Students bring English debate to life

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.