Topics for Persuasion
 
Science and Technology
Development of alternate forms of energy  
Stem cell research  
Fuel efficiency in automobiles
Safety of genetically engineered foods  
 
Education and School
 
School sports culture leads to violence  
On-line education  
Later start to the school day  
4-day school week
Out-of-school suspension
Home schooling  
Emphasis on college admissions tests  
Retention of students because of failing grades
Video camera surveillance in schools
Nutritional content of school lunches
Mainstreaming of disabled children  
Year-round schooling  
Dress codes for students
Value of homework
Vouchers in education
Testing to hold schools accountable for student achievement
Longer school day/year
Inflation of grades in high school and college  
Necessity of teacher certification
Inclusion of pre-schools in public education system  
College for everyone  
Kids who are home schooled taking part in public school activities
Corporal punishment for school discipline
Corporate presence in public school (like Pepsi having rights to all drink machines in return for giving the school some of the profit)  
Early decision programs for college admission
Bilingual education  
Middle School as a good/bad concept for kids  
Single-sex schools
Too much emphasis on computers in schools
Value of pre-school  
Fund raising in schools
Concentration on academics rather than sports
Banning book bags in school
School uniforms do/do not have an effect on behavior, grades, etc.
Being a "school snitch"--informing on classmates about drug use and guns and being rewarded for doing so
The problem of plagiarism in American schools
 
Law and Crime
Execution of the mentally retarded  
Execution of teenagers  
Rehabilitation as a job of the prisons
Prison boot camps for young offenders  
Battered woman syndrome as a defense    
Death penalty for teens  
Sex-offender registries
Criminals getting off too easily
Voting rights for prisoners
DNA testing of criminals
Government bailout of business
Children prosecuted as adults
Media publicity for serial killers increases/decreases threat to society
Voting rights for ex-prisoners

Sports

Competitive sports as unhealthy for children  
Mandatory drug testing of athletes
Gender inequities in school sports  
Long sports seasons  
Girls' sports equal/not equal to boys' sports
Team sports create leaders

Health & Medical

Public access to personal health records
On-line purchase of prescription drugs
Smokers with lung cancer collecting damages
Justification of animal experimentation
Surrogate mothering
Pregnancy in post-menopausal women  
Donating blood  
Making tobacco illegal
Safety of SUVs
DNA database  
Human cloning  
Social Security benefits to begin later because we are living longer
Family
Unmarried mothers keeping their babies
Unmarried couples living together
Visitation rights for grandparents
Same-sex marriages
Postponing parenthood  
Spanking children  
Video game violence creating violent children
Stronger child pornography laws
Kids too busy to be kids
Television violence creating violent children
Unmarried mothers keeping their babies  
Taking children out of abusive homes
Parent staying home with the children
Leaving unwanted babies at hospital encourages abandonment
Requiring a license before you can have children
Men sharing birth control burden
Open adoption records  

Internet issues

Regulation of the Internet
Plagiarism and the Internet
On-line purchasing hurts brick-and-mortar businesses
Internet filters
Gambling on the Internet  
 
MISC.
Mandatory drug testing in the work place
Racial profiling  
Credit cards and young people  
Personal responsibility for recycling
Use of military tribunals 
Motorcycle helmet laws
Existence of ghosts
Eliminating the lottery
Being a vegetarian  
Driving age for teenagers  
Pornography’s harm to society  
Women in military combat assignments
Women in military schools  
Toleration of “hate speech”  
Animal euthanasia
Making English the “official” language of the US  
Wartime censorship
Spaying and neutering of pets 
Open adoption records  
Arming airline pilots  
Meat industry use of antibiotics
Restricting immigration to the US  
Homosexuals in the military
Abusing the right to sue  
Powers of the government during war  
Women in combat positions
Exotic animals as pets
Government bailout of private business/industry
Dress codes for adults
Eminent domain 
Tax driving by the mile