Can an AI companion be a human’s friend? Does the government have a duty to involve itself in how children are raised? Is it possible to be open-minded while still retaining your convictions?
These are just a few examples of the ethical dilemmas that students from across the country discussed during the Canadian High School Ethics Bowl at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights last month.
Raymond Sokalski, an Interpreter at the Museum and former high school teacher, volunteered as a judge at this year’s event. He says an ethics bowl has distinct differences from a traditional debate. In a debate, teams typically take a specific and often uncompromising position on a topic.
In contrast, teams at the Ethics Bowl are judged on their ability to lay out compelling positions, raise valid ethical objections and engage in respectful and informed dialogue.
“It’s a conversation between two groups of students from different schools. It’s much more collegial,” explains Raymond.
“We are listening as judges to see whether or not the team has opened themselves to modifying their position to make it a better position than when they walked into the room. You actually get marks for opening yourself up to critique and trying to incorporate other perspectives.”
Raymond recalls being particularly impressed by a group of students who were considering to what extent free speech should be protected – even if the students didn’t agree with what was being said.
“They took me on a journey. It was a multi-layered difficult discussion because we as a society want to protect freedom of speech, but at the same time, avoid promotion of hatred,” says Raymond.
“This team had thought of all the different permutations, they spoke about deontological duty (responsibility to act in an ethical or moral way) and the open debate of ideas that could stand or fall on their own merits, what kind of sacrifices and commitments that might entail. This is the kind of deep-level thinking that these Grade 10 to 12 students are going into.”
Winning teams move forward in the tournament‐style competition, with one team eventually being declared the winner. This year, 12 teams from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan competed.
The winning team of the English competition at the Museum was Bloor Collegiate from Toronto.
The French competition took place concurrently at Université de Saint-Boniface and the winning team was Collège Nouvelles Frontières from Gatineau.
However, the winning students are going home with so much more than a trophy. Raymond notes that all the students who participate are building skills for life beyond the competition.
“Listening skills are number one. The teams that came in with memorized speeches, to their shock and dismay, are not rewarded for having memorized a bunch of pre-determined, hard and fast positions. It’s the teams that are looking to prioritize their values in a practical, feasible way and are open to ideas to try to protect those values.”
“It’s one of the richest forms of deep thinking and critical thinking that I’ve ever seen.”
In addition to the competition, students also had the opportunity to participate in human rights education programs while they were at the Museum. The skills they learned will serve them well as they grow into confident and empathetic Upstanders.