Last week we had a debate in PYP 4. We defined it as a structured argument when two sides speak alternately for and against a particular contention. The topical issue was – Should students take cell phones in school or not? The class was divided into two teams – One team had to find the arguments that will support the idea of taking cell phones in the school and the other one arguments against taking cell phones in the school. Each student (speaker) was allocated a time he/she was allowed to speak for and any interjections were carefully controlled by tutorial leaders. It was an excellent way of improving speaking skills and is particularly helpful in providing experience in developing a convincing argument. We also improved basic debating skills like style, speed, tone, volume, clarity, use of notes and eye contact. Students realized that arguments, like coins, always have at least two sides. As you can guess, the debate is still on…