Our Blog - Primary Ethics

Helen: Primary Ethics and ‘senior’ me

For Seniors Week 2026, we asked some of our over-70 volunteers to tell us about their experience as ethics volunteers. There is no age limit to ethics volunteering – our oldest volunteer is currently 88. In her later-70s, Helen Kerr-Roubicek is in her eighth year of volunteering with Primary Ethics.

Helen’s experience

When I took that Primary Ethics pamphlet at the Drummoyne Primary School fete, I opened the door to a very stimulating volunteering adventure. That was around eight years ago and I was approaching 70. I had three granddaughters at the school. After I began volunteering, while we only shared limited time in ethics classes together, I enjoyed the fact they now saw me in a broader role in their school context. They have all moved on to high school but I’m still here – loving being the coordinator for Primary Ethics of a brilliant team of nine volunteer teachers.

Over those years I have always found my PE journey stimulating, because I am challenged to think deeply about the philosophy and research behind contemporary issues. These form the background to the curriculum that is set out for we teachers to follow and facilitate in lessons.

When people ask me ‘so what do you tell the kids?’, I delight in explaining that it is not about ‘telling’. It is a community of enquiry approach that encourages students to think together about topics such as fairness, disagreeing respectfully, screen time and understanding diversity. They develop their own ideas and become more confident in expressing those to others and giving reasons for why they think what they think. They develop skills in reflecting and listening to what others think and say. PE is open to all faiths and belief systems. Mutual respect is a very important underpinning value for the classroom discussions.

People also ask ‘what’s involved as a volunteer?’ Then I can’t wait to explain that the setup has many amazing strengths:

It is very economical timewise and the time commitment is predictable – after training, a teacher typically needs to download and read over a lesson a few times and print copies of any pictures or activities in preparation for the average 35-minute lesson each week. There is a quick online feedback process after each lesson.
PE is an organisation that provides professional layers of user-friendly training and support. The technical support for the Internet materials is very effective and makes it easy to be involved with only basic skills (which are bound to improve as well). There is also good classroom support if issues arise and if all else fails there is a helpdesk at the end of the phone to clarify direction. All this is provided free – it is not expensive to become involved.
Undoubtedly the most exciting aspect is the opportunity to have regular contact with young people, exploring day to day issues with them, hearing their ideas and having the opportunity to support their personal growth.

After three to four years, I was offered the opportunity to become the PE team coordinator for the school. I was reluctant at first, lacking confidence. This is a liaison role with the school on all relevant matters including the setting up (online) and management of classes. Actually it has turned out to be a perfect extension of my favourite professional roles – resource linking, mentoring, recruiting, team building and with limited administration. There is also plenty of support for this role. And the best thing – it’s time limited too! Setting up at the beginning of each year is the busiest time.

Helen third from right with other Drummoyne volunteers.

Our team is made up of a balance of retired older people who have a range of rich professional and community experiences, and keen parents of current students who keep us in touch with school news. We manage our team organisation through a Whatsapp group and look forward to catching up at our end of term dinners.

Over the past four years I have been through some tough times personally as I journeyed with my husband in his experience of serious illness until his recent death. The care and support from my team and the school- from offering to take my classes or other tasks, to being available for ‘debrief’ coffees and messages – have made a real difference for me. And the regular classes with bright, lively faces each week ready for another discussion have provided a structure activity in my week that has also been helpful.

The camaraderie with my team and the wider PE community, including my regional manager, has been incredibly rewarding and uplifting. I realise as I look back over the eight years that this community building is at the heart of my PE experience and it is so good to feel that the lessons we provide are assisting students to do that in their own worlds.

Have I just been lucky with my school and team members? Would it be different somewhere else? There is no doubt that I have been fortunate and I know that there are many influences on how PE functions in different schools, including critical issues like when it is timetabled and how supportive the school executive is. But it is my belief now, that the community of enquiry approach as an underpinning of this program is right for this time and resonates with young people, parents, teachers and community members. Why else would we have growing numbers in our classes and more volunteers to teach in such a busy world?

