不一样的“刀光剑影”：辩论背后的慢成长

校队——是许多学校都会应用的教育场景。孩子们参加校队，在自己学有余力、又特别感兴趣的领域“深潜”。

启明星组建了多支学术校队——中小学的中文辩论队、英文辩论队、中学数学竞赛队——呵护孩子们的学习兴趣，也成为他们精进学术技能的又一个平台。

今天，就让我们走近其中特别有代表性的中学中英文辩论校队——看看小辩手们从辩论收获了哪些乐趣和成长，以至于他们“陶醉”于此，甚至为了参加辩论比赛而放弃期待已久的国际出行……

上个暑假，许书凯（Evan Hsu）原本打算去美国大学访校，后来，他改了主意，因为时间刚好和在厦门举办的世界学者杯全球赛冲突了。

世界学者杯比赛有他喜欢的英文辩论环节，而他的成绩一直不错，不想放弃挺进耶鲁总决赛的机会（参赛后，他成功晋级）。

许书凯9年级，练习辩论2年了，是启明星英文辩论队的老辩手，对辩论已经形成了自己的理解。他说，唇枪舌战只占辩论的一部分，或者只是辩论的“表皮”，真正的的辩论是每个辩手对某个问题的深层理解进行富有逻辑的展示。辩论的过程也就成为辩手间信息和思想“流动”、相互学习的过程。

许书凯（右）和队友黄吉瀚备战

对辩论理解至此，输赢对他已经不是最重要的了。

许书凯个性温和，刀光剑影的你来我往不是他的风格，但他从辩论中找到了“厚积薄发”的快乐：“我特别喜欢准备辩论的过程。围绕辩题，我们进行全球性的研究，收集资料，安排辩论策略。每次的辩题不同，所以收获也不同！”

刚接触辩论时，他很容易被锋芒毕露的对手压下去。如今，他能从容不迫地把自己的看法完整地表达出来，这份淡定源于赛前广泛的信息收集和掌握，和持续不断的训练。

9年级的林子朔（Tony Lin）也是启明星英文辩论校队的老队员，去年和队友徐恩淏（Nigel Xu）在NHSDLC美式辩论联赛北京区线下赛取得亚军之后，被教练和队友们推举为队长。

反思辩论，除了和许书凯类似的感受和满足感，担任队长还激发他从领导力的视角思考。

“辩论需要团队的紧密配合。队友们各自去调研辩题，然后进行大量合作，我作为队长要组织大家在课堂外的模拟辩论练习，帮忙安排大家的辩论策略，比如谁去陈述，谁去反攻。也要在比赛现场根据不同情况组织队员应变。” 林子朔说，“作为队长，我的主要职责是帮助大家成功，而不是自己成功。这和启明星的核心价值观‘团结’特别相关。”

真是发自心底的喜欢和体验到了成就感，才让这些大男孩谈到辩论时这样认真、投入；也是平日里积极、开放的学习环境，让他们从更多元的维度反思自己的成长，而不囿于辩论中一时得胜的短暂快乐。

Jerry Tang是启明星特聘的英文辩论队资深教练，陪伴启明星小将们快2年了。他自己拥有8年顶尖辩手经验，比如2022 中国大学辩论大赛决赛者、2022 北京IV半决赛者、上海国际辩论公开赛（SIDO）半决赛者等，也是传言、说匠、英锐和 WSDA等多所中方辩论机构的核心研究员。

启明星学生的与众不同，经验丰富的他全都看在眼里。“别的学校的学生更多地把辩论当作游戏，但他们会把辩题和日常的生活紧密地联系在一起，并且能迅速掌握一些高难度的概念。我想，这是因为他们善于独立思考，并且处于开放的学习环境中。”

“他们很享受辩论的乐趣，也甘于投入很多努力。他们做的很好，总是很有动力。美国的大学很看重辩论，学生们表现出色，对他们未来申请大学、特别是美国的高校是有帮助的。”Jerry老师说。

