Debate is such a useful skillset - and I don't doubt that you have helped shaped many young men and women's abilities to expertly communicate their views. I don't recall reading anywhere that the Zanders ever referred to status quo, or to it's opposites, however in "The Art of Possibility".
Debate employs a combination of logic and theater: logic is an 'in the box' construction and theater can inspire. Isn't it best when both are there? Possibility and spark emerges from passion. Passion is not generated by logic. Instead of listening and choosing from the billions of views and ideas made available to us with which to agree or not, we listen to our inner life and march to our own drummer - like your dad might say!
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One of the classes that I have the honor to teach is Competitive Debate. Debate class is often highly spirited, always competitive and at times downright contentious, after all debate is a scored argument and no one wants to lose an argument. So what is it that debaters argue about? All debate topics can be broken down into one argument, should we preserve the status quo or should we move away from the idea that it's just the way it is and do something new? I understand the importance of questioning the status quo and the importance of asking if we will do something better by leaving the status quo behind. I love that the Zanders constantly point to the power of possibility and a new way of thinking but there is a small caveat in their line of thinking, the status quo is not always bad, it is not always suffocating, and not always enslaving. I also know the Zanders were not talking specifically about social engineering and change as much as they are saying before you give in to the status quo at least process the other possibilities. An ancient Sanskrit says " Just because something is old doesn't mean it is bad or because something it is new that it is good, the wise man chooses the better of the two while a fool lets others decide for them." I choose to ask why not with my eyes wide open.
I remember once having the extreme pleasure of seeing the San Francisco Opera perform La Bohème in the auditorium at the high school I attended. The performance was magnificent; it was a very transfixing experience for me, unfortunately that was not true for all my peers. The opera was well into the third act when a fire alarm sounded and the performance stopped until we were apprised that the alarm was false, soon the opera resumed in the spot where it was interrupted. Shortly after resuming the opera the featured soprano launched into this beautiful solo and the fire alarm sounded again, this time the soloist refused to surrender to the moment she simply upped her volume and sang over the top of the alarm and soon the alarm was silenced and the soloist finished her passionate performance receiving a standing ovation as she ended. The singer's passion for wanting to express her character's pain in knowing that she and her love must separate because she is dying of tuberculosis could not be silenced by a fire alarm. The passion that the singer exhibited that night speaks boldly to reinforce that the story must be told no matter what. True passion is not discouraged by being told no or by fire alarms, on the contrary, it sings even louder and becomes more convinced of it message.
Giving a spark or fanning embers into a flame is one of the unspoken roles that teacher is asked to fill. As a teacher I must know my students well and when the opportunity presents itself, seize the moments as they present themselves. I think that it is also important that a teacher knows how much enthusiasm to extend, too much and it can add pressure to the student, not enough enthusiasm and the encouragement can seem hollow. I also think that it is important that if a teacher speaks encouragement into the life of a student that they continue on in that student's life to encourage and advise.
