A feature of the Financial Literacy 09 Summit was a debate between Wellington's top student debaters, who argued for and against the topic "that financial education is a waste of time".
Arguing that financial education could indeed be taught, and was best taught at school, the negating team won the day. This was despite fierce argument from the affirmative side that formal financial education would stifle Kiwis’ entrepreneurial spirit because students would be taught to avoid risk, and was best left to the school of life.
The teams were:
Affirmative:
Carlos Carbonatto-Bowkett - Wellington College
Maria English - Samuel Marsden Collegiate School
Jodie O'Neill - Chilton St James School.
Negating:
Nick Cross - Scots College
Julia Wells - Wellington East Girls' College
Jasmin Moran - Chilton St James School.
The debate was chaired by Neale Pitches, CEO of education publishing companies South Pacific Press and Lift Education. He was the founding CEO of Learning Media. He has taught English and history, and was principal of Wellington’s Onslow College.
Back row: Carlos Carbonatto-Bowkett (Wellington College) Julia Wells (Wellington East Girls’ College) Nick Cross (Scots College) Maria English (Samuel Marsden Collegiate School). Front row: Jodie O’Neill (Chilton St James) Neale Pitches (Chair) Jasmin Moran (Chilton St James).
The debate was organised with the assistance of Stephen Whittington, Christopher Bishop and the Wellington Speaking Union. The Union was formed in the early 1900s, primarily to organise adult debating in the Wellington Region. The Union organises five levels of debating across schools in the Wellington region, as well as running regional tournaments for both junior and senior students.
