This week, Toastmaster James presented an icebreaker, revealing something about himself, or rather explaining who he really is.  Although he may appear selfish and arrogant, he actually is just very confident, introverted and nice.  Next time we see someone who behaves differently from ourselves, avoid making judgement, and get know that person first.  Who knows, the person may end up becoming our closest friend!

Nadaa, one of our newest members also did her ice breaker. She took us on a journey from Muscat to Montreal. We learned that Nadda’s personality is quite dynamic, almost as she has opposite sides. For example, she can be shy but also loud. Her childhood experience shaped the way she is, however, she realized, cultural identify is not strictly defined.  From her journey, she learned that she can get the best from both worlds.

We then jumped to project number 9 with Wes.  He gave us 3 inarguable reasons why education should not be free.  His nailing point was that free education goes against the law of supply and demand. Oversupply of educated people lead to underpaid and/or underutilized employment. Examples include doctors in Cuba and Trinidad.

Wes’s speech is posted here.

As Debate Master, Be asked 2 x 2 groups to argue against and for why children  should be given mobile phones.  Both groups presented very persuasive arguments. Despite of their opposing opinions, they remain friendly to each other (even taking pictures and smiling together… oh, such civil people they are!).

In addition, we had Andrew leading the Table Topics session with a lot of participation.  It was quite competitive. Congrats to Louise for winning! Bruce is also proud.

Next meeting, Catarina will be our toastmaster with 2-3 speakers!