The Jeppe High School Debating Society was established in 1914. It was a very privileged club, confined to “Form III, IV and those who had school colours”. In fact, Juniors were not even allowed to serve the refreshments. A small membership fee of three pennies was also required by the Committee. The reason for forming the society was to create “An improvement in English style … fluency and vocabulary”.
The Headmaster, Mr J. Payne, was elected the first Honorary President. Although he and fellow members of his staff often participated, the atmosphere was informal. Everyone, not just the speakers, expressed views on the questions discussed.
The first debate was held on 24 August 1914. It is rather ironic that the motion “School sports are overdone” was unanimously defeated when the Society would later wage the Battle of Brain versus Brawn: “… fatigue after football, Saturday-night appointments and intellectual inertia have contributed to the difficulty of maintaining interest …” (1917).
The society was noted for its relevant topics of discussion which reflected the world around. Questions such as “Is war a necessity?” and “Conscription versus Enlistment” were popular during the First World War.
Of course, barely one year after its inception, the masters were already moaning about the speakers – it is comforting to know that some things never change: “One or two of the speakers still persist in reading their speeches” (1915). Many of the comments could have been made about today’s speakers: “… should rather place his hand behind his back than fold them across this manly chest … was too longwinded … must learn to carry his voice”.
In 1916 the Society “found it difficult to rouse an interest”. This persisted until 1930, when the Secretary appealed that “the fifth formers favour us with more of their accumulated wisdom”. Nevertheless, the Society prospered during wartime, and mock trials, a novelty, drew big audiences. 1917 was considered the most successful year in the School’s annuals.
The Society was also ahead of its time, striking several blows to male chauvinism (and this was when the School had ceased to be co-educational). A unanimous vote was recorded FOR female suffrage. And when “The mental capacities of the sexes” was debated, an overwhelming majority of speakers held the female brain “in high esteem”. But the Vice-President was quick to point out that “no members of the fairer sex were present”. Was he simply putting his orators to work on the girls?
Nor did they miss a beat “with the upstart rise of our rival, the Dramatic Society” in 1923. The Committee recommended that “customary free distribution of tea and cake … be more widely advertised”. Eventually even the presence of a number of ladies served as an “incentive to oratory”. Despite these drastic measures the Society waned in the interlude between the world wars due to the growth of this rival. The Chairman was quoted as saying: “There are some idiots who would rather look a fool with a donkey’s head on, than listen to a sensible speech”.
Yet new speakers were constantly appearing. A certain Mr Herman Charles Bosman was singled out in 1921 for his reputation as a wit. Very successful parliamentary debates were held, the emphasis being rather on procedure than speeches. But Hat Debates, the forerunner of the present day “Jest-a-Minute” evenings, were the most fun. They were meant to bring speakers out of their shells with such topics as: “Charlie Chaplin has an undesirable influence on the public”.
This does not mean that debating was not taken seriously. By 1921 the objectives of the Society had been redefined to “teach its members the art of speaking according to fixed rules”. Juniors were admitted as members. The Society was run entirely by boys and, in 1930, the constitution was published. One year later a clause was added limiting speeches to four minutes – waffling had become epidemic.
Inter-school debates were held regularly against Jeppe Girls and King Edward VII. Their fledgling societies posed little challenge for ours: “the standard … was high, though the Jeppe speakers were if anything, better than those of King Edwards”. These debates were held in our halls and were great social occasions, especially for the boarders.
But the society’s greatest achievement before the Second World War must surely have been the series of relevant and often prophetic issues debated. King Edward VII, for example, carried the motion that “examinations are not a true test of a candidate’s capabilities”. In 1924, the motion that “the cinema will eventually supersede the stage” was carried by 14 votes to 11. Rugby football was introduced in 1932, when it was accepted by a vote of 46 to 3. In 1939, the motion that “the prefect system does more harm than good” was also carried.
The speakers, however, never escaped the time in which they lived. One of them was opposed to novel-reading, and those dealing with “courtship and marriage should always be avoided”, he declared. An issue which often cropped up was “Bantu” education. In 1928, the motion “South Africa will NOT become a white man’s country” was lost by 14 to 48 votes. One wonders what the outcome of this same debate would be today.
Meanwhile, the Society’s financial position remained of prime concern. Membership swelled to about 80 in 1939. By 1941, however, the situation was reversed. Very few debates were held until 1948. Then the first inter-house debates ever were interrupted by a polio epidemic.
