'Schools should abolish the grading system because it does not truly reflect our intelligence," a male student tried to persuade the audience.
"Sir, I disagree," shouted a little girl who sat opposite him. The boy gave her the nod to let her speak. "I think grading is the most effective way to measure if people work hard or not," she said fervently.
That's a snapshot of day one of the 10th Thailand High Schools Debating Championship (THSDC), with the two high school students arguing in English (over whether Thai schools should abolish the grading system) in a classroom at Triam Udom Suksa School.
They are just two of the nearly 200 students from 14 different schools participating in this year's English debating competition.
For these young people, the event is the culmination of months of research and practice.
This year's championship started on Friday and will end today. Teens huddle on seats between endless debates, while parents wait anxiously nearby.
No electronic devices or other materials are allowed except for almanacs, stationery and blank paper.
While a team consists of three debaters, to receive the Best Speaker award, a student must debate at least six preliminary rounds. Their average score is used to determine the result.
Motions to be debated vary widely and include such topics as "Should all technical schools that have a repeat history of gang fights be shut down completely", and "Should developing countries prioritise funding to achieve a handful of world class universities at the expense of evenly distributed funding for all universities".
Others include "Should wealthy individuals use their wealth to become a vigilante (eg Batman) in areas of high crime and a corrupt police force" and "Should South Korea pursue nuclear weapons".
"My friends and I have been practising at our school for almost two months for this event, so we can't keep calm," Arnencha Pradabkaew, 14, from Panyarat High School said excitedly after she and her friends won the first preliminary round.
Arnencha has been learning how to debate for almost two years and decided to join the English debate club at her school last year.
"At first, I just wanted to polish my English proficiency, but it turns out that I have acquired more than just English skills as I have now also acquired public speaking and critical thinking skills from learning how to debate," she said.
Arnencha said she thinks Thailand should promote debating more as it helps learners to see the power of deploying rational, reasoned arguments and compelling evidence in action. It enables them to elucidate their standpoint through rhetorical eloquence.
It instils in debaters a great sense of poise and confidence. It teaches them the skills of researching, organising and presenting information in a compelling and convincing fashion.
"For me, it does not matter if the debate is in Thai or English. I think students who do not have a good command of English should be provided the same opportunity to develop themselves. I think debating competitions should be promoted more among Thai kids," she said.
Nopparaj Buddhimanoth, 15, from Assumption College, echoed these sentiments, adding that learning how to debate helps develop communication skills and teaches students how to think on their feet.
"I think debating is surging in popularity among Thai youth now, but the number of debate arenas that allow them to show their potential is still limited. We need more support from adults and we may need to change people's point of view that debating is not just about encouraging kids to shout at each other, but it is teaching us to think critically and systematically," he said.
Asa Sakornpant and Kritin Eakthunyasakul, conveners of the 10th THSDC, said their goals for organising this event are to make debating communities in Thailand bigger and better as well as to draw Thai youths' attention to issues that they usually neglect, such as human rights, social justice and geopolitics.
They stressed that the benefits that accrue are numerous. Debates provide experiences that are conducive to acquiring life-changing, cognitive and presentational skills. In addition, debaters pick up unique educational benefits as they learn and polish skills far beyond what can be learnt in other settings.
"Sometimes debates can get heated to boiling point, but when the time is up all the debaters from both sides always congratulate each other and shake each other's hands afterwards because this is how the spirit of debate is kept alive," they said.
