Assignment/Activity Title — CAP debates

Year — 10

Portfolio Competency — Social Awareness

Skill(s) — Research, analyzation, debating and forming an argument with evidence.

The CAP debate’s objective was to give students an opportunity to debate a topic they were assigned. We were given
one week to prepare our debates, and at the end of the week we debated two other cap students. The goal was to successfully get
your argument across, and to be able to back it up with accurate evidence. Another goal was to win the debate. I was assigned
the debate topic of cash bail, and the stance I was assigned was to keep cash bail, which is a conservative standpoint. I’m not
conservative at all, so I was forced to work outside of my comfort zone and expand my view on the topic, diving into the other
side. Another aspect of the debate that was difficult was the fact that we were forced to do it over zoom, under the
circumstances with COVID. This was obviously difficult because a live debate moves fast, especially the crossfire, but
everything worked out fine and the intensity was still there, although we were forced to adapt.
The skills required for CAP debates included research, analyzation, debating and forming an argument with evidence. I
was not familiar with the topic of cash bail at all and due to the rare stance, the research aspect was extremely difficult and
required extensive research and time to complete. I started by learning about the general topic before diving into the stance I
was defending. As I was researching, I had to formulate my rebuttal which required researching and analyzing the other side. I
had to collect extensive knowledge on the topic of cash bail and both sides as a whole. After formulating my argument, rebuttal,
and constructive speeches for the debates, we finally put them to use in a live debate. I have no experience with debating, so I
had a limited idea of what to expect. The debate held a lot of pressure but I embraced it and fought really hard. Although my
partner and I ended up losing, we gave a good fight and performed well considering we were both far beyond our comfort
zones. We formed our argument based on the economic benefit of cash bail, and we argued that cash bail was essential for our
judicial system. We approached economics and structure to appeal to our liberal audience, for them to inevitably be won over by
the social aspect from the other side. We organized our research using the given graphic organizers, and worked through them
together. These skills caused me to become more competent in my Social Awareness because I was forced to speak through a
political lense that completely goes against my own beliefs. Before the debate, and before researching my assigned position, I
couldn’t comprehend how real people could hold this position, being that I am from the extremely liberal DMV area. Although
researching did not alter my personal beliefs, I’ve found that an understanding of a differing opinion has allowed me to be more
tolerant of conservative ideologies and open-minded because I understand what information has led such people to think in that
way.
As I stated earlier, I was assigned to defend a conservative standpoint, one that contrasts with my own beliefs. This in a
way opened my eyes and allowed me to see where my oppositions are coming from. I do not support the view that I was
assigned to argue, so through research and the actual debate, I was given the opportunity to “put myself in the shoes” of
someone else, inevitably exposing me to the other perspectives. I helped others think differently about the world because cash
bail is not a topic largely talked about, although it's a deeply controversial aspect of our judicial system, so in my debate I
helped educate them on what it is and, working together with my opponents and my partner, educated them on the conflict and
disagreements involved with cash bail.
Rosie Orzulak
Student Signature (Print here: Rosie Orzulak ) Date4/15/21

Teacher Signature: Sarah Forman Date: 4/15/21