When discussions on controversial topics break down, it usually happens that someone is too loud and longwinded, and some are too shy to talk. Either way, the flow of information comes to a grinding halt.
Logic goes untested.
Progress and insight wait. There is almost nowhere to go if one would like to hear a balanced representation of both sides of such a debate. Almost nowhere can one hear logic against logic, picked clean of rhetoric and deception. Students are introduced to the art of argumentation by listening as cogent arguments are invented and placed into a debate for public display. Learning to appreciate the art of political cartooning, the strategies for effective researching, and the computer programming aspect of presenting art and text on the Internet, quite frankly, are all necessary to prepare our students for communicating in this way to a wide audience.