Ethics Initiatives

According to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of US parents, 94% of parents say it’s extremely or very important to them that their children grow up to be honest and ethical adults. 

Ethics Case Writing Project

Description

PLATO’s online, open-access Ethics Case Library contains case studies written by middle school and high school students. The cases, about ethical dilemmas relevant to young students, can be used in classrooms and other ethics forums.

Any middle school or high school student from anywhere in the world can help build the library by submitting a case. Cases are due October 1 each year.

Accepted cases are published on PLATO’s website, with credit to the writers. Writers of accepted cases will also receive a one-year PLATO membership.

All published cases become the property of PLATO.

Guidelines for Submissions

Guidelines: Each case should focus on an ethical issue, current or perennial, relevant to middle and/or high school students. The case must consider the ethical issue from at least two viewpoints presented fully and generously, so that the complexity of the case is made clear. Each case must include 3-4 discussion questions for students analyzing the case.

Length: 300-500 words

Sample case:Standing for the National Anthem” (also see past accepted cases in PLATO’s Ethics Case Library).

Authorship: Cases can be written by individuals or a group of students (all contributors will be credited).

Submission Limit: Students may submit up to two cases.

Deadline: Submit cases online by completing the form to the right (or below on mobile), by 5 pm PT September 30, 2025. 

Writers of accepted cases will be notified in fall 2025.

Judging Criteria

All submissions are anonymously reviewed by a committee of judges according to the following criteria:

  • Does the case clearly articulate the ethical issue and its ethical complications?
  • Does the case explicitly consider at least two viewpoints in a balanced way?
  • Is the case well-written and clearly organized?
  • Is the case on a topic not already covered in PLATO’s Ethics Case Library?
  • Is the case the student’s original work?

The PLATO Ethics Case Writing Project is designed to encourage students to engage in ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and creative writing. This is, of course, an ethics project, and to uphold its integrity all submissions must be the student’s original work and must not be generated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Copilot, or other text-based AI systems.

We encourage students to incorporate feedback received from teachers, peers, and mentors. However, the work submitted must reflect the student’s own critical thinking and writing ability.

When submitting an ethics case, students must attest that they have not used AI in their work. Submissions found to have been AI-assisted will be disqualified.

Submit Your Case Here












    I attest that I have not used AI in developing this case.

    Stipends for Ethics Clubs

    Description

    PLATO offers stipends to public school teachers in the US who are interested in serving as Ethics Clubs sponsors. The clubs can be composed of students from a single school or from several, changing venues as desired. Members decide how to structure the clubs.

    Club sponsor stipends for the 2024-25 school year are $250. A limited number are available and will be awarded in the order in which accepted applications are received. Please complete and submit the application to the right (below on mobile).

    Questions? Contact us at info@plato-philosophy.org.

    Ethics Club Stipend Application






      Ethics Roundtables

      Description

      For several years, PLATO has been running free, online, one-hour drop-in roundtables for educators focusing on philosophical and other topics. In winter 2025, PLATO launched roundtables devoted to ethics discussions for middle and high school students, using cases from this year’s High School Ethics Bowl. The format involved a moderator introducing the case and then facilitating a discussion. 

      No preparation or registration for these roundtables  is necessary. Any middle or high school student is welcome to attend these free events.

      Tuesday, January 21, 2025
      Ethics Case: Parents Out of Bounds
      Facilitated by Debi Talukdar, PLATO Program Director

      ""Debi Talukdar, PLATO’s Program Director,  has been facilitating K-12 philosophy classes since 2014 and was the Philosopher-in-Residence at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, Seattle, from 2018-2021. She also mentors educators and facilitates professional development workshops, and was previously Program Director at the University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children before it merged with PLATO in 2022. Debi is an adjunct lecturer for online courses at the University of Washington School of Educational Studies and former ensemble member at Theater for Change UW. She currently lives in Oakland, CA.

       

       

      Tuesday, February 4, 2025
      Ethics Case: The Lesser of Two Evils
      Facilitated by Karen S. Emmerman, PLATO Education Director

      Karen S. Emmerman, PLATO’s Education Director, started teaching philosophy classes at John Muir Elementary in Seattle in 2010 and has worked as their Philosopher-in-Residence since 2013. She has facilitated teacher trainings in pre-college philosophy for many years. Karen is part-time faculty in the philosophy department at the University of Washington and writes in ecofeminism, animal ethics, and philosophy for children, as well as serving as associate editor of the journal Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice.

       

      Ethics Open

      Description

      The Ethics Open is a new event format developed by PLATO, which was piloted in a high school event in Seattle on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at the University of Washington School of Law. The High School Ethics Open is an in-person event open to students and schools who register in advance, either as individuals or in teams of 3-5 members. (Individual students are assigned to teams upon arrival.) The event is intended to be easily accessible, with advance preparation optional. For more information about the Seattle event, including this year’s rules, see the Seattle Ethics Open webpage.

      The 2025 Seattle High School Ethics Open drew from the following six ethics cases, which can be used by anyone interested in organizing an Ethics Open.


      If you are interested in hosting an Ethics Open
      , we are happy to help. Please contact us at info@plato-philosophy.org.