Why not join Helen as an ethics volunteer in your local school?

Diana: Investing in future generations

For Seniors Week 2026, we asked some of our over-70 volunteers to tell us about their experience as ethics volunteers. There is no age limit to ethics volunteering – our oldest volunteer is currently 88. In her mid-70s, Diana Dagg is in her seventh year of volunteering with Primary Ethics.

Diana’s experience

I was drawn to this role because teaching ethics offered the chance to teach my grandchildren. Over the years I’ve taught ethics to two grandchildren at Arncliffe Public School (they’re now at high school) and currently two grandchildren at Marrickville West Public. But I discovered early on that this is much more than simply having an opportunity to spend time with my grandchildren.

Before I list the many benefits, it must be noted that ethics teaching is not just a cushy volunteering job. Without being too dramatic, becoming an ethics teacher is an investment of our time, our expertise and our belief in the importance of contributing to future generations.

To do the job properly, we as volunteers need to commit to preparing well for lessons, taking the time to learn our students’ names and to understand any of their particular needs. We must also be willing to ask for and accept advice from trainers and schoolteachers. There are lots of opportunities for continuous learning within the ethics teaching technique.

We don’t need to have been teachers before becoming ethics teachers. In fact, friends of mine who were schoolteachers before becoming ethics volunteers say they had to ‘unlearn’ the traditional teaching practice of rewarding ‘correct’ answers. This ethics teaching role is about helping our young students develop approaches to thinking for themselves.

Above all, to be authentic, we as volunteer ethics teachers must value and want to understand children.

Spending this teaching time with my grandchildren each week is rich with potential, including:

Hearing their opinions about issues that affect them
Meeting and hearing the opinions of their classmates as a group
Providing an intersection point for conversations with them outside of ethics
Meeting their teachers and understanding the school ‘culture’.

My relationship with my grandchildren has been strengthened by my ethics teaching role because:

we confidentially discuss (and I get to hear) what questions matter to them in our ethics class
their friends like and respect me as an ethics teacher using our humanitarian rules in class – that earns me points as a nanny!

There are many great things about this role apart from the strengthened bond with my grandchildren:

I have the opportunity to meet and work with students with disabilities, to help them learn
I have greater insight into the challenges teachers face each day
I’ve enjoyed some fun lunches and morning teas, sharing war stories with other ethics teachers.
I’m proud to be investing in future generations through rigorous teaching practice and a thoroughly researched ethics curriculum which reflects values similar to my own.

Are there rewards/benefits that I wasn’t expecting?

Hmm, probably it’s the opportunity to understand the needs of students with disabilities and to be mightily impressed by the skilled teachers who work with them. Also, the satisfaction of managing challenging situations well.

Any concerns about dealing with technology (EVIE) or coping with things like hearing impairment?

It’s been fine to use the technology but if there are problems, I know I can turn to the very helpful Primary Ethics staff on the Helpdesk or my ethics coordinator and/or school admin or teaching staff. I already have hearing aids (yikes!) so no probs with hearing in my classes.

Find out more about volunteering with us

@Home for parents bulletin – Term 1 2026

Welcome to @Home bulletin for Term 1 2026, where we let families know what your children, from kindergarten into secondary school, are exploring in their ethics lessons this term.

Subscribe here to receive our @Home email bulletin once a term.

The topics we show below are based on classes which begin at the beginning of the year – this can vary as schools start their ethics programs at different times. If your child tells you they are discussing a topic you don’t see in this bulletin, you can also look at the Curriculum section of our website.

We hope the students talk about ethics with you at home – ask them questions about it!

Kindergarten: Being curious and asking questions: Young children are curious about countless things and a goal of our curriculum is to nurture this curiosity so that they’re motivated and confident enough to think critically for themselves about issues that matter to them. Our first topic of the year encourages kindy students to start thinking about why we ask questions. Students will also consider why it can sometimes be hard to ask questions out loud when we’re worried about looking silly.
Later in the year, students will consider questions about sharing, fairness and doing harm without meaning to.

Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) Pride: In our first Stage 1 topic of the year students explore some big questions to do with pride. What does it mean to be proud of something? Is it okay to be proud of our accomplishments? What about being proud of the things we’re given, like gifts and rewards – is that okay? And why are we sometimes proud of other people?
Later in the year, students will reflect on the importance of having good reasons and discuss the ethics of laziness.

Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) Being selfish: In our first Stage 2 topic of the year, students delve into the ethics of being selfish. Is it okay to act selfishly or is it always wrong? If you’ve put lots of effort into something or you’re worried it could get broken, is it okay not to share it? What does it mean if you help someone but for selfish reasons – is that misleading or deceitful?
Later in the year, students will think about how to disagree respectfully and whether it’s okay to keep animals in captivity.

Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6) A fair society: In our first Stage 3 topic of the year, students ponder what it means to have a fair society. Do we have a responsibility to make sure everyone can go to school and receive medical treatment? What are some of the challenges involved in providing such opportunities? And do governments have a responsibility to address inequalities that are the result of good or bad luck?
Later in the year, students will consider whether it’s ever okay to challenge a rule or piece of advice given by an authority.

Stage 4 (Years 7 & 8) Role models: Our first topic of the year invites students to consider the place of role models in our lives. What makes someone a good role model? Must someone to be a good person to be a good role model? Is it fair to have higher expectations of someone just because others consider them a role model? Can having a role model, even if it’s someone you’ve never met, help you navigate life’s moral challenges?
Later in the year, students will discuss whether the voting age should be lowered and some ethical dilemmas around friendships.

Each term brings new ideas and questions, and we hope these topics spark interesting conversations at home as well!

The secret weapon against polarisation – Osher Günsberg

Osher Günsberg, radio and television presenter and now popular podcaster, has joined the ranks of ethics volunteers at his son’s school. Osher says: “When I open my phone, it explodes in a cascade of fear, fury and furphies… leaving me spinning in a tizz of desperation and powerlessness. … I think I have found something that makes that feeling less intense and instead gives me the feeling that I am actually doing something that will make a difference.” Thanks Osher for this lovely reflection, we wish you the best in your year of ethics volunteering ahead.

Find your way to make a difference by volunteering with us

Q+A: Evan and Laura

As the handover period between Primary Ethics leaders Evan Hannah and Laura Ramos comes to a close, we gave them both a Q+A. So it’s farewell to Evan after over eight years in the role and welcome to Laura!

Evan Hannah

When did you start working for PE and what drew you to the job?I first ‘worked’ for Primary Ethics as a volunteer coordinator at my son’s school – Five Dock PS – for several years from 2013. I became CEO in July 2017. My motivation came from seeing how powerful the program was and wanting to do what I could to take it to more students in more schools.

How many locations have you worked in since you started? Five – with three of those being in the same multi-storey office block in Potts Point! We love where we are now (co-located in the city with The Ethics Centre), but my favourite was the wonderful purpose-built space at the Paddington offices of our great supporter Rob Keldoulis and his Vivcourt company. We were there for a happy 12 months before Covid pushed us to our home spaces!

How many staff were there when you started and how many now? We had six people (five full-time and one part-time) when I began. As I hand over to Laura we now have 17 staff (seven full-time and 10 part-time.) We’ve increased our staff to meet the growing demands of recruiting and supporting volunteers – and we’re busier than we’ve ever been.

You’ve done numerous media interviews over those years, which was your favourite? My favourite interview was with ABC Radio 702’s Sarah Macdonald in their Ultimo studios. Sarah was well across what Primary Ethics does, which made the interview relaxed, but what made it a favourite was when one of her regular contributors – film academic Bruce Isaacs – called in to talk about his own experience teaching ethics with us. It was such a positive and fun interview, which created some good listener interest in volunteering.

You will have heard many stories about the impact of ethics lessons. What stands out for you? Perhaps the most moving was when a parent told me his son had talked about how thinking things through as they did in ethics classes helped him deal with the grief of losing a grandparent. It’s both fulfilling and deeply sobering to hear how what we do can give students those tools.

