CHAPTER 1 Get Your Way about Chores A formal debate always starts with a resolution That’s a fancy word for a statement about a topic Here’s the topic we’ll be discussing in the next few pages Kids should clean their rooms Silas will argue that tidiness is terrific Maria disagrees She says that sometimes mess is magnificent Who will make the more convincing points Dust off your curiosity and see what you decide Opening Statement Silas The Case for Clean Of course we should keep our rooms tidy The skills we learn while straightening our sheets and organizing our desks can make us more successful in life It’s time to clear away the cobwebs and take a close look at the research behind cleanliness Here’s what the science says Kids who do chores are nice and have tons of friends People in clean rooms make more logical decisions Mess-free is stress-free Clean rooms help keep us calm Don’t let the opposing side clutter your brain with illogical points Instead stay clearly on the side of my clean and organized arguments
Opening Statement Maria The Case for Clutter Making your bed is a waste of time Do you really want to spend precious hours folding your laundry and organizing your pencils Why not embrace a bit of chaos It might take longer to find your socks but you’ll get lots of benefits in return People in messy environments are more creative They’re willing to take risks and they think in more imaginative ways A lot of genius scientists and inventors were famous for their messy desks Girls do way more chores than boys If we all refuse to make our beds we’ll achieve gender equality It’s possible we were born to be geniuses But if we’re forced to clean our rooms and clear away our creativity how will we ever find out Ruling with Research Maria and Silas have outlined their main points Now they need to present evidence Debaters often use examples from history They might also speak about their own personal experiences But the most convincing debate arguments always rely on scientific research Let’s see what evidence Maria and Silas use to argue the messy question of room cleaning
Thinking outside the Hamper Kathleen Vohs is a professor at the University of Minnesota She and her team of researchers assigned some students to orderly rooms with neat piles of paper Others they sent to cluttered rooms where the table and the floor were strewn with office supplies They gave all the students a simple task brainstorm 10 new ways to use Ping-Pong balls The students in the clean rooms made suggestions that were close to the ways Ping-Pong balls are already used Adapt the balls for slightly different games they said Students in the messy rooms had more innovative ideas cut the tops from the balls and use them as ice-cube trays or stick them to the bottoms of chairs so the chair legs don’t scratch the floor Kathleen and her team concluded that messy spaces help people think in new ways The world has lots of problems that need creative solutions We want to become inventive out-of-the-box thinkers A bit of mess is obviously best
CHORES It’s a Clean Sweep In a 2019 study researchers at the University of Virginia asked almost 10 000 kindergartners about their chores The scientists visited the same kids a few years later when they were in third grade and asked them questions about their lives They discovered that kids who did chores made friends more easily were happier and earned better math grades In another study Canadian and Australian researchers asked parents and teachers to record when kids did kind helpful things Imagine you were part of that study and your mom was secretly tracking you She might make a check mark if you took the dog for a walk without being asked Your teacher might make a check mark if you helped your friend with his math Here’s what the scientists found kids who did their chores without being asked were more likely to show care and concern for other people So why make your bed Because making your bed means you’re a better person Rebut What Next up in this raging debate the rebuttals Rebuttals are counterarguments Let’s imagine your kitchen smells bad The dog farted Mom says But Dad took the dog for a walk you say You’ve presented a rebuttal by using evidence to argue against your mom’s statement Turn the page to find out what rebuttals Silas and Maria will come up with The writer of this book is in no way implying that your mom farts
