Should Ethics be taught from a young age?

During the first year of my philosophy degree I was asked to construct a presentation to argue in favour of philosophy being taught to children of primary school age. Whilst I think it would be good for philosophy in general to be taught from a young age, I think in particular it is important and almost necessary to teach ethics to some capacity in primary schools. 

Ethics isn't strictly defining what is right or wrong, rather it is more of an open discussion about good and bad. So to teach ethics is not to teach children it is wrong to steal but to have an open discussion why it may be wrong to steal or why it might not be. This includes discussions surrounding the main branches of ethics Utilitarianism, Deontology and Virtue ethics. That is not to say children should learn the history of each ethical school and all its intricacies. They wouldn't even need to learn each ethical schools complicated names but instead they can learn of them indirectly through discussions of real life scenarios. In which they could, for example, learn of a certain utilitarian view that stealing medicine is wrong due to the effect one act of stealing could have on wider society if everyone then copied such action, whilst also learning of a certain deontological view that stealing medicine may be morally right as it intuitively seems such when someone needs medicine to live but cannot afford it. Indeed, it would be very easy for children to learn ethics through application, that is through learning through plausible real life scenarios such as the trolley problem. Such education would be gradual and have to align with children's capability to reason which develops slowly, however the main aim is simple, to teach children not what is right or wrong but to understand rightness and wrongness and how to decide what is good and bad in each situation. 

Being taught ethics seems inherently beneficial as if children are able to understand ethical ideas on a basic level it could encourage them to be more empathetic and make decisions in consideration of others not just themselves. For example, through being taught about utilitarianism children could learn that everyone is equal and equal to themselves on a fundamental level as to follow utilitarianism is to perform the action which will bring the greatest good for the greatest number which naturally requires one to view that everyone has equal value or equal moral worth. Viewing people as having equal value to oneself encourages empathy and kindness as one would concern others as they concern themselves and thus treat others as they wish to be treated. Therefore in general by children learn the fundamentals of ethics through discussing real world scenarios many would find  increased sense of empathy or kindness as they would develop an understanding that we should consider others before acting. Which in general could lead to a more harmonious society in which people mistreat others less.   

Furthermore learning ethics, or any philosophy, at a young age can also encourage children to develop better reasoning skills. Through ethical discussions such as through the trolley problem children will be encouraged not to see things as black and white. As whilst many see it correct to switch the train track by pulling a lever so that one person dies over three, many will change their mind if they physically must push another in front of a train to stop it and save three people. This would clearly demonstrate to children that different scenarios and contexts can change whether something is right on wrong. This in turn allows children to understand situations can be complex and could allow their ability to reason to develop from as early as possible. By developing children's ability to reason early on and cultivating it through philosophical lessons, children will develop skills which will help them in other subjects and future careers. As indeed a greater ability to reason allows one to make better decisions about the best course of action between two very tempting options, on a day to day basis or within a work or school setting. 

It seems clear to me that ethics should be taught at primary school not only for the reasons stated above but also simply because philosophy is a long standing tradition that has always been crucial to society but has slowly faded from our education system over the past few decades. Indeed, ethics should be taught in schools because it would increase children's empathy and improve their reasoning skills which would be be extremely beneficial to society.