Teacher notes · Discussion & Debate
Lowering the voting age to 16: a discussion lesson that Korean high schoolers will actually debate
- Assign sides randomly. Students who have to argue against their own belief engage harder than students who coast on agreement.
- The military service argument will dominate the "for" side. Let it. It is the one that feels urgent to them. If it takes over completely, ask the "against" side how they'd respond.
- Do not extend prep time past 10 minutes. The pairs who finish early get bored and loud. Better to start debates with slightly underprepared arguments than lose control of the room.
- In the final vote, count hands yourself and announce the number. If you ask "who thinks we should lower it?" and three students raise their hands while looking around to see who else did, you have lost the honest response.