October 30, 2026
Dear parents,
Thank you for enrolling your child in our Debate and Converge Club this fall! We had a spirited final session yesterday, and I write to you now with a recap of our term.
Each session featured a “happily contentious issue” pulled from the headlines, often suggested by the students themselves. We found ourselves debating bike lanes, social media use by teenagers, bans on gasoline-powered vehicles, and whether provinces like Alberta and Quebec should secede from Canada. For our last session, we held impromptu lightning rounds, with various participants arguing for nap time during the school day, an earlier morning recess, dogs’ supremacy over cats, a change of location for our school, and an end to the expectation that everyone must interrupt what they’re doing to say “Bless you” to someone who has sneezed. (Okay, that last one was mine!)
We began each session by splitting arbitrarily into two sides, without regard to the students’ “real” opinions. After a good chunk of group research and argument-crafting time, we reassembled to take turns sharing our arguments, pushing back against them, and rebutting the pushback. After our debate, we reserved the final 10 minutes for our “converge” — an effort to design potential ways forward that address the major concerns of both sides. The students were impressively successful at this challenge, and I could sense their minds expanding as they got more creative with their ideas.
A number of the students have asked if I’ll be offering this club again. The answer is yes, but not right away; be on the lookout for my new club, “Wacky Advertising Agency,” among the winter term offerings. And when the time is right, I look forward to once again assembling a group of impassioned, ruthless debaters (and convergers).
Until next time,
Mike Fishback