For the next three decades, the Society continued its activities, some years being more active than others. Sporadic inter-house and inter-school debates continued into the 1980’s. But the emphasis was rather on individual public speaking than on team debates. The Best Speakers’ Competition was the only regular annual event. According to the 1980 Chairman, “this has been a bad year … owing to distinct lack of enthusiasm”.
Then Mr Steinmann arrived in 1981. Together with Miss Edwards and Mr Brodrick, he tried to revive the Society. In 1982 and 1983, while Mr Steinman was doing his army training, Mr Brodrick organized several discussion evenings. These prepared the ground for the Society’s very busy programme after Mr Steinman’s return in 1984. “Debating and public speaking are necessary skills in today’s highly competitive world. South Africans need to … communicate, to organize their thoughts and ideas logically”, he wrote. That year we participated in Inter-School Debating Competitions, and Inter-House debates were organized. But the year’s highlight was undoubtedly the “Jest-a-Minute” evening. Pupils and teachers alike surprised their audience with impromptus on “Rubber duckiest”, “Lady Macbeth” and “Why jelly wobbles”.
In 1985, Jeppe was one of the founding members of the new Debating league. But we were severely tested in 1986 by the loss of Mr Steinman. This, however, did not deter Miss Edwards and her dedicated Senior Committee – we went from strength to strength. In 1986, the Society also ventured into public speaking, namely the Guild of Speech and Drama Teachers High Schools Festival.
In 1988 a visionary Chairman, Joao Antunes, again changed the directive of the Committee. “It was the aim to ‘sell’ debating to a School largely ignorant of the benefits of debating,” he wrote. Novices were introduced to the art through workshops and discussion evenings. Though league debates demanded much time, a certain measure of success was achieved outside the competitive arena.
The Debating Society continues to question moral and social issued of the day. A multi-racial Youth Symposium was held, the theme being “South Africa and the Future”. The question of colours awards was raised through arguably the most controversial debate in the School’s history.
During the 1990s the Debating Society continued its fight for recognition against the sporting societies. Member numbers were variable with a distinct lull in Grades 9 and 10. However, the Society continued to support the public speaking competition run by the Guild of Speech and Drama Teachers of South Africa, and in 1993 one of Jeppe’s finest speakers, Robbie Coelho, won their National Competition for Individual Speakers. In 1998, another distinguished speaker, Brent Archer, placed in the finals of the same competition.
The Best Speaker Competitions were resurrected and introduced as part of the Prefects’ Shield (the school’s Inter-House competition), as were the Inter-House Debating competitions. Response to these competitions was variable with some houses preparing well in advance and others forfeiting at the last minute owing to lack of support.
The Society also participated in the debating leagues run by KES, Greenside and SACEE, as well as the mini United Nations Security Council Debates run by The South African Institute of International Affairs in conjunction with the Wits Debating Society. Topics were current and often challenging. In 1998 the chairman noted, “On any given day a group of debaters could be found in Mrs Rattray’s classroom wrestling into submission any one of a number of wide-ranging topics, from pragmatic issues like the government’s public service proposals and the current political crisis in Afghanistan, to more metaphysical and psychological issues such as the validity of tyranny as opposed to anarchy, or the crisis facing today’s youth with specific reference to identity and education via experience.”
In 2000 we were introduced to parliamentary style debating via the Wits Debating Society. The more experienced senior debaters relished these competitions which were much more fun and spontaneous that formal debating, as the format allowed floor speakers to interrupt the speaker with points of information, and the speaker was obliged to take two or three challenges during the course of his speech.
By 2005, this exciting style of debating had become the norm for the SACEE league debates. The School continued to field debating teams which were very competitive and the 2005 debaters progressed as far as the Provincial round of competition.
In 2006, due to increased demand on teaching staff in our schools, both the Greenside and KES leagues were discontinued, leaving us with few fixtures in a season. This is disappointing for new debaters eager to learn and improve their skills. The Inter-House competitions continue to be very competitive and entertaining.
Naturally, the age-old problem of support still haunts us. Three quarters of a century since the Debating Society’s formation, the words of the 1941 Chairman echo with no less importance through the corridors of time: “… and it seems the majority of senior boys have not yet realized that the Society is one of the most important educational facilities we have at Jeppe, and a first-rate developer of certain accomplishments which are always a great asset after one has left school. And if that sentence seems pompous to you, you perishing barbarian, you’re just the fellow this note is aimed at – you and that other fellow with the mind similar to that of the Nazi who once said: ‘Whenever I hear the word culture, I cock my revolver …’’. |
