The Cincinnati Ethics Center and University of Cincinnati will host the inaugural Greater Cincinnati Regional High School Ethics Bowl on Saturday, January 21, 2023. The event will take place at the new Digital Futures complex, 3080 Exploration Ave. Event hours are approximately 8a -5p, with length depending upon the final number of teams registered. Minimum of 4 hour shift required, but volunteers willing to work the entire day are welcomed. There is a mandatory, virtual, volunteer training on January 10 or 11. In addition to registering on this site, also register on the event site to select which day you will attend the volunteer training and to provide your t-shirt size: https://cincyethics.org/volunteer-registration/
Success of the inaugural Greater Cincinnati Regional High School Ethics Bowl will not be possible without a strong showing of volunteer support. In addition to general volunteers that can help with event logistics, three key roles that must be filled for each match are: Judges, Moderators, and Room Staffer.
Judges: A panel of three judges is used to score each match of the competition. A judges role is to gauge a team’s breadth and depth of thought as applied to a specific case and score it on and official scoresheet based on scoring criteria provided by NHSEB. A judge cannot not have any obvious conflicts of interest, i.e. be a coach or parent of a participating team, teachers from the school of a participating team, etc. A judge does not need to have a background in philosophy or ethics education nor come from the field of academia. They should be familiar with the case set in advance of the competition, listen earnestly and take notes during the team’s presentation, so they are prepared to ask thought provoking questions based on the case and the presentation of the presenting team during the Q&A portion of the round. These questions are geared to force the teams to think on their feet, since that can’t prepare in advance for the questions. They also give judges more insight into the breadth and depth of the team’s analysis of their case.
Moderators: Moderators, one per match, are the time keepers of the match; helping the event stay on schedule and ensuring that all teams have equal opportunities to express their arguments. Moderators are provided with a script they are strongly advised to adhere to and minimize the impulse to improvise. The ability to read and manipulate a stopwatch are the are the skill sets needed to be an effective moderator. Also teams may be nervous, so a calming, at ease, demeanor is beneficial.
Room Staffer: Room staffers are assigned to each competition room to make sure judges and moderators have all the tools (cases, pens, pads, water, etc.) needed for the round. They make sure the teams, judges, and moderator are in the right room at the right time. They work to solve minor issues that may arise and if they can’t solve them they quickly seek out a primary event organizer. They are the first person people see when entering a room and thus set the tone by bestowing smiles, pleasantries as people enter the room. A room staffer should be prepared to step in as a Judge or Moderator if the need warranted.
Past experience participating in or volunteering for a high school ethics bowl or similar (Debate/Speech) event is beneficial, but not required. More information available at: https://cincyethics.org/students/regional-high-school-ethics-bowl/