What are you most satisfied with as you leave? I’ve had a bit of time to think about this and there are two examples out of many satisfying outcomes.

First was our successful multi-year campaign to allow parents to choose ethics at the same instant they were told about SRE (scripture) – Department procedures originally forced parents literally to opt out of scripture twice before they could be told ethics was available at their school. It was unfair and frankly unethical! The change meant information and choice is now equitable, opening the way to more student enrolments and more volunteers.

Second is how our volunteers responded during the long Covid lockout from schools, when our hard work to keep people engaged kept them keen and eager to return to schools when they re-opened. Our volunteers stayed with us during that difficult time, when many other not-for-profits had trouble keeping their volunteers on board.

I leave knowing we continue to have an amazing committed staff and a fantastic group of volunteers.

What’s in your future? I’m incapable of sitting still for long, so I’m already thinking about a couple of ways to keep busy. Leading such a great organisation as Primary Ethics has shown me the rich satisfaction you gain when you’re able to see effort at one end of our program turn into great outcomes at the other, so I’m certain I will seek to again be involved in an organisation or social enterprise that benefits the community.

And I’ll keep up with my cricket umpiring!

Laura Ramos

What drew you to this job? Knowing about the amazing work of the organisation and the opportunity to be part of the next chapter. I knew of ethics education from when my daughters were in primary school. My daughters (who are now at university) still have positive memories of ethics lessons.

You’re doing the ethics teacher training now, how are you finding it? I’m loving the training – and can confirm that it is thorough! It’s been really humbling to step into student-mode and realise how little I actually knew about what it takes to be a great teacher. There is so much to consider. Our trainer has been phenomenal; she’s got deep knowledge of teaching practice and is super methodical in pointing out where we’re demonstrating the right

teaching skills, when we need to finesse and when we need to try again. From seeing how training happens, I also have a far greater appreciation of the care that goes into every aspect of our program.

Is there anything surprising about it? I love that our training is set up to build teaching skills for adults who come from very different backgrounds. And yet, we’ll all be able to deliver ethics lessons now – and we’ll have access to our excellent Classroom Support resources to help us improve over time.

You’re originally from Puerto Rico and the US, have you come across anything like Primary Ethics over there? I wish! I’m pretty sure my parents would have loved having this for my sisters and me when we were growing up. I haven’t seen any program offer ethics education to students at the scale that we can, with the breadth and depth of topics and the rigorous approach to curriculum and pedagogy. Our program is pretty unique as far as I’m aware.

What have been the highlights of the job so far?

Being blown away by the rigour and excellence built into our program.
Realising how talented, committed and generally awesome every person in the staff team is.
Developing deep respect for every one of our volunteers, because they make the magic happen in schools.
Seeing our team work on setting up ethics classes for the 2026 year – exciting and a lot of work!

Tell us about your interest in AI. I’m curious and trying out different products with interest. A big part of my career was in tech-focused roles, so I guess I’ve seen many examples where IT solutions don’t meet the expectations of users and also instances where tech can be deployed to make things demonstrably better for people.

When it comes to AI, it’s fascinating to see new services that can help us solve everyday challenges much more quickly – but not always well. Nevertheless, I think there’s real value in learning how to use AI tools and also in staying informed about the potential pitfalls.

What’s the best story about ethics you’ve heard so far? I have a new one every day. Today it was a side conversation where we speculated what Socrates might have done with social media. Who says we can’t have fun with ethics?

Thoughts about volunteering – from Mike Godfrey

In December last year, Mike Godfrey was presented with our Volunteer of the Year award. Mike has been a dedicated volunteer in our classroom support team for 12 years. Many ethics volunteers have met Mike when they’ve reached out for support with a challenging situation and Mike has been there, on the phone or in person, to offer calm, professional and practical solutions – and continuing back-up.

Mike himself is a volunteer and offered these thoughts about volunteering, especially as an older person, in his award acceptance speech.

