CLOSING STATEMENTS - DEAL BREAKERS

Please be sure you’ve worked on your Opening and Closing Statements. While today’s debates were good, one team was clearly ahead UNTIL Closing Statements. 

You must LISTEN to everything previously stated, restate your key points and IF TIME, bring in a few new elements that can be the SLAM DUNK on the competition.

Only P2 managed to accidentally stumble over one of the key elements of the entire Nature - Nurture Debate. Still that ended up COSTING that team points since they hadn’t fully explored that essential aspect.

Ironically, scholar thought (s)he was stumping the opposition, when in fact he/she pulled the rug out from under her/his team’s feet and gave the other team points, and an opening into the heart of the debate.

Come fully prepared to argue either side. This scholar had switched sides, due to my random pick, so he/she should have fully understood the theme, AND how to combat it, in order to fully defend this main point.

Others melted under the pressure and couldn’t handle the switch to the “other” side.

These are practice runs for the REAL WORLD.

Often you walk into a situation and you get thrown a curve ball. I was expecting Ms. Walrond and Mr. Cohen to be co-judges so I could focus on filming and structuring a fluid debate.

Stuff happens.

You must make due with what you have.

The only difference is you all had a 10-day warning about sides changing. In the past, you all have researched both sides of an argument thoroughly, so this new task should NOT throw you off too badly.

Still others tried to find out who the people were changing sides ahead of debates.

Be PREPARED.

Upon preliminary looks, both P2  and P7 Nurture was ahead until CLOSING STATEMENTS, when Nature caught and passed in the end. 

Mr. Rosser, had Nurture slightly ahead in P7, though Nature surpassed with Regina and Alex’s comprehensive and fact-filled Closing.

Similarly, in P2, Laura’s Closing was clear, comprehensive, re-capped two of the journalists, and their articles/reports they’d already explained during the debate and two that had never been mentioned. On the other hand, Kristine spent one full minute of her closing agreeing with and proving Nature’s side BEFORE focusing upon Peer Pressure and one her team’s sources for Nurture.

Neither on had eye contact during their closings, 

Opening Statements for both sides were less than two minutes and weak, at best. This truly surprised me since this was the one class that had written OPENING STATEMENTS in class, received comments and directions for making them better?

COME PREPARED!

Better Luck Tomorrow,

Mr. Carson  


Time Management: What can I do today to lighten my expectations tomorrow? Organization: Empty everything out of your bookbag, look over your Agenda. Tackle assignments in order of DUE DATE, difficulty, importance. Make a To Do List: checking off things done every so often Play: Get exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY

http://philosophy.intellectualprops.com/summaries/locke-vs-hobbes-nature-and-civil-society/

http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/h114_2002/Locke%20and%20Hobbes.htm