Dear Primary Ethics supporter,
Welcome to Inquiring Minds for autumn 2025, where we bring you stories and reflections from our ethics classrooms, as well as recent Primary Ethics highlights.
We have many wonderful volunteers, such as:
• Sinéad Fitzgerald, who works for Microsoft and thinks the skills we teach in ethics are ideal for preparing this generation to thrive in the age of AI.
• While Karina Morgan finds her own life enhanced by five lessons she's learnt as an ethics volunteer.
• Five years ago, COVID launched Lalita Kanetkar on her journey to be an ethics teacher.
• And Jim Neely teaches a remarkable five lessons a week in four different schools in the south of the state.
We're delighted to share the news that our Board has a new chair - Dr Simon Longstaff of The Ethics Centre. And we also have a report on what children have been thinking about, from Kindergarten to Year 8, in ethics this term.
What if our future rests in the hands of the next generation learning to think critically?
That’s the question pondered by Sinéad Fitzgerald, who works close to the AI epicentre for Microsoft. This question gave her the drive to become a volunteer ethics teacher in 2024.
Sinéad’s story will challenge you to think critically too! Image of Sinéad and class generated by AI.
1. Curiosity…
2. ‘I don’t know’…
3. To disagree respectfully…
4. Psychological safety…
5. Resiliency…
Find out what Karina learnt as an ethics teacher last year >>
Dr Simon Longstaff AO, Executive Director of The Ethics Centre and longstanding member of the Primary Ethics Board, has become our new Chair, on the retirement of founding Chair Bruce Hogan AM.
Simon sees the need for ethics education as only growing. “Our curriculum and distinctive mode of teaching and learning has vast, untapped potential." >>
Every year there are many schools that have ethics waitlists due to high demand for ethics lessons but a shortage of volunteers. This year is no exception.
If you have someone in your network who you think would be a good fit - a retired
person, a young adult, someone wanting to get involved in their local communityplease tell them about our online session coming up in two weeks time all about ethics volunteering, questions welcome.
Evelyn teaches ethics to both her sons and this is what her morning held from our brilliant ethics curriculum. A very timely lesson on the responsibilities that come with the right to vote; plus a lesson for the youngest students about how they know what they know.
Check out our @Home bulletin for Term 1
Jim knows a thing or two about ethics education! He’s embarking on his second decade of volunteering, having started in 2015. As manager of ethics programs in seven schools in the Queanbeyan region, he supports 12 ethics teachers while also himself teaching five classes every week in four different schools!
Jim answers our questions >>
The COVID school shutdowns set Lalita's ethics-volunteer ball rolling, when she started home-schooling her grandson and realised she had an aptitude - and a lovefor teaching.
"I can assure you my class is the most enjoyable half hour in the company of young, inquiring minds."
