Category: Volunteering

Barb La Ganza: Kinghorn Award 2023

“Barb is a workhorse and superstar volunteer.”
Barb La Ganza is the Kinghorn Volunteer of the Year 2023. Barb, who’s been an ethics volunteer for nine years, is currently an ethics teacher and coordinator at one Sydney northern beaches school, as well as teaching ethics at two others. At one of her schools she teaches three back-to-back classes every week.
Barb was presented with her award at a lovely gathering in December 2023. Read excerpts from her acceptance speech below.

Barb La Ganza with ethics supporter Jill Kinghorn and the inaugural 2022 winner, Swee Goh.

Barb is always ready to go the extra mile … Barb has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the curriculum at all stages. She has mentored me and many other ethics teachers. She is always willing to share her knowledge. She has a calm encouraging manner. She is inspirational.

Barb’s story: “My ethics journey started when my son was in year 1. He brought home a note on bright red paper to say that ethics was going to be offered at Elanora Heights Public School and I was so excited I filled in the form, wrote ‘yay’ with a smiley face on it and sent it off with him.  A few weeks later I found the form scrunched up at the bottom of his bag – it hadn’t made it to the channels that were allocating SRE classes. I then somehow found out that if you teach for Primary Ethics, your kids will be included on the class roll. And so here I am nine years later!

“One of my most memorable experiences in the classroom was when a kid came every week to class and sat quietly and read a book. He was neurodiverse and I didn’t think he was engaged at all as he never looked up from the book or joined in at all.  Until term three, when he answered a question. It was so heartwarming to know he had been present in his own way all along.

“My favourite topic of all time is Stage 3 Homelessness, but it’s also the one I find the hardest to teach, as I teach in three schools in very privileged areas.  Another favourite is the Stage 2 topic when a young boy had to go and make carpets to get money for his family instead of going to school. Getting the kids to tie their shoelaces starts out as fun and easy for the kids, but after tying their shoelaces over and over and over again for even just five minutes, you can see that they can imagine how someone might feel if they had to do that all day long.

“One of my Stage 3 kids asked me, quite incredulously, why I teach ethics if I don’t get paid. Well, there are not many opportunities to volunteer in the kids space – loads for elderly or homelessness. The curriculum is incredible and I love connecting with the students and hearing their points of view.  Community is very important to me and I now belong to three communities of ethics teachers as well as the three schools I teach at.  I learn so much from both the kids and my fellow teachers and it really makes me feel like a valued member in my local community.  Nothing nicer than your students seeing you in the shops with their parents and greeting you.

“There is such a range of experiences from Kindergarten kids who can’t even read your name badge but who aren’t as filtered in their responses as the older children, to the stage 3 participants who have some incredibly insightful contributions.  And my daughter who has just finished school will start teaching ethics this year which is so lovely to see her be inspired to volunteer in her community too.

“I am proud to be an ethics teacher and hope I can continue to be a volunteer and mentor to others in the Primary Ethics space. I look forward to continuing to be a part of my three school teams even when I am old and grey (although I am actually both those already!)

“Thank you to Primary Ethics and the Kinghorn Family. I am so grateful to be recognised for this award.  I know I was amongst some impressive competition and a debt of gratitude goes to my teams plus my co-ordinators Joy and Dina for nominating me and saying such kind words to support their applications.  Thank you in particular to my area manager Sandra, who has supported me since I took on the role of co-ordinator in 2022.  Whilst I am not one to be motivated by accolades and awards, it really touched me to be recognised as a volunteer of note and my certificate sits proudly in my home on display for all to see.”

Barb is one of those volunteers who just ‘gets it done’. She will go out of her way to ensure that all classes are covered every week, not just at the school where she is coordinator, but also for the two other schools she teaches in. She is efficient and a great communicator. Her team adore her as do other volunteers in the region, as she is so amiable and genuinely helpful.

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Jo: ‘Joy, amusement and the intangible benefits of volunteering’

Jo Gardner began volunteering as an ethics teacher at local schools on the Central Coast six years ago. She was motivated by a sense of wanting to give back, having a connection with the young generation and providing an option for parents who don’t want their children to participate in religious education. Jo says she has found “joy, amusement and all the intangible benefits of volunteering” along the way.

