15 Good Debate Topics for Middle School in 2018

15 good debate topics for middle school in 2018 will give you some great ideas if you’re a middle school teacher. Debate topics can often be tricky, and you might not have the time or energy to think up your own.

Or, maybe you’re a middle school student looking for some juicy topics for your next debate club meeting. Something a little more interesting than stale topics like the death penalty and abortion. You need something more than Coke versus Pepsi or Android versus Apple for a well-informed discussion, and you’ve come to the right place.

To select our good debate topics for kids in middle school, we read articles like Middle School Debate Topics from Thought Co. We also went to the National Speech and Debate Association to discover serious and relevant topics that students have actually resolved in their own speech and debate teams. A wide variety of topics are listed on their site, and we picked the ones that seemed the freshest to 2018 and the most middle-school worthy.

There are a number of subjects addressed in our list, from school requirements to government regulation. Middle school is a time when students are just beginning to develop their serious debate skills, and these topics are the perfect tool for this development. Foreign policy and other complicated subjects may be a little above the level of a sixth grader, and more a debate topic for high school, so we made sure to choose topics that were both important and age appropriate to middle school debate. Although one episode of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader will tell you that those younger students can often impress you with their superior knowledge, so watch out. If you’re an adult, and you’re a little rusty on some of these debate topics, you might want to study up on some of them so you truly can be smarter than a middle school student.

But no matter how old you are, this list of good debate topics will force you to determine your true stance on some important issues, which is always good to know. If you’re not sure what the arguments on either side are, be sure to google the topic to get more insight and make an informed decision. Because issues like this can seem simple at first, but realizing the complications behind them can often make you think more deeply, or even change your mind. Either way, you’ll be able to argue effectively and persuasively in front of an audience. It will do others good to hear you debate the different sides, and it might even be enjoyable. After all, debate class is the one time when arguing (properly of course) is actually encouraged, so why not take the opportunity?

If you’re interested in more lists of debate topics, check out our lists of 10 funny debate topics for middle school and 20 easiest debate topics for middle school.

Below is your list of 15 good debate topics for middle school in 2018. Hope you enjoy, and learn a lot in the process.

15. Every student should play a musical instrument.

Learning an instrument can come with a lot of benefits and pleasures, but also a lot of work and dedication. Is this really necessary for every student?

14. Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports.

Middle school students considering careers in sports might be interested in debating this hot topic.

13. An oppressive government is more desirable than no government.

This seems more like a rather unfair would you rather question than a debate topic, but it’s certainly worth considering.

12. It is morally permissible to kill one innocent person to save the lives of more innocent people.

Also, a terribly difficult one on our list of good debate topics for middle school in 2018, when you think about it, though the answer may seem obvious at first.

11. A just government should provide health care to its citizens.

Those still enjoying the benefits of Obamacare might agree with this.

10. Juveniles charged with violent crimes should be tried and punished as adults.

Have you heard the story of Kalief Browder? That might change your initial belief about this topic on our list of 15 good debate topics for middle school in 2018.

9. An adolescent’s right to privacy ought to be valued above a parent’s conflicting right to know.

This actually may not be the correct question to ask a middle school student, because they probably all agree on it.

8. The pursuit of feminist ideals is detrimental to the achievement of gender equality.

Everyone seems to be on the feminist bandwagon these days, but how much of this is really necessary?

7. Communities in the United States ought to have the right to suppress pornography.

Is this too invasive of freedom and privacy or does that even matter when it comes to something like porn?

6. The United States ought to replace the Electoral College with a direct national popular vote.

Is the voting system that our founding fathers set up hundreds of years ago still effective today?

5. The United States should require universal background checks for all gun sales and transfers of ownership.

With all the school shootings lately, middle school students will probably all agree on this as well.

4. On balance, standardized testing is beneficial to K-12 education in the United States.

Is this form of testing old hat by now or is it still effective and beneficial today?

3. In the United States, students should be guaranteed two years of free tuition to a community or technical college.

And how would this change the rate of students who attend college after high school?

2. On balance, the benefits of genetically modified foods outweigh the harms.

Oh, those evil GMO’s. How bad are they, really?

Are you ready for the number one on our list of debate topics for middle schoolers?

1. The benefits of domestic surveillance by the NSA outweigh the harms.

No one likes remembering that the NSA sees and hears all, do they? But maybe that’s necessary for a greater purpose?

That’s all for our list of 15 good debate topics for middle school in 2018. Hope this got you thinking about some relevant topics in 2018.