Debate and Derekh Eretz

Ray Levi, Head of School

the seventh grade boy asked. A seemingly innocent question, but if you’d been in the room with him for the preceding 28 minutes, your mind would have been racing and wondering how much of what you’d eaten had been genetically engineered.

This student was beginning his closing arguments in a formal debate on issues surrounding the genetic engineering of agricultural products. And the question posed was both a clever rhetorical technique and one that was being taken very seriously by this group of seventh graders. The debates this past Wednesday evening, an addition to our Upper School curriculum, marked the conclusion of an inter-disciplinary study. Building on genetics work in science, students had learned about formal debate techniques in social studies, had conducted research and prepared their opening and closing statements in Language Arts classes, and had learned Jewish thought on ethical issues in Judaic Studies classes.

Quite honestly, this being an HMJDS program, I came into the evening expecting the students to be articulate and to be able to think on their feet during the rebuttal phases of the debates. They’d had many years of public speaking practice at the School. I also suspected that students would be energized by the debate structure and I was pleased that this opportunity was being offered as part of an Upper School experience which could provide a taste of a potential extra-curricular choice for students when they move on to high school. The debates also yielded particularly exciting surprises because they suggested that our students are indeed developing skills that educators and business professionals tell us will be critical in the future:

Debate teams were given 2 minutes to huddle and prepare rebuttal arguments that one student would present. There was intense collaboration. Students leafed through binders to find research material that would be effective in responding to arguments heard only seconds before. One would have thought, given their seriousness of purpose that the future of the world depended on their offering articulate and relevant responses. Collaboration around shared purpose is so critical. Students showed that they cared about one another’s presentations and contributed to advancing the work of the team by supporting classmates.
Arguments presented were level-headed but passionate. Still at the conclusion of the debates, teams went over to their opponents for handshakes and hugs. We live in a world in which being able to hear opposing viewpoints and respond respectfully will be essential to working across cultures and traditional boundaries. Civil discourse, often so absent in our society, will nonetheless be a key to bringing diverse groups together. However passionate the students ultimately were about the arguments they had advanced, they came away respecting the work and integrity of their “opponents."

As I talked with parents after the program, a number noted that their children were having experiences that they wished they had been offered as part of their schooling. As parents, I think there is no greater reward than seeing our children develop skills or participate in activities that were not available to us. I’d heard comparable comments from parents earlier in the day who had been guided by our eighth grade students in the dissection of pig lungs and hearts. Most of us had never had this type of lab experience during our high school days. We adults were the wide-eyed novices as the students took the leadership roles at this second Curriculum Morning for Parents. The eighth graders will again serve as teachers when this dissection experience is provided for fourth graders later in the year. The fourth grade learners may be much less queasy about some of the lab work because they’ll be encountering dissection much sooner than their parents!

Rabbi Wirtschafter noted at the conclusion of the debates, Rabbi Johanan says in Pireki Avot (Teachings of the Sages): “Every assembly that is for the sake of Heaven shall in the end bear fruit.” (Avot 4:14). Civil discourse supported by well-researched arguments, collaborative efforts driven by a seriousness of purpose, and students acting as teachers for their parents all suggest that the gatherings this week were indeed for the sake of Heaven. And certainly, we can see, in the leadership of our children, the bearing of fruit!

B'shalom,



IN THIS ISSUE Debate and Derekh Eretz Students Teach the Rules of the Game Exemplifying American Democracy Striving for Balance HMJDS HAPPENINGS EVENTS CALENDAR THE BACK PAGE THE LIONS' PHOTO DEN COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Core Value for February *"And if not now, when?" (Mishnah Avot* 1:14)** The time to learn is now, the time to help another person is now; the time to care for our environ-ment is now, because if we put it off, it may never happen.	Debate and Derekh Eretz Ray Levi, Head of School the seventh grade boy asked. A seemingly innocent question, but if you’d been in the room with him for the preceding 28 minutes, your mind would have been racing and wondering how much of what you’d eaten had been genetically engineered. This student was beginning his *closing arguments in a formal debate* on issues surrounding the *genetic engineering of agricultural products. And the question posed was both a clever rhetorical technique and one that was being taken very seriously by this group of seventh graders. The debates this past Wednesday evening, an addition to our Upper School curriculum, marked the conclusion of an inter-disciplinary study. Building on genetics work in science, students had learned about formal debate techniques in social studies, had conducted research and prepared their opening and closing statements in Language Arts classes, and had learned Jewish thought on ethical issues in Judaic Studies classes. Quite honestly, this being an HMJDS program, I came into the evening expecting the students to be articulate and to be able to think on their feet during the rebuttal phases of the debates. They’d had many years of public speaking practice at the School. I also suspected that students would be energized by the debate structure and I was pleased that this opportunity was being offered as part of an Upper School experience which could provide a taste of a potential extra-curricular choice for students when they move on to high school. The debates also yielded particularly exciting surprises because they suggested that our students are indeed developing skills that educators and business professionals tell us will be critical in the future: Debate teams were given 2 minutes to huddle and prepare rebuttal arguments that one student would present. There was intense collaboration. Students leafed through binders to find research material that would be effective in responding to arguments heard only seconds before. One would have thought, given their seriousness of purpose that the future of the world depended on their offering articulate and relevant responses. Collaboration around shared purpose is so critical.* Students showed that they cared about one another’s presentations and contributed to advancing the work of the team by supporting classmates. Arguments presented were level-headed but passionate. Still at the conclusion of the debates, teams went over to their opponents for handshakes and hugs. We live in a world in which being able to hear opposing viewpoints and respond respectfully will be essential to working across cultures and traditional boundaries. Civil discourse, often so absent in our society, will nonetheless be a key to bringing diverse groups together. *However passionate the students ultimately were about the arguments they had advanced, they came away respecting the work and integrity of their “opponents."* As I talked with parents after the program, a number noted that their children were having experiences that they wished they had been offered as part of their schooling. As parents, I think there is no greater reward than seeing our children develop skills or participate in activities that were not available to us. I’d heard comparable comments from parents earlier in the day who had been guided by our eighth grade students in the dissection of pig lungs and hearts. Most of us had never had this type of lab experience during our high school days. *We adults were the wide-eyed novices as the students took the leadership roles* at this second Curriculum Morning for Parents. The eighth graders will again serve as teachers when this dissection experience is provided for fourth graders later in the year. The fourth grade learners may be much less queasy about some of the lab work because they’ll be encountering dissection much sooner than their parents! Rabbi Wirtschafter noted at the conclusion of the debates, Rabbi Johanan says in Pireki Avot (Teachings of the Sages): “Every assembly that is for the sake of Heaven shall in the end bear fruit.” (Avot 4:14). Civil discourse supported by well-researched arguments, collaborative efforts driven by a seriousness of purpose, and students acting as teachers for their parents all suggest that the gatherings this week were indeed for the sake of Heaven. And certainly, we can see, in the leadership of our children, the bearing of fruit! B'shalom,

IN THIS ISSUE

Debate and Derekh Eretz

Ray Levi, Head of School