blog.  Tell us who you are and what school you’re from and then let us know your opinion.

 

Richard Koch Results and Congratulations!

Boo Ya! The first ever Richard Koch Cup took place last Friday at the LSE and was an amazing success.   Congratulations to everyone who took part, you did an amazing job.  Special mentions to the following:

Cator Park – winners
Robert Clack Lower Red – runners-up
Tizhoze from St. Saviour’s – funniest speech and best floor spech in the final
Sam from Robert Clack Upper – best speaker
Hannah from the Lammas School – best female speaker
Fran, Natalie and Callum – Debate Mate’s three ‘most improved’ students across the Programme

Anyway, we’re currently working on putting together all of the filming from the day and we’ll upload it – and the photographs – to the website soon, keep an eye out for it.

What’s really important now is that you keep debating.  In the last sixteen weeks most of you have gone from never having done it before to being able to stand up and speak confidently and articulately on any topic with very little preparation.  That’s an amazing skill, one you’ll never forget!  Debate Mate will hopefully be back in your school next year and before then we’ll be running training days during the summer term and a summer workshop in the holidays – if you’re interested then e-mail ian[at]debatemate.com. 

We’ll also be continuing the debates here on the blog – posting weekly topics and asking you for your views – just to make sure that you stay engaged and practicing!

Congratulations to all again….

The Debate Mate Team

Zimbabwe – Some Short Stories (and more Prizes)

So we’re in the final straight and the first round of the Richard Koch Cup is now just 88 hours or 5,280 minutes away.  As you know the first debate will be ‘This House would invade Zimbabwe’.  If you’re keen on doing a little last minute preparation Radio 4 had an interesting interview today with an author who has written a number of short stories set in the country which tell a little bit about the effect of the political crisis on the people.  Have a look here and start the piece at 22.50 seconds. 

We’ve also got some more news about prizes – they’ll be signed film posters (but we can’t tell you which film yet!) and we’ve got some amazing new trainers which have been kindly donated.   It’s going to be a great day, remember if you’ve got any questions or suggestions for music just comment on the blog or e-mail feedback[at]debatemate.com.