Popular Debates
Debates are determined to be popular by Ms Holmes Lit Comp 9 OHS's Most Heated algorithm, which considers a number of variables, including the freshness of the debate, the number of arguments and votes, and the diversity of participation.
Winning Position: Are women and men equal in today's United States?
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Are women and men equal in today's United States?
Respond to this question with a clear position statement. Give a reason or reasons for your position. Below are some questions to get you started thinking about the issues involved--they are FAR from the only questions/issues that this topic might raise, and are only intended to get the conversation rolling. =) Remember to visit ProCon.org to gather evidence for your position as the debate gathers steam, and to CITE the source of ALL evidence, wherever it comes from! Also remember to observe the rules of a classroom discussion--keep it civil!
What would it mean for men and women to be "equal"? Can the sexes be equal without the same legal privileges? Can they be equal without the same social privileges? Is equality guaranteed in US law? Does it matter? What does "separate but equal" mean? Where does this phrase come from? Does this idea have any merit where men and women are concerned? If not legally, then socially? What is the "glass ceiling"? What is the "glass cliff"? Is it actually true that women make less money than men for the same work? Do men have the same privileges to care for children and their families and to tend to their own physical and emotional health as women do? What percentage of household work do married or cohabitating men and women each do? Does the school system privilege one sex over the other? Does the legal system privilege one sex over the other? What are the statistics on violent crime against both men and women? How do these statistics impact our understanding of equality between the sexes? Are there inherent biological differences between men and women (besides sexual characteristics, obviously) that make it impossible for them to ever be truly "equal"? How do popular culture and the media reinforce our beliefs about the characteristics and the proper roles of men and women?
Winning Position: Does the United States have a "class system"?
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Does the United States have a "class system"?
Respond to this question with a clear position statement. Give a reason or reasons for your position. Below are some questions to get you started thinking about the issues involved--they are FAR from the only questions/issues that this topic might raise, and are only intended to get the conversation rolling. =) Remember to visit ProCon.org to gather evidence for your position as the debate gathers steam, and to CITE the source of ALL evidence, wherever it comes from! Also remember to observe the rules of a classroom discussion--keep it civil!
What is "The American Dream"? How easy is it for someone born into poverty in the US to work his or her way out of poverty? What are the statistics versus what people say they believe when they answer opinion polls? What do social scientists tell us about "class mobility" (the ability of Americans to move from one social class to another)? What does social science tell us that people believe about their own success in life? What are the facts about how the majority of very wealthy people became very wealthy? What is a "rags to riches story"? Who are some people in the US who are examples of this kind of story? What are the facts about how your parents' level of education influences your life outcomes? Does this always have to be true? Who are Jaime Escalante, Rafe Esquith, and Ron Clark? How do popular culture and media portray people of various class levels? Who are the target audiences for these various messages? Just because something is shown a certain way on tv, does that mean it's true? What does it mean to say that a thing is "ghetto"--is that an insult based on race, class, or both? Why do most middle- and upper-middle-class people think that this is an acceptable thing to say? Are students with obviously cheap, poorly-fitting clothing, and other clear markers of poverty regularly accepted into groups of upper-middle-class and wealthy students at OHS? Is the educational system biased in favor of certain classes? Is the justice system? What are the financial and social backgrounds of the majority of the people in our Congress? In the past ten years, what is the Congress's record when it comes to passing legislation that will help the poor? The middle class? the wealthy? What do the majority of economists say about the Congress's record of helping these various groups? Is Congress's voting record evidence of our cultural beliefs or evidence of something else?
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