Yellowknife high schoolers headed to Calgary for national debate championship

Ask each student in Sir John Franklin High School's debate club why they decided to join, and you'll get a different answer. 

For 18-year-old Teresa Martin, it's a chance to work on her communication skills. Penelope Berrub, 15, sees it as a way to improve her confidence speaking in front of others.

As for Jillian French?

"I joined debate because I'm argumentative, and I figured that this is not a bad way to channel that into something a bit more productive than just arguing with friends," the 17-year-old said.

No matter their reasons for joining, these three students are set to have their newfound skills put to the test. 

They're headed to Calgary this week for the Canadian Senior National Debating Championships, where they'll compete against youth from across the country — or as Martin describes it, "the best of the best."

"We're really excited, and a bit nervous, for this opportunity," she said. "But we're really hopeful." 

Debate makes a comeback in the N.W.T.

It's the first time in 11 years the N.W.T. will have a team in the championships, according to Nicola Langille, a criminal defence lawyer in Yellowknife.

Having participated in the activity herself as a teenager, she teamed up with friend and fellow debate enthusiast Neesha Rao to resurrect the high school's club two years ago.

"I think we both learned a lot about how to express ourselves, and how to talk about ideas, [so] we wanted to give back a little bit to kids in the community to help them do the same," said Langille.  

Langille says there are now about 20 students who participate in the club regularly, though only six will compete in Calgary. 

They meet every Friday during the school's lunch hour for a crash course in structuring and defending arguments. Practice topics range from cats versus dogs, to whether Canada should decriminalize the use of illicit drugs. 

For those headed to nationals, there's a bit more heavy-lifting involved. They've come into the school every Saturday for the past month to practice among themselves.

"I'm blown away by how much work they've put in. I'm so proud of these students," Langille said. "They've really put in the effort that it takes to get better at something, and it's been so fun to watch them develop." 

Taiwan, China, and the CPTPP

The tournament will involve six rounds of debating. The students work in teams of two and prepare for the first two rounds ahead of time, but in the next four rounds the topic will only be revealed 15 minutes before the debate. 

This year, the prepared topic is whether Canada should support Taiwan's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and risk angering China in the process. 

As one can imagine, it's required a lot of time and commitment to get ready, says Jillian French.

"[We] just do as much research as we can, find all the perspectives, then sort of try to organize them into all of our different arguments," she said. "I think we've debated this maybe three or four times now…and we're sort of learning a lot every single time."

She adds: "But I think maybe after senior nationals, we'll be done hearing about China and Taiwan." 

Jokes aside, French says she likes how the activity allows her to think critically about the world around her and engage with different viewpoints.

It's a sentiment echoed by her frequent debate partner Teresa Martin. 

"Sometimes, you're assigned to the side that you may not have believed in the first place, and that really makes you … challenge yourself to think in different ways," she said. 

"You just learn more about history and current events, and why we should justify certain values and moral principles. So, there's a lot of different things you can learn through debate."

Developing skills and confidence

One of the younger members on the team, Penelope Berrub, finds it somewhat nerve-wracking to stand behind the podium. 

"You're trying to do like three things at once, make new points to the things that people are talking about, but also remember what they're saying, and try to bring that back to what your partner might have said," she said. 

Nonetheless, Berrub says her confidence in public speaking has grown considerably over the course of the school year. 

She can now stand in front of her peers and feel comfortable sharing her thoughts — something she thinks is especially important for youth to be able to do.

The debate process, says Berrub, allows participants to develop their own opinion on important topics and share those with others.

"That way, our young voices are at least heard."

The Canadian Senior National Debating Championships kick off on Friday and run until Sunday. 

Though she hopes to do well, Langille isn't too hung up on whether Sir John Franklin High School wins or loses. 

"They're going to get an incredible experience going up against some of the best debaters in the country, and hopefully get to meet and hang out with some really smart kids," she said.