(Some of) The Kids are Alright

I have the privilege this week of judging Lincoln-Douglas Debate in a statewide homeschool speech tournament. It's been 20 years since I did this competitively myself, and I suspect the familiar feeling I had sitting down with my flowchart and ballot tonight was similar to the rush a former athlete might get when putting on the old gear.

Education used to involve not just learning what to think (facts), but how to think (logic). The lack of critical-thinking-skills instruction today doesn't bode well for maintaining self-government. Nothing builds the ability to dispassionately see both sides of an issue like competitive debate. Imagine an eighth grader and a ninth grader building a case for why Americans should or should not take a more isolationist stance in foreign policy (who says they're all just Nintendo junkies?). And then being able two hours later to take the opposite viewpoint and defend it as well.

I'm getting to see some of tomorrow's leaders just starting to try their wings. And it's an amazing sight.