Thompson Rivers University will host K to 12 students in their efforts to demonstrate their ability to critically engage with each other about current ethical issues—social, political, economic, scientific, cultural, and beyond, during this year’s Regional Ethics Bowl on Nov. 23.
Since the event’s inception in 2019, TRU associate professor Jenna Woodrow has been part of the project.
Woodrow is the Western Regional Director of Ethics Bowl Canada and one of the project’s founding members. Her involvement began with a national organization called Philosophy in the School, which worked to integrate philosophy into the K-12 curriculum.
“If you look at politics today, the ways in which important ethical problems are dealt with is in highly polarizing ways that tend to make people want to leave the room instead of [working] hard to solve things,” Woodrow said.
The Ethics Bowl has slowly grown in Canada, with the biggest division in Ontario. Despite BC’s smaller involvement, the interior regional bowl is the home of the 2023 National Champions NorKam Senior Secondary and 2024 National Champions South Kamloops Secondary.
The ethics bowl meets all six core competencies of the BC curriculum and helps foster an engaged, dynamic, and resilient intellectual community among students, teachers and professors.
Different programs around TRU have facilitated this event. The TRUSU event grant, along with the Ethics and Philosophy department and the Faculty of Arts, is a main contributor.
Since 2019, a TRU Elder has participated in the Ethics Bowl’s opening and closing ceremonies and helped guide the conversation on relevant topics regarding BC’s politics.
Woodrow believes that with the success of previous years, this Ethics Bowl will be significantly larger. The organizers have been working to include more schools around Kamloops.
“We’re hoping that this will be a good experience for the new schools involved,” Woodrow said. “We hope they engage deeply and meaningfully with one another and that it’s a positive experience for all involved.”
While this event’s participants are exclusively K to 12, the Ethics Bowls runs on involvement of all levels. Woodrow finds the interaction between people one of the most rewarding things to see.
TRU students are encouraged to Volunteer for this event. Positions are open in multiple areas, including organization, food services and cleanup.
Anyone interested in being part of this opportunity can email TRU Philosophy Club President Teagan Leslie at netminder0399@hotmail.com.