On Sunday, May 3, members of the Pierce Greek Rhetorical Club had the opportunity to take part in the Friendly Online Debate Competition and to stay involved in their favorite art, despite the difficult circumstances caused by the Covid19 pandemic. Using the familiar environment of the Microsoft Teams application (which is being used for online classes), Alexandros Avramidis, Elina Lilikaki, Natalia Nikolakopoulou and Markella Papadimitriou had an unprecedented educational experience.
The students presented and rebutted arguments, demonstrated their team spirit, followed a specific methodology and gained the admiration of all those who watched the competition. Pierce students distinguished themselves for the quality of their argumentation, their confidence, their resourcefulness, their critical thinking skills, the completeness and coherence of their speeches, as well as for their spontaneous but, at the same time, persuasive style. The issues they debated were:
- Students should attend the online classes offered by their schools
- Real freedom is the result of personal choice and
- The dangers of globalization outweigh its benefits
At the end of every speech, all those in attendance in the online “rooms,” teachers and students, switched on their microphones to off a warm round of applause to the speakers.
Participants were students from schools in Athens and Thessaloniki, who had the opportunity to develop their public speaking and social skills, in spite of the pandemic. Congratulations to all!