For a group of students in Manitoba, learning about ethics is changing their view of the world and creating new opportunities for the future. Training has begun for the Manitoba High School Ethics Bowl, a competition scheduled for February, 2023, that inspires dialogue and hope among those who participate. Students will compete in teams at the provincial level before the winning group moves forward to the Canada-wide competition.
Katarina Lee-Ameduri, a Clinical Ethicist with Réseau Compassion Network, was on hand during training in late November to help students better understand an ethics case and how to dissect it. “I was there to help them learn how to put forth an ethics argument, but it feels like a lot more than that,” she admits. “This raises more awareness about ethics as a career, but also encourages opportunities to talk about ethics issues at home. To me, it’s not about an end goal, it’s about how each of us can be better citizens, better humans. It really gave me a sense of hope.”
Estelle Lamoureux, a retired principal at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Collegiate and one of the organizers of the event, shares the same sense of optimism. “People understand what a debate is, and it can be quite adversarial,” she admits. “But this is different. Students study an ethics case, but they don’t know the question they’ll be discussing until the Bowl. One team presents a perspective, and then the other team tries to make that answer better. In a debate, you circle downwards, fighting to make your point, but in an ethics bowl, you’re circling upwards to try to find solutions.”
Lamoureux has seen how participation in the Manitoba High School Ethics Bowl, which is celebrating its 9th anniversary in 2023, has changed lives. “I remember the first time we brought a group of students from the poorest postal code in Canada to the University of Manitoba to participate,” she shares. “They were in awe. They didn’t imagine themselves in an institution like that. But years later, there are plenty of them there, studying for their future careers. This is about seeing yourself as more and seeing yourself as part of something larger than yourself.”
She also has countless examples of students finding their voice and their confidence at the Ethics Bowl. “I remember a student who got particularly passionate about her subject and one of her teammates asked her why she didn’t talk like that in class. A lightbulb went off. ‘I will now,’ she said. Students learn speaking skills, research skills and most of all, how to collaborate and truly listen,” Lamoureux shares.
Students compete in teams of seven, with a teacher to help advise them. Working in groups isn’t always easy and Lee-Ameduri was heartened by their commitment. “They had so many questions, it was actually almost overwhelming,” she says with a laugh. “These were kids from all backgrounds, rural and urban, affluent and less affluent. It felt very inclusive and very welcoming but most of all, I think they learned that you can differ in opinions and still be friends. That’s a good reminder for us all.”
Lamoureux, ever the optimist, sees many more positive experiences ahead. “We have universities showing interest in the Ethics Bowl,” she shares. “And middle schools are inquiring, too. The students who come out of this program are really awesome and people are taking notice. There’s one former participant currently working in Winnipeg to get politicians to sign an appeal against nuclear weapons. They are not afraid. They know what to do to make change. There’s so much good still to come!”
To learn more about the Manitoba High School Ethics Bowl, please click here.