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Belte's avatar

It’s also interesting to think how watered down and unimagined are oral presentations now compared to what they must have been in an oral culture. People spend countless hours on PowerPoint slides, finding just the right picture, perfecting their notes. Then they simply read from the script in a mechanistic way. Perhaps one way would be to ban certain texts and eliminate written exams for certain subjects like history that boys inherently seem to love and to debate. I have noticed how female students tend to be extremely nervous when there is what I consider healthy intellectual debate. Then they inadvertently eliminate this healthy debate through crushing speech codes and the threat of cancel culture. Sad.

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Chris Coffman's avatar

Neurological research demonstrates that our clearest, most detailed memories are associated with strong emotions—another fundamental function of acquiring knowledge through agonistic contests with the teacher or peers, with glory or humiliation hanging in the balance. A debate win was literally unforgettable.

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