The Importance of Debates for the School Goers

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe." - Marilyn vos Savant. It is said that a good orator can be a great leader. It is our linguistic skills that make us a good communicator. Communication is nothing but the art of understanding the psyche of the person with whom we are communicating. For example, a person can become a good teacher only when the person appeals to the understanding of the students. In the professional life also, only those reach the zenith of success who have an appealing personality and can easily make people understand of their point of view. We often notice people while travelling in a bus or train, who easily can gather public attention by their attractive speaking power. Debating is one such skill that enhances our observation and communication skills. Inorder to be a good debater, one needs to be keen listener first. After listening and understanding the opponent’s views, the debater can easily raise his or her own points. In the ancient times, the kings used to arrange for discussion forum on their courts so that the solution of a particular problem could be sought. The Indian philosophical schools like Nyaya and Charvakha were famous for their great debating skills.

A debate may occur between two persons or a group of persons. The participants of the debating session are divided into two groups in which one group will speak in favor of a debating issue and the other group will speak against it. Both the groups will try to prove their points to win the session. Debating is one of the most rewarding activities. There are a host of reasons that scholars put forward in favor of this kind of discussions. These are as follows:-

• These argumentative sessions offer us the scope to sharpen our argumentative and persuasion skills which are important for the later professional life
• As debating teaches us to be a good speaker, so it strengthens our language skills and command over our presentation of sentences. kills like this are needed to prepare us for tomorrow's world
• Debate gives us a chance to be socialize with other people and become a part of vibrant and inclusive community
• Critical thinking skills are also learnt by such discussion sessions. A number of studies have reported that participation in debates increases the critical thinking of the partcipant students. Debate participation promotes problem solving and innovative thinking, and helps students to build links between words and ideas that make concepts more meaningful.
• The academic performances of the students are reported to be improved who participate in such mind storming sessions. Perhaps most importantly, debaters become self-directed learners, allowing them to take control of their education experience and continue to learn throughout their lives. This makes competitive debate a particularly affective vehicle for gifted and talented education.

For its many folded benefits, these discussion sessions are widely benefitting the academic field all over world because out of such debates stem inventions and ideas that people thought of as impossible.