by Ms. M.Barry
This year Pres were proud to reactivate their involvement in debating by taking part in the Concern League Debates. Ms Barry agreed to lead the programme and began with an impromptu selection process where all interested performed before their peers and a number of teachers. A team of 7 were chosen comprising of Zara McGrath, Hazel Geary, Máire O’Shea, Anna Chute, Abby Stephenson, Emma Boyce and Anna O’Sullivan. The team started by watching a previous winning debate online and preparing themselves for speaking in public.
The debates were organised online which meant as little interruption to class time and pre planned activities as possible. The first online debate was held in October against Kinsale and the topic was ‘School Strikes are the only Effective Way for Young People to have a Voice on Climate Change.’ The girls worked closely together, sharing research ideas online and met over many lunchtimes to edit their speeches and rehearse their presentations.
The second debate was ‘Feeding the World is Increasingly Beyond the Reach of Humanity.’ The girls valiantly opposed this motion and learned a lot about the challenges posed by world hunger. The next debate was ‘Big Business is Indifferent to the Sustainable Development Goals.’ For this debate the girls faced CBS Wexford and a very engaging debate ensued. The next debate was entitled ‘The Tic Toc Generation Cares about Ending Global Poverty.’ Once again, the girls took the opposition and impressed the judges with their meticulous research and delivery.
The last debate was against Mount St Michael, Roscarberry and the title was ‘We Must only Trade with Businesses that Adopt Fair Trade Principles.’ These brought two worthy opponents together and it was a closely fought debate, fascinating to watch.
The TY Debating Team have really enjoyed the experience of researching these challenging issues and engaging other teams at close quarters on issues that are of huge global concern. Anna O’Sullivan commented: ‘ The Concern Schools Debate was definitely one of the highlights of my TY year. I really enjoyed the challenge of researching and developing ideas and it was overall a very fun experience.’ Hazel Geary continues: ‘With every round I grew more confident and speaking before an audience became easier and I’m grateful for the growth in confidence it has given me.’ Maire O’Shea felt ‘it was a great opportunity to speak about topics relevant to the world today.’
Anna Chute was happy to promote the idea of debating in TY and now reflects: ‘I feel like the public speaking and research skills I gained will help me with any projects I have to present for LC, College and in the work place. I cannot recommend taking part enough as it allows you to progress and mature as a student.’ Emma Boyce concurs: ‘ I’ve also seen a great improvement in my confidence when public speaking and in my ability to structure and present thoughts and ideas in an effective and engaging way – a skill that is undoubtedly useful in every aspect of life.’
Zara McGrath also feels that the experience has been highly beneficial for her personal development: ‘Being a part of the debating team has given me so many opportunities to refine my public speaking skills for the future. Having the chance to write my own speeches and research my own points has been a fantastic opportunity to learn about current events and has given me the chance to present my opinions on major issues facing this world today.’ The opportunity of working as a cohesive team was also commended by all involved. Emma said: ‘It was great to have the support of team mates and our mentor Ms Barry….’ Anna O’Sullivan agreed, saying ‘I really learned the importance of collaborating with my team mates.’ This point was reiterated by Abby Stephenson : ‘Feeing past of a team and, working together and hyping each other up made all the hours of research and speech re-writing absolutely worth it.’
The topics engaged in were challenging, critical and exciting – a point stressed by Emma Boyce. Both Anna Chute and Abby Stephenson, who both took on the onerous role of Team Captain for various debates, relished the challenge. Abby commented : ‘… being captain for some of the debates gave me an amazing chance to learn new things.’ The captain has to lead and maintain morale among the members a positive morale was maintained throughout.
Overall, taking part in the Concern Debates was a very worthwhile and enjoyable experience. Máire summed up the positive feeling in the room: ‘It was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to
