Personal Responsibility, Accountability, and Work Ethic By: Aimee, Jennifer, Jennifer, Lynn, Mary, Sally

We know the movies and…. We all know the effects of media on our kids and their perceptions

“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” ~Michelangelo

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY “ Responsibility finds a way. Irresponsibility makes excuses.” Gene Bedley- National Educator of the Year

Working Definitions PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY- Being accountable for what we think, say and do. Personal responsibility involves working on our own character and skill development rather than blaming others for situations and circumstances. When you have freedom of choice, you are completely responsible for all of your success and failure, your happiness and unhappiness, your present and future. ACCOUNTABILITY- Accepting complete responsibility for your behavior. Meeting and exceeding agreed upon expectations. Follow through and do what you say you will do.

Personal Responsibility Connection Students need to see that they are responsible for their learning as well as other actions by:  Asking questions in class  Completing assignments  Reviewing material  Self reflection--learning from test score and assessments to adjust future behavior to impact future results

For students to be successful we need to emphasize: Growth Mindset over Fixed Mindset

Are You a Responsible Person? (Take this self-evaluation and decide for yourself.) True False   I do what needs to be done.   I am reliable and dependable.   I am accountable for my actions; I don't make excuses or blame others.   I fulfill my moral obligations.   I use good judgment and think through the consequences of my actions.   I exercise self-control. I think I am/am not a responsible person because: _____________________________ Being responsible puts you in charge of your life. Copyright Elkind+Sweet Communications / Live Wire Media. Reprinted by permission. Copied from

Role Play You've made a commitment to find relevant video clips for your part of a group project that's due to be presented tomorrow. Then, some friends invite you to go to the Indians/Rangers game tonight. You can't do both, so what do you do?

(video clip about responsibility… Well, it’s supposed to be here!)

Explain your decision to the group… As a member of the group, some things to ask yourself… – Would I have made the same choice? – How would I react to my group member? – Would my reaction be justified? – How could I react differently that might make that person realize and take responsibility? – As a teacher working with a student, how could I use this as a teaching moment?

Are You a Responsible Person? (Take this self-evaluation and decide for yourself.) True False   I do what needs to be done.   I am reliable and dependable.   I am accountable for my actions; I don't make excuses or blame others.   I fulfill my moral obligations.   I use good judgment and think through the consequences of my actions.   I exercise self-control. I think I am/am not a responsible person because: _____________________________ Being responsible puts you in charge of your life. Copyright Elkind+Sweet Communications / Live Wire Media. Reprinted by permission. Copied from

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 1. What responsibilities do you believe you personally have for: 1) yourself, 2) your family, 3) your community, 4) the world? 2. Think of an instance when you were impressed by the way a teenager took responsibility for something. Write a news story (or letter to the editor) about this person. 3. Write a letter to someone in the news who did something that you think was irresponsible. Be specific about why you don't think it was right and why you think this action sets a bad example. Mail the letter.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 4. Write an essay about the relationship between your age and level of responsibility. How do responsibilities differ for people your age and for older adults? How has your sense of responsibility changed as you have gotten older? At what age should we become totally responsible and accountable for our actions? 5. Write at least five things you could say to yourself when you are tempted to act irresponsibly. Explain the meaning and significance of each.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 6. Describe something you've done that was really irresponsible. How did you feel afterward? What did you learn from it? 7. Describe what this society might be like if nobody was accountable for their actions, if nobody kept their commitments.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES 1. Have your students visit this website and click on "Opportunities for Action." There they will find opportunities to become involved in activities and issues relating to personal and social responsibility."Opportunities for Action." 2. Divide the class into small groups. Have each group develop a list of do's and don'ts for being a responsible person. Have them make oral reports to the class addressing the following questions: What happens when people live in accordance with these guidelines. What happens when they don't. In what ways does irresponsible behavior affect our community and society? In what ways can/do young people demonstrate personal responsibility?

STUDENT ACTIVITIES 3. Role play: You've made a commitment to spend the weekend working on your part of a class project that's due Monday. Then, some friends invite you to go on a weekend camping trip in the mountains. You can't do both, so you decide to go on the camping trip. Try to explain your decision to the other people working on the class project. After the role play, have the class analyze what each person did to accomplish his/her objective. What general principles or guidelines can be drawn from this incident about responsibility? 4. Have several students search for the word "responsibility" on the Internet. Make a list of resources. Then create a Responsibility Web Page with links to these resources. this list to several of the websites recommending that they link to these resources. Copyright Elkind+Sweet Communications / Live Wire Media. Reprinted by permission. Copied from

The Spider Web game

Responsibility Poem by Anonymous I am responsible for all that I do, from turning in work to making friends too. I choose if my room will be messy or clean, I make the choice to be kind or mean. It is up to me just how much I will learn, the grades that I get will be grades that I earn. I make the choice to be happy or sad, to have a good day or have one that is bad. So now I will choose what is best for me. I am responsible I hold the key!

WORK ETHIC & HOW IT ALL RELATES “ Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goals: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.” Louis Pasteur ( )

“There is no substitute for hard work.” ~ Thomas Edison

The Wall

Working Definition: WORK ETHIC- Refers to hard work and putting in a good day’s effort out of pride and a desire to better yourself, your family and your community. Work ethic includes not only how one feels about their job, career or vocation but also how one does his/her job or responsibilities. This involves attitude, behavior, respect, communication and interaction.

WILL SMITH “Hard Work Beats Talent”

In order to better understand personal work ethic, each individual must understand themselves. OWEI — Occupational Work Ethic Inventory  Developed by Gregory C. Petty 1993 *High school/middle school application

My personal results: Interpersonal 5.88 out of 7 Initiative 6.06 out of 7 Dependibility 6.14 out of 7

STUDENT ACTIVITIES On a sheet of paper, have the students create a list of work ethic characteristics that other people would describe them as having right now, both positive and negative - not how they would describe themselves or what they want their work ethic to be. Option A: With the list created above, instruct students to cross off the characteristics they would like to get rid of and below a line add the characteristics they want to see in themselves. Then have them circle the top three characteristics that they want to work on. Remind them that there is an endless list of work ethic characteristics and they must pick ones that are most important to them to work on, otherwise it is too difficult to attempt to improve them all. Option B: Have students start Action Plans to make improvements on work ethic characteristics. Make sure they make SMART goals for each.

Option C: Have students create Declaration Boards. Give them large paper or poster boards. Instruct them to add all the work ethic characteristics that they want to see in themselves to these boards. Let them be creative - supply colored markers and have them include pictures from the internet, magazines or their own drawings. When they are finished, instruct them to hang this somewhere they will see on a daily basis to remind them about the direction they are intentionally heading. Collage Extensions Is it easier to find news stories about responsible people or irresponsible people? Why? Have the collage focus on a particular person that exemplifies the elements of a good work ethic. What did you admire most about the responsible person you studied? Why? Do you think it would be easy or hard for you to act on the trait that you most admire in others? Why? Who are some other responsible people you admire? What about them do you admire?

STAND AND DELIVER (1988)