Jo Gardner Woy Woy Public School

“Initially I saw an article about ethics classes in the local newspaper”, Jo said. “I’ve always had an interest in ethics and heard Simon Longstaff of the Ethics Centre speak on a number of occasions. The free training workshop with Primary Ethics was a wonderful experience and I’ve now learnt so much for myself about ethics and philosophy. I believe that critical thinking is an important skill for us all and being able to, in some small way, help kids develop these skills is a privilege.”

Jo teaches two classes a week and says it takes her about an hour to prepare for each, reading carefully through the lesson script which is supplied to her by Primary Ethics.

The best part of being an ethics teacher is the children. I am exposed to their wonder in life.

Jo Gardner – Volunteer Ethics Teacher

“I like seeing the kids thinking and then coming up with ideas… Their talkative natures with great explaining of their thoughts, sometimes a bit convoluted but always considered and revealing their willingness to think about ethical issues. Watching them have ‘aha’ moments and learning how to build on other children’s point of view. Also their willingness to disagree.”

Jo’s grandson has been in her ethics classes for the past two years. “I have been rewarded seeing him mature into a thinking, empathetic young boy. We’ve been able to discuss things in the lessons that would not normally come up in conversations between a grandparent and child.”

Jo says she would encourage anyone with a spare hour or two in their week to volunteer as an ethics teacher. No previous teaching experience is needed. Like Jo, you will get a lot out of it yourself, as well as contributing to the richness of your students’ lives.

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The Kinghorn Award for ethics volunteers 2023

Primary Ethics is delighted to announce the Kinghorn Volunteer Award 2023, which brings substantial prize money to go to the recipient’s chosen school, as well as public recognition and appreciation for the often-unsung efforts of our wonderful volunteers.

This award will honour an ethics volunteer who has strongly contributed to the success of the ethics program at their school – or schools. We want to acknowledge someone who is a team player, good communicator, supportive of other volunteers, reliable and committed to our program of ethics education.

The award is open to all ethics teachers, coordinators, regional managers and members of the Classroom Support Team (except Primary Ethics staff). Every volunteer can nominate other volunteers for this award – there is no limit on numbers of nominations. Only volunteers who have been active in 2023 are eligible to be nominated.

We are looking for someone who:

  • has made a significant contribution to our mission to deliver ethics education to children so that they can develop skills in ethical reasoning, critical thinking and respectful discussion
  • has conducted themselves in a manner true to our values of respect, integrity, independence, excellence and teamwork.

THE PRIZE

The winner has the privilege of directing $4000 towards the library service in the school or schools of their choosing. They will be awarded an engraved trophy and their school library will be given a hardcopy copy of Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, containing a bookplate with details of this award winner.

We will present the award to the winner at a ceremony in December 2023.

Make your nomination here >>

Nominations close at midnight on 22 September, 2023.

The winner will be announced in late November 2023.

WHY THE KINGHORN AWARD?

The Chair of the Primary Ethics Board, Bruce Hogan, through his Hogan Family Foundation, is funding this award in order to recognise the fantastic contribution of the Kinghorn Family Foundation to Primary Ethics.

Primary Ethics would not be where it is today without the Kinghorns. From 2013 to 2023, John and Jill Kinghorn’s Foundation provided significant funding to Primary Ethics. This generous funding directly resulted in the employment of urgently needed staff to manage and develop ethics programs and provide teacher training.

This Kinghorn Award recognises both the pivotal role the Foundation has played and the significant role of the winner in bringing our ethics program to more children in our state.

THE JUDGING PANEL

The judging panel will be comprised of:

  • The Chair of the Primary Ethics Board, Bruce Hogan
  • Two randomly selected volunteers – you can express interest in being on the panel on the nomination form
  • CEO of Primary Ethics, Evan Hannah
  • plus others tba

Now is the time to think, reason and if necessary discuss your reasons for choosing your nominee – and then go ahead and nominate them!

