Members of the debating teams from Herbert Morrison Technical High School and Cornwall College in Montego Bay yesterday after the regional leg of the Burger King National Schools' Debate competition. - Photo by Sheena Gayle

WESTERN BUREAU:

Making the necessary sacrifices to ensure debating success is something that Herbert Morrison Technical High School's Ramone Scarlett and Cornwall College's Mikhail Williams are all too familiar with.

Ramone, the president of the debate club at his school, explained that being a part of the team "is very time consuming and it takes a lot of commitment from myself and the other members to ensure success".

Chance to sharpen skills

Herbert Morrison Technical High yesterday won the Burger King-sponsored debate against Cambridge High School. The moot was 'Males make better teachers in the classroom'.

According to Ramone, the victory will not mean the team will become complacent.

"We intend to correct the mistakes we made in this debate in order to sharpen our skills for our upcoming opponents," he said.

Meanwhile, Mikhail empha-sised that school and family support have played an integral role in the success of his team.

"The Cornwall College School body has been the backbone of our success. We have the help of our peers and teachers in our prepara-tion for matches. Other students actually look up to the debate team so that is motivation to do well also," he said.

Benefits of debating

Mikhail encouraged students to join debate clubs at their respec-tive schools as "it helps in one's ability to be proficient in public speaking; it can boost your confidence and add to students' personal development".

Cornwall College won by default as its opponent, St Hilda's High, did not show up for the competition.

Six schools in western Jamaica participated in the Burger King National Schools' Debate competition, but only Herbert Morrison Technical High and Cornwall College have movedon to the next round of the competition.