Bringing Ethics to Primary Schools

Last week I attended an event at the State Library of Victoria which was a collaboration between the Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools (VAPS) and the Humanist Society of Victoria (HSV). VAPS supports teachers in fostering the intellectual and social skills that enable students to think philosophically - through training, networking and curriculum development. Basically, this is about opening students' minds to big ideas, encouraging discussion and respectful debate, and increasing their capacity for considered moral judgment - an essential life skill. The event presented the results of the Report of a School Trial, 2014, where communities of ethical inquiry were conducted with very positive results in a selection of Melbourne primary school classrooms.

The need for such a program was informed by the new AusVels curriculum. 'Ethical' Capability will sit alongside three other general capabilities in the F-10 curriculum; 'Critical and Creative Thinking', 'Intercultural' and 'Personal and Social'. Here's the VCAA link!

In December 2014 I completed the VAPS Level 1 training for the Introduction of Philosophy in the Classroom which provided me with the skills and pedagogical foundations to run my own Communities of Inquiry.