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Jane Hunter: Putting my values into practice as an ethics teacher

Jane Hunter is the Global Head of Digital Marketing for SFI Health – she’s also a volunteer ethics teacher. One of Jane’s workplace values is to progress human quality of life. She wrote this blog post describing how being an ethics volunteer chimes with that value.

Why is this core value important to you?
I think if we can improve the quality of people’s lives, bit by bit we can make the world a better place. There are so many ways we can do this, from donating blood to volunteering at a soup kitchen to helping kids to think and reason clearly. I think big picture, if people’s quality of life improves, humanity as a whole improves.

Building this value into our work culture is a smart move because it connects with so many.

What types of things do you do to progress human quality of life?
Outside of work, I volunteer with an organisation called Primary Ethics as a primary school ethics teacher for an hour a week and it’s one of the highlights of my week.

The lessons involve introducing complex ideas through storytelling around topics such as ‘Is lying wrong?’. We delve into sticky topics like this asking the kids to consider questions like ‘is it ever ok to tell a lie? Is withholding information the same as lying? Is it ok to tell a small lie to protect someone from feeling hurt?’ I guess it’s all about encouraging and developing skills in critical thinking.

I’m amazed at the capacity of eight and nine-year-olds to grab onto these very human conundrums and discuss them. I encourage the kids to think before answering, then to provide a reason for their point of view. I then open it up to others in the class who might have a differing view.

We also follow a set of rules for having healthy conversations, which I think are powerful skills to have all through life. These include building on each other’s ideas, showing respect for different ideas, tackling the ideas but not the individual, learning how to take turns at listening and contributing.

What type of impact do you think you’re having?
I hope I’m giving kids the opportunity to think about important issues, to build confidence in expressing themselves in a safe constructive environment and the skill to disagree respectfully.

It’s also a chance for the children to change gears and take a break from a world which can be very black and white.

The personal connections and circle we sit in encourage face-to-face conversations.

I think discussing these topics also gives the kids a chance to build interpersonal communication skills. I hope they learn it’s possible to be respectful when someone has a different point of view and that they model that kind of behaviour in the playground and later, online.

I was chuffed when an eight-year-old boy, who is normally quiet, walked with me as we left the class for a further conversation about the topic of ‘greed’. He was so engaged, he nearly missed his recess! It was a good feeling to see him thinking deeply about this and that the impact of the discussion might resonate beyond the classroom.

My daughter who is in the class keeps me well-grounded with lots of unsolicited feedback at home too.

Are the skills transferable to your workplace?
Absolutely. Teaching ethics and opening up the conversation to many viewpoints reminds me of the importance of keeping an open mind. This is critical in any global role because each day I interact with colleagues from different cultures, market conditions, life experience and personalities.

In the classroom, there is a good chance there are kids who are neurodiverse, just as there are sure to be neurodiverse people in any workplace. Improving human quality of life also extends to our colleagues through our considered interactions.

Teaching ethics has also honed my skills in facilitation and being agile. There’s no end to the tangents an ethics discussion with eight-year-olds can lead to or the general unpredictability of kids to keep you sharp! Having additional practice to think on your feet and find solutions on the go, even when things don’t go to plan, definitely has parallels to my work.

How does this relate to SFI Health’s culture and In Tune with You?
My first thought is that the business is in tune with me because teaching ethics is important to me.

I truly believe in the value of teaching ethics and knowing SFI Health was going to support me in doing this was really important to me. I think it’s impressive for a company to allow me time and space to do this, it makes a difference to me as an employee and how I feel about and engage with the company.

Focusing on this value I think demonstrates SFI Health is not only in tune with me, but with the greater good.

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‘I’m a Primary Ethics teacher’: Emily’s MamaMia story
Emily McGrorey with the Primary Ethics discussion rules.

Newcastle ethics teacher Emily McGrorey has written about her journey to become an ethics teacher for the MamaMia website.

“[My daughter’s] teacher explained there weren’t any ethics classes running in her year level because they needed someone to volunteer to teach them. It was at that point that I thought, well, I’m someone.”

