Students bring English debate to life
Dewi Santoso, Jakarta
Though there is no culture of debate here, dozens of high school students from various provinces showed that they are mature beyond their age when it comes to the use of logic and common sense in presenting opinions.
The students definitely fared better than the presidential and vice presidential candidates who have been pitting their speaking skills against each other on TV in terms of their mastery of English.
The students, all 16 or 17 years old, speak English fluently -- with some of them matching native speakers -- and displayed their impressive analytical skills during a team debate here.
Jointly organized by the Association for Critical Thinking and the Ministry of National Education, the second Indonesian School Debating Championship, which concluded on Wednesday night, was aimed at encouraging students to practice their analytical thinking in English by using common sense with the support of solid evidence.
The competition adopted the format that has for decades been practiced in England's House of Commons.
Natalia Hermanto, a member of the winning team, said she was surprised that she won in her first appearance at the event.
"I didn't expect to win because when I first entered the competition, I was not among the best," Natalia, a 17-year-old student at BPK Penabur 3 Christian High School, said.
Representing Jakarta, Natalia, along with Siti Soraya Cassandra of Al Izhar and Alvin Susanto of SMU Karunia, won the championship after beating the East Kalimantan team in a debate on whether retired military officers were suitable for the presidency.
The East Kalimantan team argued that retired military officers should not be allowed to run for president.
The Jakarta team said retired officers did not always preside over authoritarian governments.
A panel of 11 judges unanimously declared the Jakarta team the winner, saying it provided solid evidence, including its citation of former U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt as an example.
Chief adjudicator Idauli Hutasoit said the jurors not only looked at the speakers' command of English, but also their analysis and critical thinking.
"We gave good marks to arguments that were supported by good analysis, good examples and solid evidence, rather than just speaking skills," said Ida.
The purpose of the event was to provide the students with greater insight into what a real parliament debate is, she added.
Also receiving a trophy was Ni Wayan Desi Arianti of SMU 4 state high school in Denpasar, Aditya Rakhman of SMU 2 state high school in Bengkulu and Dian Amalia of SMU 17 state high school in Makassar.
In a debate on whether the government should approve a controversial syringe exchange program for injecting drug users to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, the team said Indonesia should emulate the United States in applying the program.
They said the program in the U.S. had been able to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and save about US$250 million from the budget.
From among the 102 participants in the event, organizers selected eight speakers, not necessarily from the winning teams, to attend a two-month training program for the World Schools Debating Championship to be held in Calgary, Canada, in February next year.
After a long-distance training program and workshop of paper analysis and essays sent through the Internet, the organizers will pick four of the students to represent Indonesia at the world championship.