      Format

      The Ethics Open follows a modified Ethics Bowl format, using innovations developed by the Washington State High School Ethics Bowl, such as open dialogue and “cold cases” that no one has seen:

      • The event is comprised of three rounds and a final round.
      • One case is discussed during each round. Cases are drawn from the six published cases and may include cold cases. 
      • Each round includes 1-3 judges and one moderator.
      • Round structure:
        • Both teams confer for up to 5 minutes (10 for cold cases)
        • Each team presents its position for up to 5 minutes
        • Both teams engage in an open dialogue for up to 10 minutes
        • Both teams respond to the judge’s questions for up to 15 minutes

      At the end of each round, the moderator facilitates a whole group discussion involving the two teams, the judge, and audience members.    

      If you are interested in hosting an Ethics Open, we are happy to help. Please contact us at info@plato-philosophy.org.

      Ethics Bowl

      Description

      “The Ethics Bowl has prepared me to go into a conversation ready to have my mind changed.”
      – Seattle high school student

      Created nearly thirty years ago in a college classroom by philosophy professor Robert Ladenson, the Ethics Bowl now involves thousands of students across the country and the world. Ethics Bowl is a collaborative yet competitive event, similar to debate but different. Teams do not take adversarial positions but rather work together to analyze and clarify ethical issues. Ethics Bowl prepares students to appreciate the virtues of living in a deliberative democracy and nurtures habits of mind that strengthen local, national, and global citizenship.

      Teams of students are presented with a series of wide-ranging ethical dilemmas, and they prepare responses to the cases in advance. During the Bowl, teams are judged on the quality and depth of their ethical and practical reasoning, including their ability to present coherent arguments and recognize and consider likely objections to those arguments. Teams are also evaluated on their ability to engage in ethical discussion while maintaining a collegial, respectful tone.

      CASE LIBRARIES

      PLATO Ethics Case Case Writing Project 

      Free, open-access library.  New cases and study questions, written by middle and high school students, are added to the library yearly.  

      National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB)

      Each year, the National High School Ethics Bowl publishes a set of new cases.  Cases from previous years are also archived on the website.

      The Kent Place School Middle School Ethics Bowl

      Each year the school publishes cases, including some written by students and coaches.

      There are also other Ethics Bowl communities that write their own cases.

      Note: Please credit the source of any case(s) you use. Thank you!

      “I think exposure to ethical problem solving makes for wiser, more thoughtful and civic minded teens.”
      – Parent of High School Ethics Bowl student

      Innovations

      The basic ingredients for a successful ethics bowl haven’t changed much since Bob Ladenson created the event in his college classroom: two teams, a moderator, a panel of judges, some cases to discuss, a format outlining who will converse with whom and for how long, scoring sheets and rubrics, and the understanding that the dialogue remain civil.     

      Experimentation and innovation have always guided the Ethic Bowl’s development.  Over the years, many variations have been tried. Successful innovations, most of which were developed by the Washington State High School Ethics Bowl, include: 

      • Use of “cold cases” which students have not seen or prepared, including extra time for them to discuss the cases before the match begins
      • An “open dialogue” portion of the round, during which teams engage in a self-moderated discussion
      • Discussing one case per round rather than two (developed by Kent Place School for the Middle School Ethics Bowl)
      • Not announcing winners at the end of each round
      • Altering the round procedure to include new elements such as:
        • A “final question” to both teams asking about which point(s) made by the other team they found most compelling
        • Altering the time allotment for each portion of the round
        • Modifying the scoring rubric and score sheet

      For questions about or resources for any of these innovations, contact us at info@plato-philosophy.org.

      Middle School Ethics Bowl

      The Middle School Ethics Bowl (MSEB) began in 2019 at the Kent Place School (KPS; Summit NJ) under the auspices of the Ethics Institute directed by Dr. Karen Rezach. Middle School Ethics Bowls are now taking place around the United States, using a variety of formats.

      2024-2025 Middle School Ethics Bowls

      California: Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School Ethics Bowl (Palo Alto)
      May 15, 2025
      Contact Jana Mohr Lone jana@plato-philosophy.org

      New England Middle School Ethics Bowl
      April 5, 2025 
      Contact Erik Kenyon ekenyon@friendsacademy1810.org

      New York – New Jersey Middle School Ethics Bowl
      February 22, 2025 Ethics Institute, Kent Place School
      Contact Karen Rezach rezachk@kentplace.org

      North Carolina Middle School Ethics Bowl
      December 12, 2024
      Contact Michael Vazquez michael.vazquez@unc.egu 

      Oregon Middle School Ethics Bowl
      February 1, 2025 
      Contact Monica Mueller monica.mueller@pdx.edu 

      Washington State
      Date May 31, 2025
      Contact Jane Shay jshay@evergreenschool.org

       

      Sample Resources

      2024-25 Cases
      Teams are welcome to use the cases written by the Middle School Ethics Bowl Case Writing Committee. Please credit the committee.  

      Rules and information

      Moderator script

      Scoring rubric and score sheet

      New England Middle School Ethics Bowl Starter Kit