# Teaching > General Teaching >  Debates in Class

## Matrim Cuathon

well we did a sort of debate in class, and i hated it, and i wanted to kill my teacher.

he gave us this awesome topic, but didnt give us time to debate it, and says i go off topic and often refused to let me respond or finish responding, because of time. why would he ask us to debate a topic like criminal responsibility with no time...

and he clearly doesnt know how to conduct a debate. he NEVER lets us discuss points and keeps saying no time... i look like an idiot because my ideas are different and i cant defend them with him always cutting in. ive decided to never, ever participate in a debate in his class again, even if it means getting a zero for a grade.

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## dmoretta

You shouldnt give up. If you have an idea, stand up for it. Just know the facts.
I recommend that you talk to your teacher. You should ask him to conduct a classroom debate with a formal order. If a teacher wants their students to be capable of participating in a proper debate, then they should structure their class accordingly. 
Good luck.

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## ALLENDALE

oooooooooooooooooooooooooook

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## Matrim Cuathon

basically whatever belief you held before the debate is strengthened after it, cause really no one gets time to respond to questions.
i love forum debates so much more  :Smile:  he should just have us do that instead of wasting tiem in class achieveing nothing.

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## mir

:Tongue:  Our teacher does pretty much the same thing - we could have cool debates, because our school is awesome and i spend most of my time debating about stuff with my friends anyways; but he never calls on people until he's done proponing whatever theory HE had, and by that time (ten minutes) you've already put your hand down. Plus if you sidetrack him but asking about something else related or putting out a different theory, he just says "We'll talk about that later".

Basically, learn history from Wikipedia, and debate the topics with your friends later.  :Smile:

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## Matrim Cuathon

yeah, thats really what we do. we debate a lot ourselves. the teacher just claims that anything is digression and if somethings taking to long even though no one ahs any idea yet what they/others are saying he just syays times up.

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## genoveva

From my experience being on the speech and debate team in high school and college, I have found that it is a good idea to stay on topic and keep within the time limits. However, because I am not in your classroom, I have no idea what your teacher does or how s/he handles this. I agree- talking with your teacher about your frustration is the best thing you could do. Perhaps you could know how much time you have to talk before you begin talking.

Another thing, a good master debater can argue either side of a topic. Doing so helps to clarify your personal opinion on the topic.

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## Matrim Cuathon

i could argue either side. but i got the side i agreed with. we had like 25 minutes total to argue. this includes both sides.

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## SFG75

Having taught for what will be my seventh year, I have only had a few guidelines for debates. I usually held them in my American Government or American History class and the guidelines were; (1)Use the constitution; (2)Use the facts from the book. If a person just spouted off what they "think" then I'd shut them down pretty quick. The point isn't to disagree for the sake of disagreement and not everyone's opionion is equally valid. The goal of my requirements was to sharpen analytical and reasoning skills, as well as to cover the content of what we were studying(i.e.-Bill of Rights, Constitution, and of course, history!) 

I'm sorry the debate didn't go well. Have you thought of approaching the teacher in a civil maner and asking *specifically* as to how you could have couched your argument for it to be successfull. Most people are reasonable and I believe that if it is approached right, you just might be able to overcome this misunderstanding of sorts. Just remember-it isn't "if" you ask, it's "how." Best of luck.

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## Matrim Cuathon

thats not really it at all. this was a debate that couldnt be based on anything but opinion. there is no real evidence either way. and it wasnt just me. it was the whole class. he was trying to shove it into a 20 minute time scale.

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## *Classic*Charm*

I know how you feel. One time, just as I was starting to argue a point, the bell rang to end class. The debate continued the next day, but my teacher asked me not to start up again and just gave me a 90&#37;. I was upset that he didn't actually let me make my point though.

I don't know why teachers have debates if they're not willing to really let their students go at it.

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