AVM Debating Club: an indefatigable impulse to say something new about the all-too-familiar.

“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.” 

Ever since the inception of AVM Debating Club, students started experiencing thrill and excitement to involve in all proceedings of AVM Debating Club. With the kind grace and blessings of His Divine Holiness Param Pujya Swamiji, who is the ultimate inspiration for the foundation of this Debating Club, the students enthusiastically participated in Semi-Finals and Grand Finale of Inter House Debate Competitions. 

Using Debate as a Mechanism for education, AVM Debating Club selected such topics to make it more of an academic debate. Research and discussion on these topics created an opportunity to train and develop students in the core academic skills of the language arts: reading comprehension, critical thinking, and communications skills. For Semi-finals and Finals three Speakers from each House made a team. Each House team of each group(classes) got one topic to speak ‘FOR’ or ‘AGAINST’. Competition for each group was between two House Teams, Unfolding two opposite sides of the same topic. Topics were given in prior, on which the teams were supposed to gather as much information as possible. 

Semi Finals
Group	Topic	For (Points -earned)	Against (Points -earned)	Winners
6th and 7th Standard	Glamorising Cricket: Is affecting other sports?	Satyam  196 Points	Shivam  191 Points	Satyam
	Restrict playing and selling of Violent Video Games	Sundaram  208 Points	Suhradam  206 Points	Sundaram
8th & 9th Standard	Voting Should be made Compulsory	Satyam 188 Points	Suhradam 226 Points	Suhradam
	Indian Villages - Our Strength or Weakness?	Sundaram 209 Points	Shivam 198 Points	Sundaram
10th 11th & 12th Standard	Right-brain person enjoys life/successful more than the left-brain person.	Sundaram 223 Points	Satyam 233 Points	Satyam
	Science boon or bane?	Suhradam  177 Points	Shivam 216 Points	Shivam
Grand Finale
6-7 Winner	Newspapers are things of past	Satyam 215 Points	Sundaram 198 Points	Satyam
8-9 Winner	Internet brings more harm than good	Suhradam 228 Points	Sundaram 196 Points	Suhradam
10-11-12 Winner	Believes they should get a Masters Degree	Satyam 231 Points	Shivam 193 Points	Satyam

While preparing for Debate Competition, the students (members of AVM Debating Club) set up well for critical evaluation of ideas, arguments, and points of view. It is only through this critical evaluation that students learn to distinguish among competing claims for truth and thus determine themselves as autonomous thinkers.

The teachers trained the participants of the debate competition to learn how to analyze and critically think on the given topic to research relatively. The best outcome of the semifinals of Inter house debate competition was the team spirit, coordination and togetherness. It was quite satisfying for the trainers Prajval Sir, Prabhudarshan Sir, Chirag Sir, Saumya Madam and Seema Madam to acknowledge that teams in the AVM Debating Club are made up of Debaters who understand the roles and responsibilities as well as the complexities associated with each speaker’s position. With this understanding, the speakers can appreciate how the roles complement each other and thus put the team in the best position to win. 

Finally, the much awaited event of Grand Finale of Inter House Debate Competition arrived. The knack of relevant references, contextual evidences, and reasonable arguments and the verbal fights among house contestants interspersed with lots of claps and nodding from judges. Following the set rules of Debating and quite sophisticated arguing techniques made students be in a position where they could argue with understanding and assertion. 

It is a great pleasure to mention a deep sense of appreciation for [Harsh Sarda and Sachin Verlekar of Satyam House], for their explanation of Master Degree or Specialization in a subject is not good. Again refer to its opposite, were the arguments put forth by Shivam House’s Vishesh Mistry and Vishlesh Gondaliya. 

Further, it was so amazing to listen to [Keyur of Suhradam House], for demonstrating his speech on Internet poses more harm than good. Referring and responding to this , were solid arguments by Rushi and Sahjik of Sundaram House.] 

It is unavoidable to mention Yathansh Joshi and Ravi Patel of Satyam House in Junior group for giving an excellent coverage to the topic “News papers are things of past”. Referring and responding to them was the opposite team of Rahul and Aakash of Sundaram House. 

The gracious presence of honourable Vijay Sir and other teachers was quite motivating. AVM debating club feels proud to create such an event which was brimmed with podiums where students’ talent can not only reach the pedestal but acknowledge them with the very fact of debating: “Say not always what you know, but always know what you say.”