Volunteer judges needed: 2020 Washington State High School Ethics Bowl

Please see the request from Dr. Lone below seeking volunteer judges: law students, staff, and faculty volunteers can serve as judges. For more information about the High School Ethics Bowl and this year’s cases and rules, visit:  https://www.philosophyforchildren.org/what-we-do/high-school-ethics-bowl/ 

From: Jana Mohr Lone, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Philosophy for Children and Affiliate Associate Professor of Philosophy

Hello everyone, 

I am writing to seek your involvement in the 2020 Washington State High School Ethics Bowl, which will be held on Saturday, February 29, 2020, at the University of Washington School of Law. The UW Center for Philosophy for Children, which works to empower young people by bringing philosophical inquiry into their lives, is hosting this event for the seventh year, with the support of the UW's School of Law, Department of Philosophy, Program on Ethics, College of Arts & Sciences Division of Social Sciences, and College of Education, and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. 

In a High School Ethics Bowl, teams analyze a series of wide-ranging ethical dilemmas involving topics such as cheating, plagiarism, peer pressure, relationships, and abuse of social media. An Ethics Bowl is similar to debate, although in Ethics Bowls teams are not forced to take adversarial positions or to hold fast to an assigned perspective. Instead, students have a forum in which to engage in dialogue, and they are judged on the quality of their analysis and the degree to which they engage in a thoughtful, civil exchange. The idea is really to promote reasoned and respectful conversation about complex and difficult ethical issues, and in so doing help students to recognize how collaborative dialogue can enhance our understanding of the world and each other.

This year we have decided, after consultation with all of our coaches, that we are taking a break from participation in the National High School Ethics Bowl. This allows us much greater flexibility regarding rules, timing of the event, and the cost for the teams.

Please consider volunteering as a judge or moderator on February 29. 

Here is a link to more information about the event, including this year’s cases and rules:  https://www.philosophyforchildren.org/what-we-do/high-school-ethics-bowl/ 

Judges, lawyers, and faculty and graduate students from UW's School of Law, Philosophy Department, College of Education, and other departments, as well as many others have served in past years as judges and moderators. Each year people write to me to comment on how meaningful and fun this competition is. We are also working hard to continue to increase the diversity of judges and moderators involved in this event, and any help you can provide in this regard would be very welcome!

At this point, we are expecting 18-22 high school teams to participate. The event will begin around 8:00 am on Saturday, February 29, with a short training for judges and moderators and then a brief orientation for everyone. The bulk of the competition's rounds will be in the morning, until roughly 1 pm, which is when we will need the most judges. For the afternoon rounds, which will involve six teams in the semi-finals and two in the final round, we will only need nine judges and three moderators. So if you would prefer to come for the morning or just part of the morning only, that's totally fine — just let me know.

I hope you will participate this year! Please respond by email letting me know whether you think this might work for you, along with any questions you have. I will send along more information to all the participants in February, including logistics etc.

Thanks for considering this!

Best wishes, 

Jana Mohr Lone, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Philosophy for Children and Affiliate Associate Professor of Philosophy
University of Washington 
http://www.philosophyforchildren.org
Twitter: @JanaMohrLone
Blog: http://philosophyforchildren.blogspot.com