It's all in how you look at it

Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to graduate.

When this was posted originally, I didn't comment on it much except to say that it was one of the hot-button issues in education, and that I was worried that it might not allow for the most creative positions. After all, I had recently judged roughly the same topic in PF at Districts, and heard roughly the same things over and over again, so I wasn't necessarily thrilled, but I wasn't aghast either. It's perfectly debatable because there's clear sides that clearly clash. A classic albeit special (in philosophical terms) subject area, the nature/goal of education. It will work out well enough.

I can't say that it gives me any second thoughts about ModNov, though. I like to begin novice training with broad principles about ethics and politics and morality, and later apply those principles to whatever topic is at hand. Granted that some topics don't easily allow such application, but most do. What this Sep-Oct does is favor coaches who like to start with the strategy and tactics of debate per se. Nothing wrong with that, and Anjan makes a good comment about that over at WTF, citing how this topic has an immediate recognition factor with noobs. Of course, the value of ModNov is long term, and certainly doesn't deter anyone with a practical startup approach, although God knows, it's way more philosophic to the poor ninth graders out there than something like this that has real relevancy to them.

My greatest disappointment/relief is that the marriage resolution didn't get voted in. On the one hand, if it had, we could have sold tickets to ModNov, but on the other hand, everyone else, poor devils, would have had to debate it. Anyhow, this reminds me to dust off next year's list and send it in. I know the rezzes I like, and what the Sailors like. It's just a matter of pinning down which goes where.