关注双语教育的启明星也拥有中文辩论队，由中学中文老师和资深的特聘教练带队。辩论队选拔成员，为在中文学习中学有余力的学生提供深入的学习机会，主要参加纵横杯国际学校中文辩论赛。

中文辩论队积极备战线上赛

“准备辩论赛的时候，学生要进行大量调研，寻找支持自己论点的证据，并且要理解和分析对手观点，练习从不同角度看问题，这和我们IB的学习方式和思路是一致的。”中学中文老师、辩论队负责人杨红娴说，“学生们经过教练的指点和自身的努力，都取得了进步。一开始，有的学生在质询环节很难问出尖锐的问题，答辩时也常常不聚焦，但是现在已经能自如表达，流利应对。”

带领辩论队的中文老师也把辩论融入中学议论文单元的教学。“我们把辩论作为议论文单元的评估方式，把辩论的学习外延到中文学习中。”中学中文老师潘铭霏说。

在关注双语双文化的启明星，中英文辩论相得益彰。10年级的王康睿同时参加了中英文辩论校队。“学校的中英文辩论校队为我提供了很好的学习机会。参与英文辩论很好地练习了我的英文口语表达能力，同时我也会随不同赛季的辩题变化去学习很多不同学科的专业概念和词汇。”王康睿说，“而两种语言的辩论无疑提升了我的批判思维能力。很多时候，无论是在备赛的过程中还是在辩论赛场上，能够对论据以及论证做出批判性的思考就是比赛输赢的决定性因素。”

以学生为中心，尽可能地提供广泛的学习机会，是启明星不变的努力方向。让孩子们有机会和时间沉下心来积累知识，并将所学所知和身边世界的现实问题联系在一起，辩论，无疑是最好的方式之一。

接下来的几周内，启明星小辩手们将出现在纵横杯中文辩论赛、NHSDLC的赛场上。我们期待他们取得好成绩，更期待他们在赛场上再次验证自己的成长！

Many schools use school teams as an educational tool. Students join school teams and dive deep into areas they are interested in.

Daystar has several academic school teams, including elementary school and secondary school Chinese and English debate teams and secondary school math teams. These school teams foster students’ learning interests and serve as another outlet for improving their academic skills.

Today, let's take a closer look at the secondary school debate team to see the fun they have had and how they have grown through debating. Some students enjoy it so much that they gave up traveling abroad during the holidays to participate in debate competitions.

Last summer, Evan Hsu originally planned to visit universities in the United States. However, he changed his mind because the dates coincided with the Global Round of the World Scholar’s Cup held in Xiamen.

The World Scholar’s Cup includes an English debate section, which he particularly enjoys. He has always done well in this section, so he didn’t want to give up the opportunity to advance to the Yale Finals (after participating, he did advance to the Yale Finals).

Evan is in Grade 9 and has participated in debates for 2 years. He is a veteran member of Daystar’s English debate team and has his own understanding of debate. He said that verbal battles only constitute a part of the debate; they are just the “surface” of the debate. In fact, debate is a logical presentation of each debater's deep understanding of a certain issue. The process of debate is also a “flow” of information and ideas and mutual learning between debaters.

Evan(right) and teammate Jihan Huang prepraing for competition

With such an understanding of debate, winning or losing is no longer the most important aspect.

Evan has a gentle personality, so engaging in fierce debate is not his style. However, he has found the joy of researching for debates. He said, “I particularly enjoy the process of preparing for debates. When we focus on the debate topic, we gather information from international sources, collect data, and devise debate strategies. Each debate topic is different, so what we gain through the process is also different.”

When he first started doing debates, he was easily overwhelmed by his sharp opponents. Now, he is able to confidently and comprehensively express his views. This composure stems from the extensive research and mastery of the material that occurs before the competition, as well as continuous practice.

Grade 9 student Tony Lin is also a veteran member of the Daystar English Debate Team. Last year, after he and his teammate Nigel Xv finished second in the preliminary round of the NHSDLC Beijing District offline competition, the team coach selected him to be the team captain.

