Why Debate Matters in School

Debate is not just a classroom game; it is the engine of learning. When people argue, they practice thinking. They test ideas and grow wiser. In the past, a famous scholar named W. E. B. DuBois wrote a book for an American group that wanted people to value all cultures. He was one of the first black men to earn a doctorate from Harvard and helped start the NAACP. Today, if someone were studying philosophy at Texas A&M, they might only see a trimmed version of Plato’s work. That would be unfair and untrue to DuBois’ spirit. Our society now fights over identity politics. Many want to avoid topics that might upset others. But without controversy, learning stalls. People argue and counter-argue like Newton’s laws: every action has a reaction, often stronger than the first. DuBois warned that racism is the main problem of his time. He exposed lynchings and voting denial. Yet he also championed a broad education that asks big questions: what is right, true, and beautiful?At St. John’s College, the only black author read there is DuBois. His book “Souls of Black Folk” sits beside works by Hamilton, Marx, Darwin, Lincoln, Woolf, and de Beauvoir. Education can be practical—helping people find jobs. That view comes from figures like Benjamin Franklin. But DuBois, Frederick Douglass, and others remind us that learning is about dignity and the search for meaning. Douglass called education “the uplifting of the soul into truth. ” He believed that only truth can set people free. These thinkers also critiqued Western ideas. For example, Dostoevsky argued that modern thought could corrupt societies. Still, the best part of Western culture is its openness to debate and disagreement. In our current climate, few people are willing to engage in deep debate or see how others share their struggles. To learn, we need more discussion and a willingness to recognize common ground.