“To be honest though, I was quite nervous about the prospect of teaching. Until I had my own kids, I had very little experience with children and heading into a classroom to be the actual teacher all seemed a bit daunting. What if I couldn’t control the children and they revolted against me like some kind of chaotic scene from Matilda?”

Emily began teaching ethics during the lockdown year of 2021, so it was an on-again, off-again venture. She finally taught for a full year in 2022 – “and I’m pleased to report that the children haven’t staged a coup against me, yet.”

Read Emily’s full account, ‘I’m a primary ethics teacher. Here are the 5 biggest things it teaches kids.’

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Swee Goh: Q+A with our award-winning ethics volunteer
Swee Goh, Jill Kinghorn and Bruce Hogan.

Swee Goh is the inaugural winner of the Kinghorn Award for ethics volunteers. Swee is the manager for the ethics program Ryde region in inner northwest Sydney.

Swee was presented with her framed certificate in our office by Bruce Hogan, Chair of the Primary Ethics Board, and Jill Kinghorn, one of our chief supporters.

Swee also wins $4000 to direct to the schools of her choice. Some of that money is going to a very supportive school in her Ryde region, Smalls Road Public School (see page 5). She also wanted to give to a school that had been badly affected by floods – Mullumbimby Public School (see page 2) in the northern rivers.

This school was closed for several months while they waited for flood waters to recede and basic repairs to be made. Children were allocated to attend nearby schools. Obviously, there was no ethics program at all in 2022, though we are hoping it is able to restart in 2023.

Warm thanks go to Swee for nominating a school outside her region to receive prize money. We’re very impressed that she chose to assist students in a flood-affected area. Not just ethics students, but all students at the school will benefit. This is why Swee deserves to win the Kinghorn Award – to be recognised and valued for the wonderful work she does as an ethics volunteer and to acknowledge the amazing person she is!

“If I had to pick one person to start Primary Ethics from scratch tomorrow, Swee would be the first volunteer I would contact” – Primary Ethics staff member

Swee has built and maintained an outstanding ethics program in the Ryde region. She has recruited volunteers tirelessly to build the program to where it is today. Due primarily to her efforts, almost every parent in Ryde currently has the option of choosing ethics for their children. Swee is currently responsible for ethics programs in 12 schools. She regularly teaches at three schools and has taught at all others in the region. She manages 11 coordinators and 62 teachers supplying 64 classes, which approximates to more than 1000 students receiving ethics lessons on her watch each week. 

Swee Goh

Q+A with Swee

What motivates you to volunteer?

I find being an ethics volunteer extremely satisfying as I am working with fellow volunteers and a supportive and professional organisation. They all share the same interest, passion and commitment to bringing ethics education to children in primary schools. They are doing it because they want to!

Working as a relief ethics teacher in a number of schools in the Ryde region over the years has given me the opportunity to teach children from Kindergarten to Year 6. This has given me a deep appreciation for how they interact at different ages and how age-appropriate our ethics curriculum is. Across all primary ages, ethics classes provide a safe and friendly environment for students to express themselves, as there are no right or wrong answers. I very much enjoy teaching ethics because the children are encouraged to think freely and reason critically in expressing their opinions and ideas and to disagree respectfully, not just take what others say for granted. Engaging children this way in lively class discussions keeps me coming back for more!

What drew you to ethics volunteering?

I was looking for something to do after my retirement as a state operations manager in the Department of Education, where my responsibilities involved the regulatory compliance and assessment of early childhood education services in NSW. My earliest career role was an early childhood teacher, before I joined the NSW public service and diversified into areas of policy, child protection early intervention, funding and project management and regulatory compliance. Volunteering with Primary Ethics drew me back to my first role as a teacher and my experience as a manager. The big difference is working with people who want to do what they do and not because they are paid to do it!

What’s your response to winning the Kinghorn Award?

I am very humbled and honoured to receive this award as I know there are many other worthy nominees. I accept this award on behalf of all the Ryde region volunteers, especially the coordinators, as without their support and contribution I would not be able to do my job.

