Points to Ponder

I was contemplating the world in general and debate in particular over the Friday off. It seemed to me that though this year is somewhat better organized than last year, the team is less focused. Less collaboration, fewer team wide brainstorms, little practice with speaking or taking notes going on. Many bodies around but few competitors. We need to fix that and here's why:

Your individual strength lies in having a case you put together, thus making it possible for you to argue with it best. The analogy is "use the weapon you know". This has been a successful, though stressful approach for the Dirigo team, and others. I particularly like it because I also look past your high school career, but I digress. You become expert in the philosophers and theories that resonate with your own mind, and get to test them yourself in competition. Over time this is like "adding arrows to your quiver", giving you more to use in rebuttals.

Where does all that affect the teamwork I started out to comment on? That's easy: you cannot know everything on your own. You need the constant "cognitive dissonance" of hearing new ideas, having your ideas challenged, and the broadening of your mind watching the direction of others. Sure, you borrow ideas from each other's cases now and then, but over time you modify and shape those ideas to make them your own. Eventually, you only need the ideas of others to provide contrast to your own. When you reach this stage, you have the responsibility to guide others with your own actions. As we try to do, mentoring others also forces you to review your self since you can't teach what you don't know. This is a healthy process, though it can be a stressful balancing act days before a tournament.

I will be directing you guys in a direction that involves more team interaction. Practice rounds, shark tanks, brainstorms and such will be encouraged, but nothing slows this down faster than having a tiny pool of people ready to participate. If you show up to practice, come prepared. Also, post your work here on the blog. There's plenty of eyes here. Others will see something you did not think of. What better way to painlessly try out your ideas.

Enough for now.
"May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your enemies' bedroll". Start creating those fleas!

Mr. C