This was the final step of our huge project, the sports ethics debates. We had spent a semester talking about sports and learning about morals. We are using our knowledge to now debate on certain topics. In groups of 2 and 3 we would be given a special topic against another group from the other class. We would research that topic and create different speeches and an essay to support our affirmative or negative side. We would be given a side of yes or no based on the statement we get, in which we would have to support out side, have the facts, and debate against the other class.
Our Topic: My group was with Sammie and Natalie. We were given the statement "U.S. Athletes are overpaid". And we were given the negative side of the debate, meaning we think "No, U.S. athletes are not." We later had to support that statement and gain evidence on why our side is correct.
Research: There were many important websites that helped us create our research paper and to really sort out or information. It was hard for us at first, for we had originally had the "yes" side, and so we based all our research on that side. But then we were put to do the "no" side and we had to do a lot more different research. A lot of links helped in changing our beliefs to be on the no side, and we were able to cope with the challenge of getting a side out of our comfort zone.
Improvements Made: We made many improvements and changes throughout the project. We originally wanted to be Health related in our statement, but we ended up being picked to do Overpaid athletes. We then wanted to be the yes side, for all three of us had strongly believed that they were in fact paid a lot. But then to challenge us, we were put to do the No side. There were many challenges to overcome and to face but we were able to do it. We were given a lot of help with our essay and our research, and the main points that we wanted to give during the debate. A lot of classmates as well as teachers helped us sort our information.
Reflection: I had done debates once before and I was really pressured at the time, it wasn't a very fun assignment for me. This year I wasn't super excited to do debates once again, knowing how I did the year before. I was nervous and it was hard for me to improvise when it came to rebuttal. But surprisingly, this years debates felt much better than I thought it would. I thought that there was a lot of time to really get to know your information and that made me more confident in what I said. I thought I did well on this project and to our luck we were able to win with the negative side, even though we didn't believe in the no side in the first place. A lot of challenges were thrown at us and it felt frustrating, but later it felt really good to be able to overcome them. I couldn't have done it without my partners and I was so glad to be paired with them. Future? If I could do this project once more, I would probably try to challenge myself by taking the rebuttal position, knowing it is my weakness in speaking. Next time I want to improve my improvisation. It is something that I still need to work on. I don't regret changing sides or topics, in the end I feel like we were able to feel more accomplished, being able to convince ourselves to believe on the opposite side.