Debate, Dialogue and Deliberation

Hi. Welcome to this teachlette on dialogue vs. debate. In AVID we will do lots of group discussions. We will do things called Socratic Seminars and Philosophical Chairs. And so, in order to be able to do those effectively, we've got to understand what we want and what our expectations out of AVID are. And so we're going to start that by just discussing the difference between a dialogue versus a debate. Because in AVID we want to stick with dialoguing and not so much debate. But before we do that, we have to think how do we hold a discussion when we do not all agree.

First off, what is dialogue? Dialogue is having an open-minded discussion over a topic where everyone feels safe to share their opinions and is willing to listen to other people's opinions and understand both. Open-minded is key to dialogue. It's where you're not saying that I'm right and you're wrong. But you're listening to everyone's ideas and everyone's opinions and you're thinking about, okay, how can that opinion, how can their opinion, fit into mine? What can I do to be accepting of that opinion, even if I don't totally agree with what they're saying?

What is a debate? A debate is a close-minded discussion where you feel your opinion is the only right way to see something. When I was a kid growing up, I thought to be a lawyer would be so much fun. Because that's all it is, you're giving your opinion, and you think your opinion is right, and you want everyone to listen to your opinion, and you don't want to accept anyone else's opinion. And even though debate, I think, has a place in the world and there are times where debate may be necessary in the AVID classroom, we don't want to debate because we don't want others to feel that their ideas and their opinions are wrong and ours are right. We want to keep it open-minded and we want others to be willing to listen to ours when it's our turn to speak.

How do I know the difference between a dialogue and debate? Well, a dialogue is collaborative, meaning everyone's a part of the discussion, everyone feels that they can contribute their opinion, they can say what they would like to say. Whereas a debate is very oppositional. You're either feeling this way or that way, and there's not much room for in-between that you can feel both. Dialogue is also understanding. Yes, this is my opinion, but I also understand your opinion, and how to come across and make that in a positive way of when you want other people to know that you may not agree with them, but you understand their opinion. Whereas a debate is just trying to prove the other person wrong, saying you're wrong and keep listing ways that they're wrong.

Dialogue is listening for a deeper meaning. You want to really understand where that person is coming from, where their opinion stems from. They may have a good reason for why they believe the way they do. And we have probably our reasons on why we believe the way we do. And so we want to understand each other, where do our opinions come from, where did we get those opinions to begin from. Whereas debate, you're just listening for the flaws. You're listening for someone to make a mistake in what they say and their opinion and how you can prove their opinion wrong.

Dialogue is about reevaluating your opinion and assumptions. It's like giving yourself a second thought. Like hmm is my opinion the only opinion that's right or could this other person's opinion be just as valid as mine? Whereas in debating you're just defending your opinions and you want nothing to do with someone else’s.

Dialogue is open-minded. It's keeping your mind open to everything that's being said and it allows you the opportunity to really think about what it is you truly believe. Whereas debate you're close-minded. You think you're right, you know you're right, and case is closed. Dialogue you're putting your own personal beliefs aside. I may feel really strongly on something that's morally right or wrong, but that's because that's the way I've been raised, that’s the way I've been taught. But in a dialogue, I want to put that aside and understand again, where that other person is coming from. They may not share the same beliefs as me, so I want to make sure that I understand their beliefs as well. Whereas in debate, you're just defending your beliefs. This is the way you were brought up, this was the way you were raised, case closed.

Dialogue is also about searching for validity in all ideas, searching for the good in everybody's opinions, what is right in everyone's opinions. Whereas when you're debating, you're just searching for the weaknesses, why their opinion is not as strong as yours, why your opinion is better. In a dialog, you respect all participants and that's huge, being able to agree to disagree. For example, if I don't agree with you I might say I understand where you're coming from, however, this is what I feel and why I feel it. And just making sure those people know you understand them, but at the same time, your opinions and your ideas are a little different than theirs. Whereas a debate is just being mean to each other, putting each other down, calling each other names.

In a dialogue you're willing to explore different possibilities, willing to say, you know, what my opinion may not be the best opinion, my thinking may be wrong, I may not be right on this, and you may be right, in keeping your mind open to the fact that your opinion isn't always the best one or always the right one. Whereas in a debate there's only one right answer and it's usually yours, yours is the right answer. And for dialogue, it's open-ended, meaning you can walk away from the conversation, that dialogue, the discussion, without a clear-cut answer and just say, you know what, we all have our own opinions about this topic and that's okay. Whereas a debate, you demand a conclusion. You want to know at the end who is right and who is wrong and you want to know that you're the one that was right.

So what would you rather be involved in? Would you rather be involved in a dialogue, where you're gonna be respected and everyone's gonna keep their mind open to what everyone is saying? Or would you rather be involved in a debate, like these two guys, where you go head-to-head trying to decide who is right and who is wrong. AVID is all about dialogue. It's about being able to sit down and talk about a topic, talk about a situation, and even if we don't all agree, that we're all willing to listen and understand where everyone's coming from.

Okay, thank you for joining this little teachlette on dialogue versus debate. We will be using lots of dialogue in AVID this year, through different discussion techniques that we use. One being called philosophical chairs and the other one called Socratic seminars. And in our live lessons to come, we will be talking about the difference even between a philosophical chair and a dialogue. Thank you again.