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The Great Debate provides students a premier resource for learning the art of debate and developing the skills they need to succeed in the debate round, in the classroom, and in the real world. Written in a conversational style with the debate student in mind, this book begins by discussing general debate principles and then offers specific insights into the numerous facets of both public forum debate and policy debate. From basics to more advanced topics, The Great Debate is an invaluable resource for debaters of all experience levels.
The Great Debate introduces public forum debate, a recent addition to the competitive debate landscape. Unlike many other debate styles, public forum debate does not require special debate vocabulary or knowledge of detailed theory from either participants or judges. Public forum debate focuses on developing debaters who can persuade any audience to support a particular position through a series of short back and forth speeches which mimic the real world debates on television between pundits and politicians. The Great Debate equips students to begin competing in this highly relevant debate format.
The Great Debate also provides a foundation for students in policy debate. Policy debate requires debaters to extensively research and analyze a particular topic of public policy. Debaters generally propose that the government take a particular course of action or change a law. Students develop significant knowledgeable of a particular public policy topic and gain strong research skills. Policy debaters are comfortable prioritizing arguments to present in a short speech and learn to use cost-benefit-analysis to evaluate public policy options. The Great Debate gives students the tools to begin competing in competitive policy debate.
The Great Debate was written by a debater for fellow competitors. It covers the basics of debate with special care to explain everything to those with no prior debate experience or knowledge. It next advances to intermediate theory and strategy debaters can use as they develop their skills. This book is perfect for your club, a beginning debate class, or as a reference resource for debaters of all experience levels.
For those interested in argumentation, The Great Debate offers an introduction to the basics of logic, fallacies, argument structure, techniques for replying to specific arguments, note-taking techniques, and research. These skills serve any student outside of the competitive debate context: in the classroom and in the real world.
Equip yourself with the tools to make and respond to arguments, with The Great Debate.
More information is available at www.greatdebate.net
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The "for parents" topic is a very important component of Book of Liberty. After all, for those who have kids, if you would like to affect change in the world one of the most important roles you have in this context is being a responsible steward of your children. Raising a strong, moral, peaceful individual can have tremendous positive impact.
The non-aggression principle is best displayed through its application in interpersonal relations, of which peaceful parenting is one such strategy. Like many other topics covered by books on this site, this too can be controversial and in no way are we prescribing behavior or applying judgment. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but we do encourage the same rigor and logical consistency to be applied to your relationships with others in your life as we apply to the relationship between the individual and the State.
Topics such as homeschooling, Montessori, or other forms of unschooling can be found when browsing the "for parents" topic, as well as books for young readers. If you have a young reader at home, consider browsing this section for inspiration on books for them to read.
A note from the curator: If you are a parent of a 5-11 year old (or know someone who is) The Tuttle Twins series of books would make a great addition to their library. Similar to the advertising fees we get from books purchased through Amazon, the creators of The Tuttle Twins support Books of Liberty with a small advertising fee for purchases made through our links, and I would not promote these books if I didn’t highly recommend them myself.
Same goes for the Ron Paul Curriculum homeschool program, who support Books of Liberty through advertising fees for those who purchase through our links. I haven’t gone through a homeschool program and my daughter isn’t old enough for school yet, so I can’t speak from personal experience but I have heard nothing but tremendous positive feedback from homeschooling parents for Ron Paul’s program and I am happy to be recommending it.
If there is one thing that we’re willing to bet on, it’s that there are topics within the pages of Books of Liberty for which you are very passionate. And wouldn’t it be great if you could convince just a few more people to see things the way you do on these subjects? If there is one tool in your tool-belt that you need in order to achieve this aim, it’s improved communication skills.
With techniques such as nonviolent communication, or NVC (for which we have many books and study guides), or other means of empathic connection you can reach a meeting of the minds on almost anything. In addition to convincing an "opponent" in a debate, this may significantly improve interpersonal relations, parenting, help with conflict resolution and is an important social skill to have.
In order to strengthen your arguments, you will utilize critical thinking and problem solving techniques to help frame your ideas, apply logic consistently and remove cognitive biases, and you will learn to identify others’ use of logical fallacies or fear and manipulation.
Then, with the power of empathic connection you will use your rhetoric to its full potential, whether through writing, debating, negotiation, public speaking or other forms of communication.
A note from the curator: Regarding almost any topic found on Books of Liberty, the Ron Paul Curriculum homeschool program provides exemplary teaching on the subject. From my research (admittedly not through my own personal experience) I found that Ron Paul’s program comes highly recommended for those who want their kids to acquire superior written and other communication skills. From courses on English and Report Writing to Public Speaking and Using Wordpress, your homeschooler will learn how to communicate on a variety of platforms.
Liberty Classroom is another excellent resource that, as Master Member I enjoy and thoroughly recommend, if for no other reason than their Introduction to Logic course, which I’ve sat through and is terrific! This and many other great courses will help you communicate clearly and master debates.
In full disclosure, both the Ron Paul Curriculum and Liberty Classroom support Books of Liberty through advertising fees for those who purchase through our links, but I would recommend them wholeheartedly regardless.
Between education, entrepreneurship, communication skills and other such important topics, personal development forms a key component of one’s path to personal freedom. No human is perfect and while we ought to balance the recognition of this fact with self-esteem and acceptance of our nature, there is room for improvement in us all (and if nothing else, there is room for us to at least maintain our level of awesomeness).
I've included books covering important components of personal development and tools to increase your efficiency. These include productivity and time management methodologies (such as the highly recommended Getting Things Done or GTD), leadership skills, creativity, resilience, organizational skills and many more, all of which require the formation of great habits, self-discipline and willpower. Other intriguing topics like stoicism and minimalism are covered too.
Topics related with personal development include physical and mental wellbeing as well as psychology.