News and Media
Eighth Graders Tackle Real-World Dilemmas at Ethics Bowl
Six Peck eighth graders recently participated in a virtual Middle School Ethics Bowl hosted by Kent Place School. Their first year participating, the Peck team performed strongly and ultimately placed sixth out of 16 teams attending.
Modeled after the National High School Ethics Bowl, the Middle School Ethics Bowl is conceptually based on the idea of two-way conversational exchange between equals. After analyzing the ethical attributes of pre-selected case sets based on complex, real-world issues, and preparing talking points, teams meet to discuss and defend their positions. The bowl is a collaborative event that differs from debate in that students are not assigned opposing views; rather, they defend a position they believe is ‘right’ and earn points based on how carefully, deeply, and perceptively they have thought about the ethical dimensions of a case.
He continued, “Though these conversations only last an hour, and are perhaps (at least partly) forgotten after the heat of debate, I would be surprised if talking through these questions and values doesn’t shape their moral outlook.”
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The students—Jackson Breaks, Jack Buckley, Gus Goyal, Steven Lytle, Will Pertsemlidis, and Wyatt Pirtle—have been meeting weekly with advisors Alex Soudah (Upper School History Teacher and Chair of the Inclusion, Equity, and Justice Committee at Peck) and David DeBole (Eighth Grade Science Teaching Intern).
Excited about the chance to examine complex issues with friends and peers, the students also appreciated the thought-provoking nature and open, supportive framework of their ethical debate.
Pertsemilidis said that “[this process] challenged me to look for different perspectives on topics, and I enjoyed working with this great group of people.” Breaks noted that he thought “learning many different philosophies and ethics was both fun and challenging. [It] helped to strengthen my teamwork mindset and sharpened my debating skills.”
Buckley said, “I was not only able to learn about certain ethical quandaries, but I was also able to engage in constructive discourse about ethical scenarios with my peers and students from other schools. I would certainly like to participate in Ethics Bowls in the future!”
The students were challenged by eight pre-selected case sets assigned for the ethics bowl, and encountered six at the event itself. Case sets involve moral dilemmas, as well as philosophies, that students can apply when making an ethical decision. “As a result,” Soudah said, “[they] develop effective communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.”
He added that even when not explicitly stated, the students also drew from Peck’s core values when involved in ethical decision making during practice rounds.
“One specific example of this,” noted DeBole, “would be the case set in which the students had to discuss if one should accept a position of honor at a wedding she does not approve of. Here, the students were clearly trying to answer the question “What does it mean to be a good friend?” as well as find the appropriate borders between care, loyalty, and respect.”
One new feature of the bowl this year was a Final Question asking “non-presenting teams'' to comment on the strongest part of the presenting team's response. This practice encourages students to recognize effective argument techniques, as well as practice empathy and respect.
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Northern New Jersey's timeless and transformative co-ed independent elementary and middle school education for grades K-8.
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