Working with students after classes such as psychology, business and law has paid off for North Battleford Comprehensive High School teacher Lynne Thompson.
Thompson recently won the Willis S. McLeese Award for outstanding contributions to Canadian student debate.
Thompson got involved with debate while looking for an extra-curricular program.
"What I really like about debate is that there's lots of opportunities for all sorts of involvement," Thompson said.
Thompson called the current debaters at the high school "very good." Commitment, Thompson said, is two meetings a week and students perform their own research.
A group called Friends of Debate helps frame arguments for debaters and allows more students to participate.
Thompson said she considers herself lucky that she's taught the students she has. One former student worked at the United Nations while the others have gone "all over the world doing all sorts of interesting things."
"Happily they sometimes keep in contact with me and let me know how well they're doing," Thompson said.
Thompson said the high school and Living Sky School Division have been very supportive of the debaters.
The Willis S. McLeese Award isn't the only award associated with Thompson's debaters, and Thompson credits the work of students to help win the Spirit of Debate Award through the Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association a number of times.
Saskatchewan, Thompson said, "has a really strong presence in debate," while some debaters she's encountered have been "in the debate room since they've been toddling."
Thompson taught many working law professionals in North Battleford, along with some of their children.
Amid what Thompson called "unhealthy debating," she said the reasoned approach students learn from debate is important.
"There are two or more sides to any topic and … until such times as you have a good understanding of the topic you're debating, I think that you have a hard time being unbiased.
"What I like about debating is [students] have to debate proposition or opposition and that they have to have an understanding."
Local and provincial debaters will be in town March 16 for provincials and Thompson is looking for judges.
