We at ESU Scotland are very excited at being given the opportunity to host the next World Members’ Conference in Edinburgh in September 2008.
› www.esuworld2008.org |
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Debate develops the powers of argument, increases understanding of key
issues, boosts critical thinking and promotes engagement with society.
Students who take part in debating show stronger communication skills,
raised self-esteem, and are better at working in
teams. Debating squarely addresses the individual motivations
and abilities highlighted by A Curriculum For Excellence.
Debate has been shown to have a direct positive effect on literacy
standards and behaviour in schools.
As the primary provider of training and competitions to Scottish
schools in the areas of public speaking and debate, ESU Scotland has
developed an innovative and enjoyable way of spreading the benefits of
debate to schools and pupils that have not traditionally had access to
these activities. The programme builds on the ESU’s
experience south of the border in running the London Debates Challenge.
Built around a series of full-day workshops for pupils and teachers,
the programme is designed to be enjoyable as well as
educational. A pilot project was run with North Lanarkshire
Council from January to March 2005, with generous financial assistance
from the Scottish Government and ASDA plc.
The pilot was an outstanding
success, and received universally enthusiastic feedback from staff and
pupils alike.
Further projects were run in autumn 2005 with schools from North
Lanarkshire and the City of Aberdeen, again with great success, and
with Stirling and West Lothian councils in the first half of 2006.
In the winter of 2006, we worked with East Renfrewshire Council. In the
spring of 2007, we changed the format slightly to run 8 public speaking
workshops at schools across the country as part of our European
Parliament Project.
Since the publication of ESU Scotland’s Debating In Schools materials there has been an
upsurge in interest in the Outreach Projects. In March/April 2008, we
ran our 7th Debates Outreach Project with Falkirk Council and are
looking forward to working with them again later in the 2007/8 school
year. The next phase of the Falkirk Council Project is extremely
exciting for us as we will be working with primary school pupils.
With the second phase of the LTS Debating In Schools Materials agreed, we are looking
forward to spreading the opportunity to take part in debating to every
young Scot. We believe that regardless of academic ability or social
background that all young people can benefit from debating.
If you are interested in hearing more about Debates Outreach Projects,
please contact either Rob Marrs or John Duncan.
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