In New South Wales public schools there is a period of time set aside each week for teaching ethics or scripture. Following legislative changes in 2010, families can now choose for their child to go to ethics classes as an alternative to spending that time in supervised care or scripture classes.
Our Ethics & Scripture lessons are held Thursday mornings
Ethics at Bondi Beach Public School
Ethics classes support children to develop a life-long capacity for making well-reasoned decisions about ethical issues. Through the give-and-take of reasoned argument students learn to disagree respectfully, to challenge ideas and to support their arguments with considered evidence rather than according to habit or peer pressure. Our awesome team of volunteer ethics teachers, who are mostly trained members of the school community, use detailed lesson materials which present a range of stories, scenarios and questions to generate discussion. Ethics teachers are trained to impartially facilitate student discussions, helping students develop their critical thinking and collaborative inquiry skills.
Our volunteer Ethics teachers support student learning by:
• modelling the inquiry process – by asking questions and encouraging discussion
• showing genuine curiosity and interest in the questions being discussed
• staying neutral – ethics teachers are trained to keep their own views out of the discussion
• creating a positive learning environment – by allowing students time to think, and encouraging students to share ideas and give reasons
At BBPS we are extremely appreciative of our large and well-staffed Ethics program.
The Ethics program is provided by Primary Ethics.
If you are interested you can find out more information about the program by contacting our Ethics Program co-ordinator Evelyn Levisohn (evelynlevisohn@gmail.com), or by taking a look at the Primary Ethics Website.