Debate Reflection

INTRODUCTION:
What statement did you debate?

What side were you assigned to?

What were your 2 - 3 main points?

SELF-ASSESSMENT:

What did you contribute to the preparation for the debate?

What did you contribute to the debate?

How well did your team present your assigned position in the debate?

LEARNING:

What important ideas did you learn about Japan, the US, the war, and the dropping of the bomb from the debate process?

What important skills did you practice and perhaps improve during the debate process?

Optional: What do you personally believe about whether or not the bomb should have been dropped?

     The Carolina Day School's 8th grade class had just finished reading about Hiroshima when we were assigned a debate.  Along with 3 other people, I was assigned to be against the bomb being dropped.  With my partners I was assigned to statement 1 "In spite of US propaganda to the contrary, the men who ordered and carried out the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should have been tried as war criminals, especially considering the fact the bombing was not necessary to end the war." During our debate we had organized our main questions and facts onto a google doc.  With easy access to the points it gave us a bigger incentive when replying to the other team's questions.  One of the biggest points we brought up during the 30-40 minute debate was the racism toward the Japanese.  We also included the lack of calculations and concern Harry Truman had for Japanese civilization.  Another significant point we included in our debate was the mass destruction on humanity that this bomb had.   During the preparation for the debate I think everyone in our team participated well.  When writing the closing statement I asked my team members, on numerous accounts, how to make it more suitable for the debate.  A member on my team named Maddie wrote the opening statement while Jay and Baylis wrote the questions.  During the actual debate I rebutted some questions from the opposing team and I also read the closing statement.  Our team did the best we could against the opposing team and I am proud of all of us.  Throughout the process of this debate I have learned many things involving the 1945 war between the United States and Japan. I have become more educated on how the bomb was dropped, the radiation, and the mass destruction on humanity it caused.  I learned how to better organize notes, questions, and paragraphs with partners neatly in a google doc.  This project also gave me incentive to organize notes better with my research paper.  Despite learning that the U.S. did not have many calculations for the bomb, I agree with closing the war.  As my opponents said in their closing statement, " This war could have gone on for two more years... Two more years of destruction... Two more years of depression." This debate was a wonderful learning experience and I am glad we were assigned this project.