Students participate in NY/NJ Ethics Bowl
Green Brook Public Schools
The NY/NJ Middle School Ethics Bowl was held on February 25th, 2023 at Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey. This academic competition provides an opportunity for teams of students to competitively discuss and analyze ethical issues.Thirteen Schools throughout New Jersey and New York were represented. Green Brook Middle School was one of only of two public schools to attend the event.
Coach John Rockwell of Green Brook Middle School worked with students to practice the critical skills necessary to succeed at the Bowl. There are four main parts of the Ethics Bowl: Presentation; Open Dialogue; Judges Questions; and Final Question.
The teams practiced public speaking and their ability to articulate complex ideas in a clear and concise way. They also developed skills in asking questions to enhance conversation during the Open Dialogue portion of the round. They learned to listeni intently and provide reasoned responses to specific questions.
Students showed their ability to actively listen and build on the ideas of others the Final Question portion of the competition.
The Green Brook Teams more than held their own against many of the schools winning head to head matches against teams from Far Brook, the Packer School, Delbarton and The Peck School. One team tied in a match against the Stevens Cooperative School, which were the winners of the Ethics Bowl. Overall, students were satisfied with their experience in the Ethics program. One 7th Grade student, Sonia Nikhil commented “My mind has flourished with Ethics. I felt encouraged to think outside the box and look at situations from multiple perspectives other than the one I agree with. Another 7th Grade student, Charlie Ford, reflected, “Before, I was sometimes more awkward and one sided when talking to other people, and Ethics has helped me have better conversations with different kinds of people.”
Coach Rockwell indicated that the teams’ success at the Ethics Bowl was due to the hard work of his students and the support of their parents, who drove their children to team meetings at 7AM on Friday mornings. He also thanked his Superintendent Dr. James Bigsby and his principal Ms. Alicia Subervi for their encouragement, support, and dedication. He also wanted to thank his Supervisor of Learning and Teaching, Matt Santos, for agreeing to be a judge during scrimmages and at the event.
