Oratory Article
Cranbrook’s recent international policy debates
On Monday 29 April, 14 of our debaters gave up their final day of holidays to jump online for some international debates with students from the Washington DC area. In cooperation with the Washington Debate League, we organised our first live policy style debates on the resolution ‘The United States and Australia should increase security cooperation to counter the People’s Republic of China.’ Policy debating is different to our usual Australasian 3 x 3 speaker debates, with only two students per team and where speakers can cross-examine the other side! Prior to the debates, students had around a week to prepare, engaging in research skills that required obtaining hard evidence of policy decision-making in international affairs to support possible lines of argument. Whereas our regular debating requires an emphasis on holistic discussion of topics, students here were required to quote from real world sources and show deep knowledge and understanding.
Despite our relative newness to this style of debating, Cranbrook’s teams did themselves proud, with two teams coming away with a win (well done to Ian Wu and Jansen Jiang in Year 7, and to Felix Evans and Finn Dusseldorp in Year 8) and another team narrowly losing out to significantly more experienced debaters. Special commendation went to Year 10 student Gus Robinson, who was noted for his especially good framing of arguments. Feedback from another judge was that Cranbrook students are “very well read”, which helped to overcome some challenges grappling with the intricate format of these debates (which we are confident will come with time and practice). It was a positive learning curve for students, who gained insight into other ways to debate, and many were able to take away strategies that could be moulded into the context of their regular Friday debates.
Year 10 debaters Rupert Tait and Kevin Chu wrote of the lessons gained from their experience:
“Initially, our group was surprised at their continued and extended analysis of evidence throughout the debate, as within competition debating, evidence is primarily used singularly as a method to substantiate mechanisms or arguments. Additionally, the opposition continually attributed new, improving mechanisms to their arguments, which we considered to be not only a relevant and effective method of bolstering their persuasiveness but also an applicable tool to be utilized in our future debates.”
Year 12 debaters Caspar Nicholson and Robbie Wyer wrote of their first encounter with ‘spreading’:
“One thing we didn’t expect going into this debate was the level of speed reading or ‘spreading’ of the American teams. Whilst the Australian standard has taught us to prioritise eloquence over quantity, the American teams can send their speeches to their opponents, allowing them to fit 8000 words into an 8-minute speech. It made for a surprising and interesting debate and allowed us to gain insight into how people on the other side of the globe debate and engage in policy discussions. Whilst the speed of speech made it sometimes hard to follow what was happening, it allowed for an in-depth presentation and exploration of evidence, data, statistics, and opinions on security cooperation between Australia and the United States and their relationship with the People’s Republic of China. Bringing forth numerous ‘cards’ of detail, our opposition blew us out of the water with a case researched to its core. It seemed as if every claim we had was countered with a new article or statistic, developing a riveting battle of logic against facts. It has allowed us to gain a greater appreciation of the power of evidence and statistics in debating and how debate can take on various forms.”
We look forward to strengthening our relationship with our American friends in the coming months and years ahead. For students in Years 9-11 with an eye to competing formally in this format, opportunity to enter the International Public Policy Forum Competition – a written version of policy debate – will be on offer later this year.
Competition Debating this week
This Friday 3rd May sees the following debates take place:
| Details | ISDA vs Various | Eastside vs Sydney Girls High School |
| Round | Make Up Round for Years 8 and 9 | Round 6 |
| Venue | Cranbrook | Cranbrook |
| Address | 5 Victoria Road Bellevue Hill | 5 Victoria Road Bellevue Hill |
| Entry via | Entry via the Rose Bay Avenue gate only. Turn left on entry and walk the short steps down to Level 4 of the Vicars Centenary Building. | Entry via the Rose Bay Avenue gate only. Turn left on entry and walk the short steps down to Level 4 of the Vicars Centenary Building. |
| Years 7-9 debate / finish | Debates start 6.30pm / Debates finish 7.30pm | Debates start 6.15pm / Debates finish 7.15pm |
| Years 10-12 debate / finish | Debates start 7.30pm / Debates finish 9.00pm | Debates start 7.15pm / Debates finish 8.45pm |
| Topic area | None advertised | Social Movements |
| Spectator policy | Spectators welcome for Years 7, 8 and 9 | Spectators welcome for all divisions |
For ISDA, Year 8 has their make up round debate against St Catherine’s and Year 9 has their make-up round debate against Ascham. Year 7 ISDA will have a special debate against Sydney Girls High School – a school we don’t debate outside of Eastside but whom has a second team that are keen to debate. Next week, we will learn which teams progress to the finals of the ISDA competition – we are optimistic about a number of teams.
A reminder that all Years 7-9 debaters must be collected by a parent or guardian at the end of the night.
Upcoming oratory events
- Model UN on lunchtimes Wednesday 1st, Thursday 2nd, and Friday 3rd May
- Mock Trial, Mooting, and Social Debating 3.30-5.30pm Thursday 2nd May
- AMEB Voice and Communication 3.30-5.00pm on Friday 3rd May
- ISDA make up debates and Eastside R6 vs SGHS (both at Cranbrook) on Friday 3rd May
- Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition (at Scots College) on Friday 3rd May
- Public Speaking on Monday 6th May
Oratory programmes above are fully subscribed for Semester 1
There has been a lot of recent interest in participating in one or more of our oratory programmes listed above. However, close date for sign-ups have long passed and we are presently fully subscribed across all debating, public speaking, and Model UN. We are therefore unable to accept new enrolments. However, students keen to gain access to our resources and prepare themselves for Semester 2 sign-up are welcome to reach out to me (note, we only accept expressions of interest from students directly). Sign-up for Semester 2 offerings will circulate via student email in mid-June.
Contact
Should you or your son have any further questions about any of Cranbrook’s oratory programmes, you are welcome to reach out to the Head of Oratory and Student Journalism, Mr Benjamin Smith, at bsmith@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au. In the first instance, students should be making contact about getting involved.
Essential information and highlights for parents will be posted here on Cranbrook Connect as part of the Thursday Link. Students involved in oratory programmes will receive updates via their respective Canvas or TEAMS channels.
Benjamin Smith
Head of Oratory & Student Journalism