The debate club has come to a natural conclusion for now. Thanks so much to all the families who came out and participated and made it such a great two years. We are on hiatus until at least January of 2013. I am re-evaluating the focus of the group, and considering the possibility of preparing for debate competitions in the new year. Please contact me with expressions of interest. The current age range for this group is 12-14.

September topic

After a summer hiatus, we are starting again on the 12th at 1:00. We are currently accepting new members. Please email me for location details.

This month's topic:

Should a pre-teen/teen who has earned the money to buy his/her own computer and software be entitled to unrestricted use of, and privacy on that computer?

First Meeting Recap and Items for Next month

Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm for today's meeting.

A brief summary for those who couldn't make it today:

1) Elements of an argument should include:

Argument
Reason
Evidence


2) Logical fallacies that we covered this month:

Ad Hominem - Attacking the opponent rather than the argument
Circular Reasoning - Presenting an arguable point as supporting evidence
Ad Populum (Bandwagon Appeal) - Appealing to the broad popularity of a particular position "Everybody's doing it"
Appeal to Tradition - The argument that because things have always been a particular way, they should remain that way.
Slippery Slope - The argument that one particular action create an inevitable chain of additional negative actions.


I thought it might be fun for the children to make note when they notice these fallacies popping up over the next month (on television, in books and magazines, in general conversation etc.), and perhaps they could share some examples of their observations with the group next month.

Next month's meeting:

1:00 pm Monday, September 13, 2010

First Meeting August 16th, 2010

The first meeting will be held August 16th at 1:00 pm. No preparation is necessary, as we will be working through a few fun and easy exercises to break the ice and introduce the children to elements of argument construction and deconstruction.

Location: Please contact me for further details.

Welcome

This is the home of the Junior Debate Club for Homeschoolers in the Greater Vancouver area. The age range of our members is 9-12.

The goal of our monthly meetings is to introduce our children to logic, argumentation and public speaking.

Please check back often for meeting times, and upcoming debate topics.

If you are interested in joining, we'd love to have you. Please comment or contact me for further details.