Letting off some steam
I am a travel addict. There is just something about going out of town and being in some new place or revisiting another place that really appeals to me. The plane flight might completely suck, the bus terminals might be breeding grounds for mutant destructive viruses (or swine flu), but travel is still horribly awesome.
So probably debating's biggest benefit to me is in sponsored travel. Not completely sponsored (a few thousands in DDF, plus all the hidden costs of visa application, travel tax, survival money, etc -- which adds up to a lot) but sponsored more than enough to make each trip 1. incredibly sulit, and 2. relatively accessible.
The only drawback with this travel business is missing school for it. Now this is my constant dilemma - is it worth it to chuck away a couple of weeks of school each semester to hop on a plane? But whatever, my constant "dilemma" is always resolved with a 'yes'
I was going through this in my head last night while thinking about all the requirements I had to make up.
Question: Is my academic performance going to suffer?
Answer: Probably. Depends on your teachers and depends on your load, but even if you work off all the class you missed, it'll be harder for you to perform at your best. But hey!
Question: Will I learn less?
Answer: Definitely not. I don't think I finished any of my classes last year feeling as though I'd come out with less than my classmates did because I missed some lectures. I didn't learn what they did by the expected schedule written down in the class syllabus -- hence grades fail - but I'm pretty sure I learned it. Not like I could've caught up in the final paper, final exam, or final oral without it.
Alongside that -- I'm pretty sure that travelling to another place, whether lesser developed or more developed, provides a way more real learning experience than what I would've gotten by staying in school. Everything you learn is just way more real when its something you can tie into an actual experience that you've had. It's like going on a lot of field trips, but way awesomer.
I actually do think I've become a lot more culturally sensitive, more able to pick up on the nuances of different backgrounds, more exposed to the different concerns of different people in different situations. One of the more important things I've learned is the senselessness of homogenization -- and unfortunately I also find that in school we tend to do a lot of that. Or at least, more than I think accurately represents the people/cultures we discuss.
But even outside of being in a particular country and particular culture... debate in general just ups your general array of knowledge and understanding about the world. And debating against people with different viewpoints from you always brings about surprising argumentation that I would not have thought of on my own. How the heck would I have run a case about whether or not Australia should privatize its water resources? Ewan. We'd've thought of something, but it probably would not have run with the same depth of knowledge as the actual Australians in the semi-final. Except now, having watched that semifinal, I feel a few degrees more exposed to resource management in places like Oz. And yes, that's important. (Of course, I say this is all important to me because I get to come from the SA and DS deps - I'm guessing that I wouldn't be as convinced if I was in MGT)
Sometimes I start to feel as though the academic culture we've got at home is inbred and a little warped. Wait. This is for another post. Way too much to say on that topic.
The point was, I really enjoyed being in Australia :). And even if we didnt get past quarters, I am still v. v. v. proud of our contingent. And I am so looking forward to travelling again.
So probably debating's biggest benefit to me is in sponsored travel. Not completely sponsored (a few thousands in DDF, plus all the hidden costs of visa application, travel tax, survival money, etc -- which adds up to a lot) but sponsored more than enough to make each trip 1. incredibly sulit, and 2. relatively accessible.
The only drawback with this travel business is missing school for it. Now this is my constant dilemma - is it worth it to chuck away a couple of weeks of school each semester to hop on a plane? But whatever, my constant "dilemma" is always resolved with a 'yes'
I was going through this in my head last night while thinking about all the requirements I had to make up.
Question: Is my academic performance going to suffer?
Answer: Probably. Depends on your teachers and depends on your load, but even if you work off all the class you missed, it'll be harder for you to perform at your best. But hey!
Question: Will I learn less?
Answer: Definitely not. I don't think I finished any of my classes last year feeling as though I'd come out with less than my classmates did because I missed some lectures. I didn't learn what they did by the expected schedule written down in the class syllabus -- hence grades fail - but I'm pretty sure I learned it. Not like I could've caught up in the final paper, final exam, or final oral without it.
Alongside that -- I'm pretty sure that travelling to another place, whether lesser developed or more developed, provides a way more real learning experience than what I would've gotten by staying in school. Everything you learn is just way more real when its something you can tie into an actual experience that you've had. It's like going on a lot of field trips, but way awesomer.
I actually do think I've become a lot more culturally sensitive, more able to pick up on the nuances of different backgrounds, more exposed to the different concerns of different people in different situations. One of the more important things I've learned is the senselessness of homogenization -- and unfortunately I also find that in school we tend to do a lot of that. Or at least, more than I think accurately represents the people/cultures we discuss.
But even outside of being in a particular country and particular culture... debate in general just ups your general array of knowledge and understanding about the world. And debating against people with different viewpoints from you always brings about surprising argumentation that I would not have thought of on my own. How the heck would I have run a case about whether or not Australia should privatize its water resources? Ewan. We'd've thought of something, but it probably would not have run with the same depth of knowledge as the actual Australians in the semi-final. Except now, having watched that semifinal, I feel a few degrees more exposed to resource management in places like Oz. And yes, that's important. (Of course, I say this is all important to me because I get to come from the SA and DS deps - I'm guessing that I wouldn't be as convinced if I was in MGT)
Sometimes I start to feel as though the academic culture we've got at home is inbred and a little warped. Wait. This is for another post. Way too much to say on that topic.
The point was, I really enjoyed being in Australia :). And even if we didnt get past quarters, I am still v. v. v. proud of our contingent. And I am so looking forward to travelling again.