On January 20 ten teams from seven Chicago-area high schools took part in the third annual Chicago Regional High School Ethics Bowl. The teams participated in four rounds during which they discussed eight different cases dealing with issues of school choice in public education and if students should lose their acceptance to college if they share offensive posts on social media. Adlai E. Stevenson High School took first and second place in the competition, and will go on to face off with the winner of a second regional competition to decide which teams advance to the National High School Ethics Bowl competition in April.

Many thanks to Lewis College of Human Sciences for their help in sponsoring the event, and the University of Chicago’s Civic Knowledge Project for their help in running the event.

The National High School Ethics Bowl combines the excitement and fun of a competition with an educationally valuable experience in the areas of practical and professional ethics. The competition focuses on a wide range of disciplines and issues, including emerging technologies, social justice, environmental ethics, and bioethics. Student teams demonstrate their ability to articulate the facts and ethical principles involved in the case and then present an effective argument on how the case should be resolved. If you would like to learn more about the ethics bowl, visit the Ethics Center’ s website or email Kelly Laas at lass@iit.edu.