Duh - because it isn't written down, nor independently verifiable... It's anecdotal evidence, which is useless in debate...
I know they're kids, and therefore might not have worked this out yet - especially if he's trying to sweet-talk her - but you'd think that Denzel's teacher character would have explained this to them, there and then!
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"
I liked the movie but I found it lacking from a debating perspective.
1) They were just reciting their teacher's arguments
2) They were always *always* shown arguing the convenient side of the argument. Debating is not about looking good reciting rhetoric about how poor people have it bad. It's about being able to find and support arguments that go even your own opinion about something.
3) They used a whole lot of subjective quotes that sounded pretty but very few actual facts.
For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco
Agreed.
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"
They did use some facts in the last debate.
But it's the quotes what made this movie for me.
I've seen this movie 10 times or so.