“I want to talk about volunteering. This organisation doesn’t work without volunteers!

We often talk about how volunteers give back and what wonderful people they are — and yes, we are— but I want to tell you there’s two sides to this. We volunteers get a lot out of this too! I think there’s a message here which we can take to the community which may help drive more volunteering, especially in older age groups.

600 Mike — Mike with previous volunteers of the year - Barb La Ganza, Swee Goh and Jim Neely.

Listening hard: What I’ve got out of this (and I can only talk for myself but I do know some of this applies to others) are skills development as well as personal development.

One of the great things I’ve learnt is to be a better listener— because you can’t be in a classroom, either teaching or observing, unless you’re 100% engaged and listening hard. And I have to say —and I’ve taught communication skills over many years— I probably wasn’t the listener I could’ve been but ethics volunteering has really helped me improve.

Brain health: Social contact is important and being with like-minded people is healthy. And the mental and intellectual simulation is vital. You know, there isn’t a curriculum topic I’ve read which doesn’t stimulate me to consider what I really think about this. I love that it causes me to think deeply — to engage in topics which otherwise I wouldn’t have thought much about. And that’s growing me as a person. It’s good for my brain health too.

These are things we can get across to the community. You can still grow! You might be age 50/60/70/80. You can still grow and develop and learn and if you’ve got the energy, you can still teach ethics.

Mike

Relevance: I sat next to a lady in her late 60s in a doctor’s surgery years ago and she was telling me how she had lost her relevance. I thought that’s a really sad thing to have to say— she felt she just wasn’t relevant to her family, to society or to work any more. Had I known what I know now I would’ve suggested she join Primary Ethics as a volunteer! Relevance to society is very important for older people. It’s something Primary Ethics can provide.

CST — Mike with the rest of the Classroom Support Team.

Staying in touch: Finally, one of the other things I have gained is it helps me stay in touch with the younger generations and their society. The way the scripts are written is stimulating. Listening to students respond to the scripts and enter into meaningful and respectful discussions on the various topics is incredibly interesting. And it really does help you stay in touch with younger people and how and what they think, which I just think is very important in many ways.”

Find out more about volunteering with us >>

The thriving ethics community of Bondi Beach

Evelyn Levisohn is an ethics volunteer at Bondi Beach – a teacher and team coordinator. She writes here about their thriving ethics community, who help children look beneath the surface and have come together in firm solidarity after the recent tragedy on their doorstep.

Beyond the surface: Surfers, sunshine, run clubs and speedos: these might be the first things you think of when you think of Bondi Beach. It’s a place often associated with the ‘surface’: the tans, the activewear, the perfectly poured Instagrammable matcha latte. [Though tragically, it is also now known for the terrible shootings that took place in December 2025. More on that later.]

Look a little further, past the tourists on the promenade, and you’ll find there is a community engaged in something much deeper. At Bondi Beach Public School, just across the road from the beach, we have a thriving ethics program that is teaching the next generation how to look beneath the surface and question the status quo.

I’ve been part of this organisation for six years now, teaching two classes a week and serving as the ethics coordinator. We currently run 11 classes every week, from Kindergarten to Year 6, powered by a dedicated team of nine volunteers.

PHOTO-2023-09-21-12-06-28 — The Bondi Beach team at the beach, Evelyn on left.

Journey into the ethics classroom: My journey into the classroom actually started at my day job. I’m a Marketing Manager for Studiosity, a purpose-driven edtech company that believes in the power of education to change the world. Because they value social impact, my work is flexible enough to allow me to teach and coordinate each year. In fact, I first heard about Primary Ethics because my boss was a volunteer. Every Wednesday, she would come into the office and regale us with stories about how funny the kids were, how fascinating the topics were and how rewarding and challenging the role was.

It sounded incredible and I signed up to teach at Bondi Beach the year before my eldest son even started there. I still remember the nerves of that first day teaching Kindergarten. They were so sweet and charming, offering unselfconscious answers with brash honesty. But the moment that truly hooked me, the moment I felt that click of satisfaction, was when a child made a logical argument about a story that even I hadn’t considered. Watching a child learn to reason, think and find their own voice is incredibly gratifying.

