"Even though they were some of the top debaters in the state of Virginia, they seemed to find my main arguments pretty reasonable!"
Maybe this "Even though" should be changed to "Because". Seems to me top debaters are more likely to be swayed by rational argument on emotional subjects than people who are not top debaters.
As a retired civil engineer and the father of two sons who graduated from a state college a little over ten years ago, I have to say that I agreed with essentially all your points.
My younger son got a degree in computer science and is currently working remotely from Ecuador, where we all now live. He got his degree in four years with no loan, although he did qualify for a good scholarship.
My older son graduated in four years with four majors because he worked hard and figured out some ways to game the system. None of his majors (psychology, Spanish, linguistics and philosophy) are STEM, but just the fact of doing it was unique at NMSU. He was also able to game the system so as to graduate without debt, and only modest help from his parents. He now runs his own business teaching English on-line to students all over the world.
I am also reminded of the young woman I read about who was a member of the Honor Society, but decided to go to a vo-tech school and get a certificate as a diesel mechanic. Her high school counselor bemoaned her "wasted potential", but she replied that she could attend for two years, graduate debt free, and had multiple employers willing to hire her at $80 per hour, plus overtime. And she enjoyed working on motors and equipment. (If she works 50 weeks per year with no overtime, that works out to be $160K per year at 20 years of age, while her peers are halfway through their BAs and piling up debt.)
Someone who is certified as a diesel mechanic, welder, or any number of other vo-tech skills can enjoy both high income and great job security. These jobs are not right for everyone, but I would encourage many high school students to at least consider them, especially if they are not top students or enjoy this kind of work.
Just one example; I lost one round at the most competitive national tournament to an argument that was purely ad hominem--it argued that voting for me was immoral because of my allegedly horrible beliefs--beliefs known to be horrible based purely on two out of context screenshots. Though it depends a lot on which high school debate event is being done. I’m going to make the prediction--before watching the video--that they did public forum.
"Even though they were some of the top debaters in the state of Virginia, they seemed to find my main arguments pretty reasonable!"
Maybe this "Even though" should be changed to "Because". Seems to me top debaters are more likely to be swayed by rational argument on emotional subjects than people who are not top debaters.
Love the sandals
Skip first 6 and a half minutes of droning introduction from moderator.
As a retired civil engineer and the father of two sons who graduated from a state college a little over ten years ago, I have to say that I agreed with essentially all your points.
My younger son got a degree in computer science and is currently working remotely from Ecuador, where we all now live. He got his degree in four years with no loan, although he did qualify for a good scholarship.
My older son graduated in four years with four majors because he worked hard and figured out some ways to game the system. None of his majors (psychology, Spanish, linguistics and philosophy) are STEM, but just the fact of doing it was unique at NMSU. He was also able to game the system so as to graduate without debt, and only modest help from his parents. He now runs his own business teaching English on-line to students all over the world.
I am also reminded of the young woman I read about who was a member of the Honor Society, but decided to go to a vo-tech school and get a certificate as a diesel mechanic. Her high school counselor bemoaned her "wasted potential", but she replied that she could attend for two years, graduate debt free, and had multiple employers willing to hire her at $80 per hour, plus overtime. And she enjoyed working on motors and equipment. (If she works 50 weeks per year with no overtime, that works out to be $160K per year at 20 years of age, while her peers are halfway through their BAs and piling up debt.)
Someone who is certified as a diesel mechanic, welder, or any number of other vo-tech skills can enjoy both high income and great job security. These jobs are not right for everyone, but I would encourage many high school students to at least consider them, especially if they are not top students or enjoy this kind of work.
Interesting. I did high school debate and found it to be pretty crazy and woke--I write about this here. https://benthams.substack.com/p/the-debate-community-is-an-insane
Just one example; I lost one round at the most competitive national tournament to an argument that was purely ad hominem--it argued that voting for me was immoral because of my allegedly horrible beliefs--beliefs known to be horrible based purely on two out of context screenshots. Though it depends a lot on which high school debate event is being done. I’m going to make the prediction--before watching the video--that they did public forum.