DEBATES - making an argument

Hi all,


At our last meeting, we also talked about some debate topics related to education. We talked about pros and cons of having Physical Education programming in school, and also the pros and cons of paying students to get high grades on exams.... You can make an argument FOR or AGAINST it! 


Some brief notes (I know I will be missing some points):


PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOL


Pros: 
- students need the break after working hard
- students can focus after running around
- students learn lots of social skills in PE
- young people learn social skills through games (i.e., learning how to lose a soccer game, and still coming back to play the next day!)


Cons:
- students need more time in the classroom to teach other subjects
- teachers who are Math experts are "wasting time" teaching PE
- students can play all evening...why do they need to play during school?


PAYING STUDENTS TO GET HIGH GRADES ON EXAMS


Pros:
- students will have extra motivation to study
- many families need the extra money


Cons:
- who pays for this?? This may get very expensive for taxpayers.
- students will want the money, not the knowledge
- students will get competitive...and maybe they will be tempted to cheat.


Here are a few more topics to think about (education-related):

Is technology (laptop, iPhone) helping or hindering student performance in school?

What are the pros and cons of wearing school uniforms?

Should students learn about drugs before they get to high school?

Should parents be allowed to read their children's texts, emails, and Facebook messages?

There are MANY more on this website. Feel free to check it out: http://debates.juggle.com/education