Debate
Researching an Issue
Analyzing Arguments
Be an Upstander
An UPSTANDER is someone who speaks out and takes positive action to make it right when s/he recognizes that something is wrong or unjust in society. An upstander is socially responsible and protects people from being bullied or hurt. Many people in history are famous because they were upstanders. Malala Yousafzai advocated for education for females in Pakistan. Martin Luther King spoke on behalf of racism victims. Edith Cowman became the voice of woman rights. Eddy Mabo was famous for speaking up for aboriginal equality.
Debatable Issues
Should schools serve chocolate milk?
Article Links:
- Chocolate Milk Refuels Muscles After Workout
- Chocolate Milk: Good or bad for kids?
- School Lunch Milk Programs
- Chocolate Milk: Too Much Sugar or Health Drink of the Future?
- Chocolate Milk: The New Sports Drink?
- Chocolate Milk Nutrition Information
- What's to Love and Loathe About Chocolate Milk
- Is Chocolate Milk Healthy for KIds?
- Is Chocolate Milk Good for You?
- Do Kids Really Need to Drink Milk?
- A School Fight Over Chocolate Milk
Video Links:
Should people climb Mount Everest?
Article Links:
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Should plastic bags be banned?
Article Links:
- Bag Ban Debate
- Fact Sheet from Bag to Ban
- Floating Junkyard
- Learn the Facts
- Are Reusable Bags Dangerous?
- NYC Grocery Bags: Myth vs. Fact
- Toronto Bans Shopping Bags
- Environment
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Should teachers assign homework?
Article Links:
- Is homework good for kids?
- Growing number of elementary schools now homework free
- Research finds the Effects of homework on elementary school students, and the results are surprising
- Research Trends: Why homework should be balanced
- How important is homework to student success
- Nix homework to help students? What the science says
- Homework: An Unnecessary Evil
- Is homework a necessary evil?
- The Homework Debate: How homework benefits students
- Homewreck: Harvey Smokey Daniels
- Should schools be done with homework?
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Should water bottles be banned?
Article Links:
- Is bottled water really better?
- The battle over bottled water
- Drinking water: Bottled or from the tap?
- Bottled Water: Better than the tap?
- What are some advantages of bottled water?
- Bottled water matters
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Are extreme sports worth the risk?
Article Links:
- Extreme Sports Facts
- Extreme Sports Safety
- Kids and Extreme Sports
- Best of X Games
- Extreme Sports Growing in Popularity
- Why do people enjoy extreme sports?
- The world's first wingsuit champion is crowned
- Wingsuit daredevil Jeb Corliss completes another heart-stopping flight
- Given the risks involved, where's the appeal in extreme sports?
- With the thrills come risks
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Should humans be protected from sharks or sharks protected from humans?
Article Links:
- Dangerous Predators
- Infographic: Status of the Shark
- Food Web Woes
- Tourists wary but not put off after shark attacks in Hawaii
- Spinner shark attacks Florida teen surfer
- Rise in shark attacks scare tourists away from paradise isle of Reunion
- Five most dangerous sharks to humans
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Should people support or boycott zoos?
Article Links:
- Are zoos a good thing?
- The Modern Zoo
- Not all zoos are inhumane
- Why are zoos good?
- Zoos are not prisons
- Why zoos matter
- The future of zoos
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Should devices be allowed in the bedroom?
Article Links:
- My bedroom is a phone-free zone and I feel much better for it
- Should kids have cell phones? Experts pick sides
- 5 Reasons Your Kid Should Not Have a Cell Phone
- Children benefit from the right sort of screen time
- Screen time can actually be beneficial to children
- Moderate amounts of screen time may be good for kids
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Are trampolines too dangerous for children?
Article Links:
- Trampoline Parks launch debate over safety
- Trampolines: What You Need to Know
- How safe are trampoline parks? As their popularity soars, so do injuries
- Trampolines: A fun, safe activity for your kids? Just the opposite, doctors say
- I know the risks of trampolines. Here’s why we got one anyway
- Trampolining 101
- 17 Benefits of Trampoline Exercise
Video Links (vpn may be required):
Should plastic straws be banned?
Article Links:
- Should plastic straws be banned
- Seattle bans plastic straws, utensils ....
- Plastic straws ban is quite a straw man
- Restaurants consider alternatives, like Twizzlers, to plastic straws
- The Last Straw?
- Why banning plastic straws upsets people with disabilities
- Worst types of litter, plastic straws not even in top 5
- Why plastic straw bans aren’t the answer
- Disability rights groups voice issues with Starbucks' plastic straw ban
- The Great Straw Debate: Why people with disabilities need plastic straws
- Blanket bans on plastic straws: irresponsible, unnecessary, immoral
- Can banning plastic straws save the ocean?
- Plastics Ban List
Video Links (vpn may be required):