I was stoked, and it turned out to be well worth getting there by eight thirty in the frickin' morning on a Saturday. For the most part, most of the debaters I judged either argued for utilitarianism or deontology, citing Mills and Kant respectively. My joy, however, didn't come from hearing new arguments, so much as seeing high schoolers and their bright eyes, awkward hand gestures and earnest dispositions. Most of the young adults I judged were over-joyed by my elaborate praises and thorough critique of their work. They hurriedly jotted notes, and two of them thanked me profusely for the detail and attention. To be honest, it made me a little sad to walk back in to teach a required course this morning. The attitudes are very disparate.
Some of the highlights of the debate tournament:
A 8th grade girl from a rural county that rocked the house. Her cross-examination was exhilarating, and I know that she has a career waiting for her in law.
A pair of brothers whose fast talking prose proved to be both practically significant and philosophically grounded.
A young man with a cute emo haircut who approached the debate with the most interesting and philosophically rigorous slant. He actually managed to convince me that John Rawls and Ayn Rand could agree in terms of this one issue. (That woman's visage still haunts my never-ending nightmares, however.)
In conclusion, I am a huge nerd.
I stand ready for cross examination.
No comments:
Post a Comment