12 Talking Ethics

Are you looking for a course where you think about and discuss issues relevant to your life with your peers? This class will enhance wellbeing and engagement, providing a space where you have a voice and you can hear others ideas too. All opinions are respected. Lessons will have many different interactive and fun activities, providing a high interest and low stress way to gain valuable communication and argumentation skills. It will give you tools to help navigate the tricky world you are in, by using current ethical topics that have real world meaning.

This course will equip students with the critical thinking and communication skills to engage with an ever changing world. Students will use a range of philosophy tools and ways of discussion to build their confidence to express their ideas about ethical issues. This new course provides opportunities and skills that can help students to:

1. Gain credits in Psychology and a Religious studies standards.
2. Build confidence in communication and critical thinking, this is an important component for future aspirations.
3. Support gaining credits in other subjects eg literacy credits, research credits or oral presentation credits.
4. Inquire into areas of high interest and relevance. 
5. Continue your Philosophy journey.

This course provides a Year 12 subject that does not have a heavy homework commitment. It is a skills based course and the capabilities gained are highly transferable. Skills that the course will focus on developing are: interpersonal collaboration, open mindedness, problem solving, decision making, and ethical reasoning. In addition, respectful argumentation, empathy and developing your own ideas; are important in becoming an adult in todays challenging world.

Students find this kind of Ethical inquiry challenging, fun, and mind-expanding. We explore the big questions and examine different world views. In the Psychology unit, students have the opportunity to run an experiment, develop scientific knowledge and skills, and gain NCEA credits. 

Students in the Religious studies standard will explore the key beliefs and ethical principles of a religious tradition, and explain how they link to a current social action.