Class Schedule
Saturdays 9:00-10:00 am PST
January 11, January 18, January 25, February 1, February 8, February 15,
(no class February 22) March 1, March 8, March 15, March 22
Note: Classes are listed in PST, click below to convert time to your time zone.
Course Overview
In anyone's life, adult or child, we are often faced with ethical decisions that must be made. While some of them are pretty clear-cut, often the right thing to do is not so black-and-white. How can we make decisions for ourselves? And what about decisions that are being made for us?
Without you even knowing it, people you've never heard of are making ethical decisions that will have a profound effect on your life. In fact, in some cases, ethical principles are being programmed into your own gadgets. But what ethics? And whose?
In this 10-week course, we'll use video clips to prompt consideration and discussion of a few of the many ethical issues and decisions raised by modern life, especially (but not exclusively) in the realms of science, technology, and AI.
Student Experience
Literary Analyst
Debater
Philosopher
Pattern Seeker
Your Teacher: Matt Berman
- M.A.T. in Philosophy for Children, Montclair State University
- B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education K-8 University of Connecticut
- Gifted Certification, University of New Orleans
- 46 years in education
Recipient of the NEH Teacher-Scholar Award, Matt Berman has been an elementary school teacher for more than 40 years, with certification in gifted education and degrees in education and philosophy for children. A nationally recognized expert in children's literature, Matt has written four books on the subject, and his reviews, articles, and columns have appeared in many journals, including Kirkus, School Library Journal, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He has also taught children's literature at Tulane University and the University of New Orleans, and his reviews have appeared on numerous websites, including Common Sense Media, Disney Family, Family.com, iVillage, and the Child Lit Wiki. Matt has also been a consultant with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, as well as a freelance writer and editor, website developer, teacher trainer and consultant, photographer, communications director, and founding director of the Nueva Center for the Humanities.