Becoming a coordinator: Eventually, my passion for the program outweighed my fear of stepping into the team coordinator role. When our previous coordinator moved away, I realised I was too invested to let anyone else take the reins. I cared deeply about the program’s success, especially as we navigated the long road back from the COVID shutdowns. Our school was actually the last in the state to bring scripture and ethics back onsite, only resuming in 2023. During that break, I kept my skills sharp by doing relief teaching at other local schools. When we finally came back onsite, my mission was clear: I wanted to build back a sense of belonging and camaraderie within the team. I started ensuring we had termly coffee catch-ups and end-of-year dinners.

PHOTO-2024-12-20-09-56-39 — The team out for dinner, Evelyn second from left.

Depth and compassion: Today, we have a thriving team from all walks of life, parents and community members alike. Our catch-ups are no longer just an admin checkbox; they are filled with deep personal reflections and philosophical musings. We support each other, as does the whole Bondi Beach community who came together with steadfast compassion when the school had to close for a few days following the shootings, ensuring nobody was feeling alone and the kids had a sense of togetherness and normalcy.

In the darkest of times, our community shone in its solidarity.

Evelyn

The world beyond the beach: Despite recent events, Bondi will always have its sunshine and its tourists, but what happens inside our classrooms is what prepares these kids for the world beyond the beach. Considering what our community has been through, and in an era of AI and global upheaval, these lessons in critical thinking and logical reasoning are what will truly help our children navigate the changing world. We aren’t teaching them to follow a specific set of beliefs; we’re teaching them to think for themselves. And there is nothing more important than that.

Join Evelyn as a volunteer - as a teacher or coordinator >>

PHOTO-2024-06-08-08-57-22 — Celebrating team achievements. Evelyn is centre.

A new leader for Primary Ethics

The appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer for 2026 has been announced by Roger Reidy, Chair of the Primary Ethics Board. “It gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Laura Ramos as Primary Ethics’ new Chief Operating Officer. Laura will commence with us on 12 January 2026”, Mr Reidy said.

Laura brings a wealth of not-for-profit executive leadership experience to the organisation, Mr Reidy said. She impressed the Board as the standout person in a recruitment cycle that produced many talented candidates. “Laura will bring leadership, experience, business acumen and people management skills to build on our existing legacy and make our company even stronger,” Mr Reidy said.

“Primary Ethics is continuing to operate in a period of transition towards a potential merger with our parent body, The Ethics Centre”, he continued. Laura will report to the Primary Ethics Board for the foreseeable future, as has retiring CEO Evan Hannah.

Laura’s expertise includes executive roles at the NSW Department of Education, NSW Department of Family and Community Services and Services Australia. In addition, she has led strategy as CEO, Schools Industry Partnership (a youth-focused not-for-profit in Western Sydney) and as CMO at Achieve Australia (a large NDIS provider).

She has also worked in the startup sector developing innovative services to support older women and persons living with cognitive impairment.

Laura’s academic background includes a Master of Business Administration (Executive) from the Australian Graduate School of Management and PhD research in Human Computer Interaction at the University of Technology Sydney.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Laura has called Sydney home since the early 2000s. “My two daughters have positive and lasting memories of the ethics lessons they took in primary school, supported by the dedicated volunteers and exceptional curriculum from Primary Ethics”, Laura said.

Eco-ethics at an urban farm

Primary Ethics has collaborated with Pocket City Farm, in inner-urban Camperdown, to create a half day of education about the ethics of sustainability. The pilot has run on two days this month, with visits from Y3 and Y4 students from Campsie Public School in Sydney’s south.

Sessions for groups of children were run by Farm educators and Primary Ethics teachers. The children learnt about forests, feeding weeds to the chooks and how the web of life keeps us all connected. Then in specially written ethics lessons, they explored protecting their environment.

Both days were very hot but the students were highly engaged – especially in the chookyard!