We teach ethics to our 8th grade students鈥攁nd we do it from the very start of the school year. A lot of our colleagues wince at that. Aren鈥檛 we nervous about teaching a subject usually reserved for parents? And whose ethics are we teaching, anyway? Here鈥檚 how we respond.
As the study of morality, ethics is not the teaching of a specific set of beliefs. Rather, ethics is about learning to analyze and evaluate beliefs. As long as you communicate that clearly鈥攁nd practice it in your classroom鈥攖here鈥檚 no need to worry about 鈥渨hose ethics you鈥檙e teaching.鈥�
Middle school students engage in ethical decision-making daily. Listen closely to nearly any student鈥檚 social musings and you鈥檒l hear a lot of talk about justice and injustice, about 鈥渞ight鈥� and 鈥渨rong.鈥� Students constantly evaluate their experiences in this way, critiquing the fairness of the dress code or debating whether iPods should be allowed in class. Why not harness this interest for an intentional unit?
Middle school students are fascinated by morality. But ethics is often treated as an off-limits area of expertise 鈥渂est left to adults鈥� because 鈥渋t鈥檚 complicated.鈥� Go ahead and tell that to your students, who are eager to prove their mettle.
A little controversy can be a good thing. While no teacher wants unnecessary drama, the controversy that arises from ethical debates provokes intellectually challenging discussions, presents novel ideas, and encourages students to develop and answer meaningful questions.
Using ethical dilemmas as the basis for classroom instruction promotes critical thinking, participation, and self-efficacy. And that鈥檚 why we like to start the year with ethics, hooking kids right out of the gate.
The Trolley Car Dilemma
We begin by adapting Harvard professor Michael Sandel鈥檚 lesson from . Sandel presents his students with a hundred-year-old ethical scenario called 鈥淭he Trolley Car Dilemma.鈥�
Using a simple PowerPoint, we tell the story: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e on a trolley car (a train) that has no brakes. On the track ahead of you are five workers. Because you are unable to stop the train, those five workers will soon be hit and killed. However, you can press a button that will change the track ahead, altering your direction. Only one worker is on that track. If you press the button, he will surely die.鈥� We diagram the scenario on the board.
We ask, 鈥淲ill you push the button, killing one but saving five? Or will you choose not to push the button, allowing five to die while saving one?鈥� First, we give students a couple minutes of private think time. Next, students talk with a neighbor. Finally, we begin the whole-class discussion by asking students to share their answer or their partner鈥檚 answer.
Likely, most will advocate for pushing the button, remarking, 鈥淚t鈥檚 better to kill one and save five.鈥� Sandel鈥檚 Harvard students reacted this way, too.
The second scenario asks students to imagine they are standing on a bridge. If they push a man over the railing, they could save the five workers. Ask whether they鈥檇 do this. You鈥檒l likely hear responses opposing their initial responses. Now you can raise a new intellectual challenge: 鈥淲hy did you change your mind?鈥�
As students鈥� brains churn wildly, attempting to justify the discrepancy, capture this moment. Facilitate an all-class discussion, prompting students to reason through and question their positions.
Finally, present the students with Sandel鈥檚 20-minute discussion, which includes additional examples that will make them laugh and squirm. By the end of this lesson, the students will understand they have reasoned as well as the Harvard students did. And that鈥檚 the payoff: your students鈥� transformation into confident, critical thinkers. (Bonus: The next time a student says, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 do this,鈥� you鈥檒l be able to remind the student that Harvard begs to differ.)
The Cold Equations
Next, we introduce students to 鈥溾�� and 鈥�,鈥� two short stories steeped in sacrifice and moral dilemmas. Fresh off their discussion of Justice, the students will again consider, 鈥淚s it better to sacrifice the one to save the many?鈥�
In Tom Godwin鈥檚 鈥淭he Cold Equations,鈥� Sandel鈥檚 dilemma gets a modern twist. An innocent girl on a space craft must die a violent death in order to ensure that humans on a frontier planet receive critical medical supplies. We prompt students to stand in the shoes of the craft鈥檚 pilot: How would they handle this impossible situation?
As the girl nears the end of her life, students will search desperately for solutions. Have them record their proposed solutions鈥攖hen allow the class to gallery-walk and discuss these artifacts. At the story鈥檚 conclusion, your students will have experienced that right and wrong are not the same as happy and sad.
The Lottery
Shirley Jackson鈥檚 鈥溾�� is another viciously vivid story reminiscent of the reaping from 鈥淭he Hunger Games.鈥� (As you may recall, the prize in 鈥淭he Lottery鈥� is not an especially desirable payout.)
Prior to reading the story, hold your own class lottery. Students draw equal-sized slips of paper from a box, and one slip will have a black dot. Once the winner is determined, tell the student you鈥檒l let them know what their prize is after reading the story. (This exercise allows students to reflect on how they felt about winning or losing before鈥攁nd then after鈥擩ackson鈥檚 story.)
鈥淭he Lottery鈥� will shock your students. Focusing on an avoidable and seemingly arbitrary social dilemma, 鈥淭he Lottery鈥� will goad your students into realizing that justice can be defined in many ways. Here, justice is the sacrifice of one for the traditions of the many. They鈥檒l remember the story鈥檚 cold-blooded conclusion for the rest of their lives.
Challenge students to imagine how they would respond if they won the lottery. What if they were bystanders? Give students the chance to identify the traditions and values of their community. Can they identify current social conflicts or dilemmas that go unquestioned?
Ethical dilemmas present students with authentic problems that summon rich critical thinking. If you use Justice, 鈥淭he Cold Equations,鈥� 鈥淭he Lottery,鈥� or similar texts as entry points to ethics and the year, you鈥檒l prompt your students to see themselves as college-level thinkers contemplating real problems. Also, you will feel more comfortable tackling ethics without fearing that you might step on someone鈥檚 toes.
