A 70-year-old woman said that when she was in school, students were required to debate a side they were assigned. I object to that because I do not think students should ever be required to argue for something they disagree with, even if it is done as a hypothetical without attempting to change students' opinions. I make an exception if students choose to be on an extracurricular debate team, go to law school, or something else that is not required. Do you think it is okay to require students to debate for something that they disagree with?
It's a very common teaching technique as it requires you to understand the various points of view on a subject. It is not typically done to change an opinion, rather to teach critical thinking, rhetoric, and empathy. I well remember a class debate about abortion where some classmates taught me things I had never considered.
Yes, I had to do that in high school in debate class. In Law School, it was something we did all of the time. Yes, without a doubt. I do not see any problem with this at all.
It's a great way to come up with better reasons for what you currently think. Anyone can justify a belief if you oppose it with a strawman argument. Build a steel man argument, and then you're ready to go.
Absolutely. Also, it is an essential skill in law, we frequently have to argue things with which we disagree and represent people with whom we disagree. In addition, if forces us to look at things from other perspectives. Whenever, I took a case to litigation (which, fortunately, was not that frequently), I would have the firm do a bit of role playing, including someone arguing for the other side (usually the evil landlord or debt buyer). It made us all better at crafting our arguments.