Argumentation and debate. These are two things I will not be able to take off my system. I always find avenue for its practical use in serendipitous circumstances, be it in a faculty meeting, in a nursing class, or in an eventful squabble with my mom (albeit the latter case is not that serendipitous; sometimes, it’s just fun to tease her). And in those cases where I’d be seen as a brash colleague, infallible teacher, or a terrible son, I just beam in smug contentment. Irritated mom, check. Entertaining mental stimulation, double check. A memory to reminisce and laugh at, triple check.
I first fell in love with argumentation and debate when I was still in high school. I remember attending a debate seminar on the Modified Oregon-Oxford format in my 3rd year. Although memories of stuttering, long pauses, and faulty interpellations marred that day, what seemed to be a traumatic public speaking experience became an impetus propelling me towards fascination in this battle of wits and display of logical prowess.
Since that fateful day, I’ve been exposed to a number of competitions. My high school provided me and my classmates quite a number of opportunities to instill within us the culture of debate. Now whenever I took my place behind the podium, an overwhelming feeling of euphoria always flooded me. I was meant to do this, I would tell myself. I love the limelight. I love the stunned looks on the faces of the audience. I love the skeptical glare of the members of the board of adjudicators. I would always hit that podium whenever I was given a chance… with the same fervor and commitment I would put in any other activity I involve myself into.
College, however, signaled a hiatus in my debating activities. Debate was almost unknown in our college, and its subsistence was confined among Education students taking up argumentation and debate as a 3-unit subject for a semester. It was entirely preposterous. How could a college disregard an activity that trains students to think more critically, speak more eloquently, and compete more congenially?
Three years ago, during my stint as the Vice-President of the Paulinian Nursing Student’s Assocation (PNSA), I proposed the inclusion of debate as an activity during the annual Nurse’s Week celebration. My proposal was met with cynicism. Can it be done? Is it necessary in the attainment of the objectives of the celebration? What are the benefits that we can gain by including this event? Oh, What a PNB (Practicability, Necessity, Beneficiality) format in presenting arguments!
After a great deal of persuasion, my proposal was approved, on the condition that I organize and run the competition on my own, with minimal to nil financial and moral support from the PNSA. Fine, I told them. It was like I’ve been told, we’d love to see you try. True enough, the event almost became a fiasco. Maybe it was because of my inexperience—or was it because of the utter disinterest of the students in the activity? Well, I dunno. I mean, what else can I do? I was met with many criticisms that year, some of which are too painful even just to reminisce. Yet I was not disheartened, and I never gave up. It was a legacy in the making, and I wasn’t just going throw that away.
Now, the debate competition during the Nurse’s Week Celebration is on its third year, thanks to my dear friend, Raizel, who decided to carry on with this activity. Some of you might ask, why does this small part of a small school activity mean so much to you? Well, being the initiator of the brainchild does give you the right to hold sentiments. What matters more to me, however, is the assurance that the culture of debate be passed on from generation to generation, especially among the students of the college where I come from. I want young people to appreciate it and value it as much as any school activity. After all, it is not a practice of intellectual lavishness. It is a way of life.
I won’t be hitting any podium any time near the future. I guess I’m stuck with being a mere spectator. There’s no problem with that, I guess. After all, it is not without its merits. Every single time a student delivers a constructive speech; each time a Point of Information (POI) is raised; and each time a reply speech comes into order, I feel a warm, fuzzy feeling over my chest. Leaving this way of life is not so regrettable after all. There will be more young people who will take our places behind the podium; more young people who will become better than any of us forerunners in this art form; more young people who will be able to reach greater heights, do things that would have been deemed unlikely during our time…
Yet in all these, we came ahead.
I would like to close this post with a passage stated by a debate contender during the recently concluded Nurse’s Week Celebration, which goes:
I don’t know how it relates to the rest of my post. Just deal with it.
I first fell in love with argumentation and debate when I was still in high school. I remember attending a debate seminar on the Modified Oregon-Oxford format in my 3rd year. Although memories of stuttering, long pauses, and faulty interpellations marred that day, what seemed to be a traumatic public speaking experience became an impetus propelling me towards fascination in this battle of wits and display of logical prowess.
Since that fateful day, I’ve been exposed to a number of competitions. My high school provided me and my classmates quite a number of opportunities to instill within us the culture of debate. Now whenever I took my place behind the podium, an overwhelming feeling of euphoria always flooded me. I was meant to do this, I would tell myself. I love the limelight. I love the stunned looks on the faces of the audience. I love the skeptical glare of the members of the board of adjudicators. I would always hit that podium whenever I was given a chance… with the same fervor and commitment I would put in any other activity I involve myself into.
College, however, signaled a hiatus in my debating activities. Debate was almost unknown in our college, and its subsistence was confined among Education students taking up argumentation and debate as a 3-unit subject for a semester. It was entirely preposterous. How could a college disregard an activity that trains students to think more critically, speak more eloquently, and compete more congenially?
Three years ago, during my stint as the Vice-President of the Paulinian Nursing Student’s Assocation (PNSA), I proposed the inclusion of debate as an activity during the annual Nurse’s Week celebration. My proposal was met with cynicism. Can it be done? Is it necessary in the attainment of the objectives of the celebration? What are the benefits that we can gain by including this event? Oh, What a PNB (Practicability, Necessity, Beneficiality) format in presenting arguments!
After a great deal of persuasion, my proposal was approved, on the condition that I organize and run the competition on my own, with minimal to nil financial and moral support from the PNSA. Fine, I told them. It was like I’ve been told, we’d love to see you try. True enough, the event almost became a fiasco. Maybe it was because of my inexperience—or was it because of the utter disinterest of the students in the activity? Well, I dunno. I mean, what else can I do? I was met with many criticisms that year, some of which are too painful even just to reminisce. Yet I was not disheartened, and I never gave up. It was a legacy in the making, and I wasn’t just going throw that away.
Now, the debate competition during the Nurse’s Week Celebration is on its third year, thanks to my dear friend, Raizel, who decided to carry on with this activity. Some of you might ask, why does this small part of a small school activity mean so much to you? Well, being the initiator of the brainchild does give you the right to hold sentiments. What matters more to me, however, is the assurance that the culture of debate be passed on from generation to generation, especially among the students of the college where I come from. I want young people to appreciate it and value it as much as any school activity. After all, it is not a practice of intellectual lavishness. It is a way of life.
I won’t be hitting any podium any time near the future. I guess I’m stuck with being a mere spectator. There’s no problem with that, I guess. After all, it is not without its merits. Every single time a student delivers a constructive speech; each time a Point of Information (POI) is raised; and each time a reply speech comes into order, I feel a warm, fuzzy feeling over my chest. Leaving this way of life is not so regrettable after all. There will be more young people who will take our places behind the podium; more young people who will become better than any of us forerunners in this art form; more young people who will be able to reach greater heights, do things that would have been deemed unlikely during our time…
Yet in all these, we came ahead.
I would like to close this post with a passage stated by a debate contender during the recently concluded Nurse’s Week Celebration, which goes:
“The military, even in the existence of a large number of soldiers, will continue to produce more soldiers until the time that it reaches an unprecedented number, of which production would still be an inevitable process. It is in this state of continuous supply that we can claim that Prevention has been assured, to steer clear of the dreaded Cure when the supply will not anymore suffice.”
I don’t know how it relates to the rest of my post. Just deal with it.
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