The eighth edition of 'Verbattle' (Verbal Battle) 2012, the country's biggest debate tournament, recently took off with the 'Verbattle Beginner' competition, aimed at primary school students between the age group of eight to 12 years.
Bal Bhavan was buzzing with the sound of excited students as they argued over school uniforms, Bangalore being the best Indian city and salt versus sugar, among other topics.
The competition was moderated by Deepak Thimaya, founder of Verbattle.
"If one is not open to the idea that other ideas and philosophies can be equal
or better in a country as diverse as India, it's sad. We want to tell the kids that they need to know the other side of a topic as well," explains Thimaya.
"This is a shorter, sweeter and nicer format than other debates although we keep it tougher than the rest. The children are judged on various parameters — how they plan and build the argument, performance, behaviour, team spirit and most importantly, their understanding of the topic," he adds.
For the parents who attended the debate, it was not just an opportunity to hear their child speak out but an overall enriching experience to understand what children feel about specific issues these days.
"This is a really good platform for a child to express and defend a particular topic. It gives them confidence to stand up and speak for or against topics they may or may not know about. The competitive spirit is brought out in a very nice way," says Hazel Stanley, whose nine-year-old daughter was participating in the debate.
It was astonishing and amazing to see the kind of ideas children of that age can come up with. Eloquence was definitely not amiss and most of the speakers seemed to respect their 'worthy opponents'.
What was interesting was that there were three teams of two speakers each on stage at the same time contrary to the usual two teams fighting for and against a given topic.
The ease with which students argued speaks volumes of the kind of education
being imparted these days and how street-smart the children are.
"I felt my confidence level rising when I started talking on stage. You need a podium to speak out in a democratic country such as ours," says an impressive talker named Amaan Asin, who is studying at Vidyashilp Academy.
"Both big and small schools should be encouraged to use a platform like this."
Whether children were actually arguing over a topic or commenting without conviction, the young minds came up with some really valid points.
On the debate on 'We should be given the right to choose our teachers', a witty student of one of the participating schools had the audience roaring with laughter when she said, "There are two kinds of people you can't choose in life — your boss and your mother-in-law. Where is a better place to start practising than in school?"
The top three winners to go into the final round on August 31 are the teams from Notre Dame Academy, Vidyashilp Academy and KLE International School.
Bal Bhavan was buzzing with the sound of excited students as they argued over school uniforms, Bangalore being the best Indian city and salt versus sugar, among other topics.
The competition was moderated by Deepak Thimaya, founder of Verbattle.
"If one is not open to the idea that other ideas and philosophies can be equal
or better in a country as diverse as India, it's sad. We want to tell the kids that they need to know the other side of a topic as well," explains Thimaya.
"This is a shorter, sweeter and nicer format than other debates although we keep it tougher than the rest. The children are judged on various parameters — how they plan and build the argument, performance, behaviour, team spirit and most importantly, their understanding of the topic," he adds.
For the parents who attended the debate, it was not just an opportunity to hear their child speak out but an overall enriching experience to understand what children feel about specific issues these days.
"This is a really good platform for a child to express and defend a particular topic. It gives them confidence to stand up and speak for or against topics they may or may not know about. The competitive spirit is brought out in a very nice way," says Hazel Stanley, whose nine-year-old daughter was participating in the debate.
It was astonishing and amazing to see the kind of ideas children of that age can come up with. Eloquence was definitely not amiss and most of the speakers seemed to respect their 'worthy opponents'.
What was interesting was that there were three teams of two speakers each on stage at the same time contrary to the usual two teams fighting for and against a given topic.
The ease with which students argued speaks volumes of the kind of education
being imparted these days and how street-smart the children are.
"I felt my confidence level rising when I started talking on stage. You need a podium to speak out in a democratic country such as ours," says an impressive talker named Amaan Asin, who is studying at Vidyashilp Academy.
"Both big and small schools should be encouraged to use a platform like this."
Whether children were actually arguing over a topic or commenting without conviction, the young minds came up with some really valid points.
On the debate on 'We should be given the right to choose our teachers', a witty student of one of the participating schools had the audience roaring with laughter when she said, "There are two kinds of people you can't choose in life — your boss and your mother-in-law. Where is a better place to start practising than in school?"
The top three winners to go into the final round on August 31 are the teams from Notre Dame Academy, Vidyashilp Academy and KLE International School.