In order to avoid having the course disapproved at its outset, Barbara chose a very narrow scope for the course: to educate on ethical behavior irrespective of religion, race, politics, or any other consideration that might raise a challenge. The operating premise was that if students could be taught to choose the harder right over the easier wrong even when no one was looking, then all other considerations would fall into their proper place.

In essence, Barbara presented the school with a proposition that could not be faulted by any reasonable group: to elevate students' abilities to differentiate right from wrong and to demonstrate impacts of right and wrong decisions, and to do that using the models of the service academies.

(Note - this decision later proved helpful when seeking West Point's participation in a videoconference. Had religious overtones, political leanings, or exclusivity been present, legal considerations would have prohibited West Point's involvement.)

A major concern was how to attract sufficient students (if sufficient numbers did not elect to take the course, it would not take place). Given that she does not like to fail at anything, Barbara sought to position the course such that students would see it as interesting and exciting, and wanted to take it. (Note - The course had to compete with such other entries as Mock-Court, Advanced Chess Strategies, and Harry Potter.)

Barbara reasoned that if she billed the course as one on ethics, very few students would sign up. She therefore thought about how to advertise it in such a way to excite student interest. The method of advertisement was pretty much set: the school published a catalogue of courses from which the students chose. The critical factor at this point was what that advertisement (or course description) would sayHowever, before she could write it up, she first had to decide how she would teach the ethics course, which led to considerations of course content. (Continued on next page.)