| Slovenia
Your personal work and expectations for the future
For the past three years I have been working with the debate program
in Slovenia and other 24 countries of Central/Eastern Europe and
Central Asia. I started as a debater during my one-year study
in the U.S. because my friends were debaters and I admired them
for their eloquence, strong logic, and interest fro issues at
stake in the world.
After returning to Slovenia I established a Debate Club of University
of Maribor with a simple goal: to share with colleague students
formal debate techniques through which critical thinking, argumented
speaking, practical usage of formal logics, interdisciplinary
thinking would be promoted. I hoped that this way not only the
classroom discussions but communication in general will improve.
Open Society Institute Slovenia supported the idea of having a
debate program, and soon after a first generation of highschool
and university debaters has been educated. We offered training
in formal debate as additional teaching method to university and
highschool professors. Some liked it, some didn't. The students,
however, loved it. In debate session students from different departments
came together and debated on one resolution. Each of us brought
into debate a piece of her specialized knowledge, and each of
us learned from each other. It was opportunity for all of us to
share in a structured, organized, time-limited manner.
It was appreciation of open-minded, critical thinkers that led
me join debate clubs practicing art of formal debating. Practicing
formal debate has introduced me to having intelectual intercourse
where statments where always defended with arguments which consited
of solid reasoning and evidence supporting it. It has also showed
me how it is to step on the other side and try to understand what
is the reasoning behind other peoples arguments. It made me think
about my thinking and thinking of others, and opening up helped
me also gain new knowledge, and I appreciated this process.
Coming from educational system which didn't provoke our critical
thinking neither incourage it has indicated a clear niche for
establishment of debate clubs for high school and university students.
With numerous changes in the societies of "new democracies" the
readiness for accepting formal debate by academics and especially
students has been clearly expressed. In most of the countries
of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia where I have worked
as trainer and coordinator students were the drive of the debate
programs. In many countries despite the energy the students havent
been able to shake the educational policy makers enough to consider
debate as necessary training for future teachers or involve it
in curricula. By now 6 generations of debaters and their trainers
have been educated in countries where we all are still learning
the notion of democracy. Through debate students learned also
about their civic rights and responsibilities.
My way from debate programs continued to European student platform,
representing the interest of students towards relevant European
institutions and organizations. The participation of youth in
democracy and decision making is a question of specific concern
in todays society. Our question is what are the interest of todays
youth to participate and what are the possibilities to influence
our own future.The question of participation is a fundamental
one. On other levels we deal with student involvement in quality
assurance processes in higher education, enabling mobility of
students, equal access to education, developing a concept of lifelong
learning as a life style of everyone.
Teaching debate, teaching critical thinking, raising awarness
about issues in the society and the world is one of important
aspects of quality of an educational system. In this aspect my
priority fields of work from past and present join. Thus, it is
through development of critical thinking and lifelong learning
in formal, non-formal or informal educational settings where I
see my contribution to social development. |
