Three rounds. Countless topics. One winning team.

On Wednesday, November 15, two final groups went head-to-head during the culmination of the School’s first-ever Ethics Bowl, a debate-style competition designed to deepen ethical and moral principles, foster critical thinking, enhance public speaking skills, and instill in students a sense of civil discourse and civic engagement.

Modeled after the National High School Ethics Bowl, a “competitive yet collaborative event in which students discuss real life ethical issues,” the competition encouraged ninth graders to debate and discuss highly complex topics such as technology graveyards and moral offsetting.

Many of the assigned issues aligned with our Upper School summer reading book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, and brought a greater sense of relevance to the material. Students argued points, offered potential solutions, and answered hard-hitting questions from a panel of IMS judges.

Assistant Head of School Tom Stewart notes that an exercise like the Ethics Bowl helps prepare students for the future. He shares, “As we look to send IMS graduates to secondary schools, later to colleges, and ultimately to the world at large, it is our job to ensure that they learn the practical application of the sentiments at the heart of Indian Mountain’s mission and motto.”