Thank you to the all Primary Ethics staff who are always there to help, support and guide me and answer my many questions, sometimes many times!

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‘We need to do better for our children’s future’
Shane Arthurson with the ethics discussion rules

My first class of ethics for the year takes place this week. Reading the rules before this first lesson reminded me of some thoughts I had last year when I was visiting Parliament in Canberra.

By Shane Arthurson

I’m a volunteer ethics teacher at a school on Sydney’s northern beaches. My daughter is in Year 1 and I teach her class.

I am very proud and very happy to teach ethics. It’s a beautiful program tackling ethical dilemmas and teaching the children to stay curious and respectful as we debate, reason and talk to others about complex issues. It is right that we teach our young children ethics and with discussion rules such as these.

As a sad observation though, I was in Canberra last year with my wife who was part of a group petitioning for increased parental leave. Inside the Parliament, I couldn’t help but notice that question time violated all our ethics rules in the first few seconds. It was a horrific display of heckling, put downs, talking over one another… There was no orderly debate and no intelligent discussion about the matter, nor any progress or resolve.

Furthermore, I looked up and saw school children observing the leaders of our country behaving in such a manner. It didn’t shock me but it did disappoint me.

The leaders of our country are role models for our children, amongst other things, we need them to do better and to demonstrate behaviour we would be proud to see in our children. If we want a better society we have to act better. These children are tomorrow’s leaders and decision makers.

This behaviour does not add to social progress and actually takes us backwards.

All the more motivation for me to keep teaching ethics!

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‘Bump’ does ethics

A number of Primary Ethics volunteers and staff noticed during the New Year break that Bump, a popular Australian series which began streaming its third season on Stan on Boxing Day 2022, has incorporated an ethics lesson into its storyline.

So I tuned in.

By Susan Ardill, Communications Manager

Bump is a satirical comedy about two young people from very different families who have a baby together. In season 3, the parents, mother Oly and dad Santi, have separated but continue to co-parent. Their daughter is now in kindy at school and Oly is unhappy to discover she is being sent to scripture under the influence of Santi’s family. So when she bumps into another mother who is about to teach ethics, Oly asks if she can sit in and watch.

The Bump ethics lesson is situated firmly in comedic territory and serves the purpose of the episode’s overarching storyline, to highlight the differences in parenting style and family culture between Oly and Santi. The ethics volunteer is immediately set up as a ditzy caricature, confessing to being badly hungover and then not knowing how to respond when the children raise some difficult questions. So Oly responds to them instead – and in doing so, Oly (who does indeed become an ethics volunteer in a later episode) comes to some of her own realisations.

The appeal of the series, which bills itself as a comedy-drama, is in the way it addresses contemporary social life in Sydney, but with tongue in cheek.

Oly, on right, is unsure about the ethics teacher's approach.
Oly, on right, is unsure about the ethics teacher's approach.

Indeed, this scene held my attention – and not just because I’m an ethics volunteer.

Yet I am an ethics volunteer (and Primary Ethics staff member), so I immediately noticed what was unrealistic about this scene, as did everyone who mentioned it to us.

Unreal!

  • The unreality begins with Oly inviting herself along to the lesson! Our volunteers are all fully screened, trained and authorised by Primary Ethics, which is the sole approved provider to the Department of Education to teach ethics in schools. No other parent can come along on the spur of the moment – and then contribute to the lesson!
  • In a real ethics lesson, the teacher isn’t at the front of the class and the children don’t sit in rows. Instead, the children and teacher sit in a circle and build a community of inquiry together. Everyone can see everyone else and this helps with paying attention to whoever is speaking.
  • Teachers don’t ad lib or give their own answers to questions, as both the parents do in this scene. Our lessons – not just the stories that are told, but the questions that are asked – are fully scripted. When children ask questions in a real ethics lesson, they aren’t answered by the teacher, who keeps their views to themselves. Instead, the students are guided with further questions to respond to each other, build on each other’s ideas and answer each other’s questions. Of course, Bump is a tv show, so when the flummoxed teacher turns to Oly and lets her respond to the children, it’s a plot hook, but it’s important to state that this would never happen in a real ethics class.
  • One of the Primary Ethics discussion rules is ‘no putdowns’. When one of the children in this scene says to another “You’re an idiot”, the hapless teacher weakly says “Respectful discussion” – and nothing more. Ethics teachers are trained to manage situations exactly like this and have robust class management strategies to help students discuss and disagree respectfully. We also have a Classroom Support Team to help our volunteers with managing just this kind of classroom retort.
Oly sits in on the ethics class
Oly sits in on the ethics class

