It's going to sink and everyone is going to die, unless six people are thrown off. In the game, you have a lifeboat with fifteen people in it.

Me: There's a game that's played in school, called the Lifeboat Game. I decided to see what my son, Alex (12 years old, at the time), would think of it. It's designed to find out how children and young adults would decide the importance of another's life. The lifeboat game is an exercise in ethics that's played in some schools and colleges. If that's what you believe, you just tell them Ms. Perhaps you'll decide it's wrong to play this game. That's what ethics is, you know, distinguishing between right and wrong. By our very inclusion, we know what they think of us. The creators want to know what you think of us. We were placed in this game for a reason. What's that you say? The game is not real. But you won't do that, will you? Because I am old, to you my worth is spent. I want so badly for you to look me in the eye, put your hand on mine and tell me I am important. But you see, being tossed so many times has put me on the defensive and I am hungry for compassion. The saddest part of all is that I would indeed give my life for yours. What kind of monster throws another person off a boat? Who are you, that the world will be so much more thankful of your survival, than mine? Will the people on the beach welcome you with open arms and commend you for your heroic actions? Will you tell them the truth of how you pried my fingers loose from their tight hold and you turned a deaf ear to my pleas for mercy? Or will you tell them I went quietly and bravely, and voluntarily, to save you? I've been told many times that there are no wrong answers in this game. Have I considered throwing you overboard? You've likely guessed I have not, even though I've been told it would not be wrong for me to do so. Throw me over like a bag of trash and don't even think twice, for in your mind, you are worth more than me. I've fought many battles for the rights of others and, in the end, I am thanked by becoming the easy answer to a tough question. Why should I give my life for yours when, in almost every hypothetical instance of this game, I get thrown off the boat? I am considered expendable and yet I am no less human than any other passenger. I believe I have more than twenty good years left and every ounce of my being wants to live, even if I only have five. But right now I'm also thinking of how hard I've worked to get to this age. I've never harmed, much less killed anyone. It's been a good life, for the most part, and I've been a decent kind of person. I sit thinking that I've had a long life and should probably sacrifice my life for yours, so that you might have the opportunity to live 97 years. I usually huddle toward the rear, hold tight to whatever I can find, and wait. For obvious reasons, I'm frequently included in the passenger list of this game. Welcome to The Lifeboat Game! My name is Ruthie and I'm 97 years old.

Lifeboat activity