Yellowknife high schoolers headed to Calgary for national debate championship
CBC
Ask each student in Sir John Franklin High School's debate club why they decided to join, and you'll get a different answer.
For 18-year-old Teresa Martin, it's a chance to work on her communication skills. Penelope Berrub, 15, sees it as a way to improve her confidence speaking in front of others.
As for Jillian French?
"I joined debate because I'm argumentative, and I figured that this is not a bad way to channel that into something a bit more productive than just arguing with friends," the 17-year-old said.
No matter their reasons for joining, these three students are set to have their newfound skills put to the test.
They're headed to Calgary this week for the Canadian Senior National Debating Championships, where they'll compete against youth from across the country — or as Martin describes it, "the best of the best."
"We're really excited, and a bit nervous, for this opportunity," she said. "But we're really hopeful."
It's the first time in 11 years the N.W.T. will have a team in the championships, according to Nicola Langille, a criminal defence lawyer in Yellowknife.
Having participated in the activity herself as a teenager, she teamed up with friend and fellow debate enthusiast Neesha Rao to resurrect the high school's club two years ago.
"I think we both learned a lot about how to express ourselves, and how to talk about ideas, [so] we wanted to give back a little bit to kids in the community to help them do the same," said Langille.
Langille says there are now about 20 students who participate in the club regularly, though only six will compete in Calgary.
They meet every Friday during the school's lunch hour for a crash course in structuring and defending arguments. Practice topics range from cats versus dogs, to whether Canada should decriminalize the use of illicit drugs.
For those headed to nationals, there's a bit more heavy-lifting involved. They've come into the school every Saturday for the past month to practice among themselves.
"I'm blown away by how much work they've put in. I'm so proud of these students," Langille said. "They've really put in the effort that it takes to get better at something, and it's been so fun to watch them develop."
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