It’s Global Ethics Day 2025 on Wednesday 15 October and to celebrate, we turn the spotlight onto some of our volunteers and hear about the impact of ethics education in their own lives.
This global celebration of the importance of ethical tools highlights ethics as a process for finding solutions in the collaborative and respectful manner often missing in today’s world. Ethics is not about getting everyone to agree on a single set of values. It’s about how we learn to live together, respect our differences and together face our major global challenges.
Vicky Votoupal, second year volunteering in northwest Sydney
Just over two years ago I saw an ad in my children’s school newsletter, calling out for Primary Ethics volunteer teachers. At the time I had been coaching/managing one of my children’s sports team and really enjoyed that opportunity to have a positive impact for children in our local community. I was also finishing up a contract work role that had been very meaningful and saw ethics as a chance to contribute in a way I might not have the scope for in a new work role. Having completed my training, my youngest child asked if I could teach their year group and I took that as an endorsement!
My first year was 2024, teaching Stage 1. The student group has mostly been the same from last year to this year, which is great. I’ll move up to Stage 2 with the same group next year.
At work I’m a procurement professional, so ethics ties in really nicely to that. Conduct, transparency and fairness are all essential in my line of work. It’s sometimes easier to talk ethics with children than with adults! I also like to be able to discuss current affairs with my children in an age-appropriate way and I think our Primary Ethics training really helps with that.
As for the students, I enjoy watching their minds open when they hear other opinions that may be different to their own. My favourite lessons are when, after a discussion, I ask if they think the actions of a person in the story are okay and they answer “A bit yes and a bit no”. They often start from a definite position because they have only considered one perspective, but most of the time at least some of the group will consider other points of view that have been raised throughout the discussion. I also think it’s important to point out to the children when there isn’t a consensus in the group. In real life, there is often no definitive yes or no yet we still need to find a pathway forward in those situations.
We hear in the media that we live in a more divided world than ever, which is a scary concept. I like to think that most people most of the time are simply trying their best to take on the challenges of daily life. If we can teach our children the concepts of fairness and equity, the ability to listen to others with curiosity and to keep an open mind, that will certainly make the world a better place.