In addition to having feelings and a sense of satisfaction similar to Evan’s experience, Tony said that serving as the captain has also allowed him to think from a leadership perspective.

“Debate requires close collaboration between team members. Each team member conducts individual research on the topic first and then collaborates extensively. As the leader, I need to help arrange the debate strategy for each member, such as who will present and who will give the counterargument. We also need to prepare team members to respond to different situations during the debate,” said Tony. “As a leader, my greatest responsibility is to help everyone succeed together, not individually. This is particularly relevant to Daystar’s core value of unity.”

The pure enjoyment and sense of accomplishment must be the reasons these cheerful boys become serious and engaged when it is time to debate. The positive and open learning environment they experience every day also allows them to reflect on their growth from a broader picture. They are not limited to the fleeting joy of winning a debate.

Jerry Tang was specially hired by Daystar as a senior coach for the NHSDLC English debate team. He is an accomplished debater of 8 years, with awards such as 2022 Chinese University Debate Challenge grand finalist, 2022 Beijing IV Semifinalist, Shanghai International Debate Open (SIDO) 2020 semi finalist, etc. He is also core researcher, evidence packet writer and editor for numerous Chinese debate organizations including Harbinger, Speechcraft, Enreach and WeSchool Speech&Debate Association (WSDA). 

Jerry has worked with Daystar’s young debaters for almost 2 years and has personally witnessed the distinctiveness of Daystar’s students. “Students from other schools tend to view debate as a game, but our students connect it closely with their daily lives and are able to quickly and comprehensively grasp certain concepts. I think this is because they are good at independent thinking and are used to operating in an open learning environment.”

“They really enjoy the fun of debate and are willing to put in a lot of effort. They do well and are always very motivated. American universities value debate skills. Performing well during debate competitions can be beneficial for future university applications, especially in the United States,” said Jerry.

Daystar, which focuses on bilingual education, also has a Chinese debate team led by secondary school Chinese teachers and experienced coaches. Members are selected for the debate teams to provide in-depth opportunities to students interested in Chinese language skills. The Chinese debate team mainly participates in the “Zongheng Cup” International School Chinese Debate Tournament.

Chinese Debate Team preparing for competition

“When preparing for the debate competition, students need to conduct extensive research. They need to search for evidence to support their arguments and understand and analyze opponents’ viewpoints. They have to practice viewing problems from different perspectives. This is consistent with our IB learning methods and ideas,” said Ms. Yang, a secondary school Chinese teacher and coach for the debate team. “Through the guidance from coaches and their own efforts, the students have made progress. Initially, some students were unable to ask or answer any questions during the questioning process, but now they are able to express themselves freely and respond to questions fluently.”

Another Chinese teacher who works with the debate team also integrates debate into the secondary school argumentative writing curriculum. “We use debate as an evaluation method for argumentative writing, extending the study of debate to Chinese language learning,” said Ms. Pan, a secondary school Chinese teacher.

With Daystar’s bilingual education and bicultural environment, the Chinese and English debate teams complement each other. Kerry Wang, a 10th grader, is a member of both the Chinese and English debate teams. “With Daystar’s bilingual education and bicultural environment, the Chinese and English debate teams complement each other. Kerry Wang, a 10th grader, is a member of both the Chinese and English debate teams. “The school’s Chinese and English debate teams have provided me with great learning opportunities. Participating in English debate has greatly improved my oral English expression skills. Also, I have to learn many professional concepts and vocabulary from different disciplines according to the changes in debate topics for different seasons,” said Kerry Wang. “Using two languages to debate undoubtedly has improved my critical thinking ability. For many times, being able to think critically about grounds and arguments is often the determining factor for winning a competition, whether in preparation or on the debate stage.” He said.

Daystar has always focused on providing students with a wide range of learning opportunities. Undoubtedly, debate is one of the best ways to provide students with the opportunity to focus on learning new things and connect what they learn with real-world issues.

Over the next few weeks, young Daystar debaters will participate in the Zongheng Cup and NHSDLC competitions. We look forward to their excellent performances, as well as seeing them demonstrate what they have learned on the stage.

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