I like Bump and found this episode as a whole amusing. It’s good to see an Australian series which seems true to life for contemporary families – even though, as I’ve outlined, it’s not at all true to life when it comes to the Primary Ethics program in schools. I wouldn’t want parents – either those whose children already attend ethics or those who are contemplating choosing the ethics option – to come away from this episode with the impression that ethics lessons are really like this.

I hope it’s clear to the audience that in this scene, the emphasis is very much on entertainment.

To see a real ethics class in action, take a look here: https://primaryethics.com.au/about-ethics-classes/

By Susan Ardill, Primary Ethics Communications Manager

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Kate’s story: Providing life skills to our children
Kate Sawtschuk
Kate Sawtschuk

Kate Sawtschuk writes: When I decided to volunteer to be an ethics teacher at our school almost four years ago, I received a serious and foreboding warning from my then eight-year-old daughter: “Teaching kids is tough.” Luckily, I was not discouraged!

Since then, I have taught ethics classes across all ages at Denistone East Public School and am now the ethics coordinator. I could never have imagined how much I would learn and how many rewarding moments it would bring.

Previously, when I had seen Ethics listed on our school Scripture form, I thought it sounded like a class that taught kids about what was right and wrong and what they should think. When a friend of mine became an ethics teacher and actually described it, I found out this could not be further from the truth!

Ethics classes give children a chance to practise skills like taking turns to speak, listening carefully to other students and forming and expressing their own ideas. Lessons are designed to enhance critical thinking and ethical reasoning skills, helping children make decisions based on logic and evidence rather than out of habit or due to peer pressure.

Upon first hearing this, I had two thoughts. The first: I want my own kids to be in ethics classes! The second: I wonder if I could become a volunteer ethics teacher and be involved in teaching them and other kids? I felt it would be the perfect way for me to contribute to the school community, given my limited availability, and would also allow me to become more engaged in the education my children are experiencing.

I enjoy teaching ethics because I find the topics fascinating; the lesson materials really make me think (as well as the children). Over the years, topics I’ve taught include empathy, fairness, being similar and different, good reasons, voting, punishment and vanity. It is incredible to be in a role where I can be around children and hear what they think. Their insights and thought processes can be impressive, surprising and often hilarious!

For example, this year my Stage 3 class began considering the concept of a fair society. They thought critically about discrimination, equality of opportunity and the moral responsibilities of society. There was a lot of lively discussion and many moments when their depth of understanding and innate compassion made me feel very reassured that the future is in their hands.

My Stage 1 class have looked at the concept of pride: what it means, when it is okay and if we can be too proud. They love providing examples to explore the topics and building upon the ideas of their classmates. We have moved on to talk about what makes a good reason and the concept of laziness.

It’s not always easy, as my daughter warned, but I also love the challenge of engaging the kids and encouraging them to think more deeply about certain topics.

The classes provide a safe and friendly environment in which kids can express themselves and question ideas they may just normally take for granted – to think about the reasons they hold certain views or opinions and to listen and build upon the often differing views of their classmates. It’s skills for life, really!

The ethics classes are quite a different experience for kids because there is no right or wrong answer. I think they really enjoy being heard and feeling that what they think is important.

I cannot recommend volunteering to be an ethics teacher highly enough! It’s a fantastic and practical way to not only to contribute to and support the school but to also develop your own skills in facilitation, communication and active listening – and as a bonus, in the process you get to witness the next generation mature in confidence and wisdom. What more could you ask for?

So I encourage those who can to seize the opportunity that is literally a life changing experience for all those involved – parents and kids alike. Kate Sawtschuk

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