posted 9th March 2026
We live in tumultuous times (March 2026). There is much going on in the world that is difficult, dangerous and controversial; much to worry students. How can debating help?
I’m a firm believer in the value of debating as a way of helping young people to make sense of the world. I remember one debate, early in my debating career, in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on America of September 11th, 2001. Over a hundred students from across the school turned up to listen. It helped them to manage their fear and anxiety; to work out what they thought about what had just happened, and what was going to happen.
A school debating club may not be able to fix all the world’s problems, but it can help its members to understand the world better, thereby giving them a greater sense of agency. That understanding may also motivate them to take action. So I don’t believe we should shy away from difficult topics. However, they do need to be approached with great care. Below are some guidelines to help make debates about controversial issues both safe and productive.
1. Consult. Before you set the motion, check in with senior leadership, pastoral staff, parents / students as appropriate. If there are any students whose family or personal involvement in the issue means that debating it is likely to cause them distress, don’t do it. Students’ well-being trumps your debating club.
I once gave some training at a boarding school. I agreed with the teacher that I would run two sessions, one on the basic skills and rules of debating, and a second a week later in which I would run a full debate. I told the students that they should follow the news that week, as I would be setting a motion based on something in the headlines.
The next day Russia invaded Ukraine. There was nothing else in the news all week. I asked the teacher if we should run a debate on Ukraine. Not a good idea, she said. There was one girl in the club from Moscow who believed the BBC was full of lies and anti-Russian propaganda, and another whose mother was hiding in an underground car park in Kyiv. We chose another topic.
2. Inform. Difficult and controversial topics often attract misinformation and conspiracy theories. Assemble a pack of reliable sources and share with students; make clear that the debate should be based only on these reliable sources.
3. Enforce. Courtesy and respect should be fundamental parts of debating etiquette at all times, but above all when dealing with difficult topics. Explain and enforce two basic rules: no personal attacks on speakers; no generalisations about groups of people. Criticising Donald Trump’s actions is acceptable; criticising a fellow debater for supporting him is not. Criticising the actions of the Israeli government or the Iranian government is acceptable; making generalised judgements about Jews or Muslims is not.
4. Enact empathy. If a student has a strong personal commitment to one side of a debate, make them debate on the other side. This will have the benefit of forcing them to understand their opponents, and is an excellent way of defusing tension within groups of students over difficult issues. If students refuse to do this, refuse to run the debate.
Twenty years ago, in an earlier iteration of the long-running Israel / Palestine tragedy, I had a student with strong family connections to Israel and a passionate commitment to the Israeli cause. She was surrounded in her peer group by students with family connections to Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East, who were equally committed to the Palestine cause. She felt nobody understood her point of view. Could we debate Israel / Palestine? Yes, I said, but only if you argue for Palestine and one of the other students argues for Israel. I can’t do that, she said. Then we can’t have the debate, I said.
Follow these rules, and you can run debates which will help guide students through difficult and disturbing times.
