Good
citizens can be counted on to consistently demonstrate in
everyday life honesty, respect, courage, and other core
citizenship values. Children who grow up to be productive
and contributing citizens are much more than academically
successful. The world of work requires individuals who are
capable of managing their own health and well being, and
who have the skills necessary for problem solving, self
direction, self motivation, self reflection, and life-long
learning.
Advocating
the five themes of citizenship - honesty, compassion, respect,
responsibility, and courage - is not enough. Exploring those
themes, talking about them, and making connections between
those themes and your students' lives are the keys to developing
a true understanding of the concepts.
But
first let's have a few words about each of the themes:
- Honesty
is the basic theme of good citizenship. A
person must be honest with others, and with himself
or herself, in order to be a good citizen.
- Compassion
is the emotion of caring for people and for
other living things. Compassion gives a person an emotional
bond with his or her world.
- Respect
is similar to compassion but different in
some ways. An important aspect of respect is self-
respect, whereas compassion is directed toward
others. Respect is also directed toward inanimate things
or ideas as well as toward people. For example, people
should have respect for laws. Finally, respect includes
the idea of esteem or admiration, whereas compassion
is a feeling people can have for others they don't necessarily
admire.
- Out
of honesty, compassion, and respect comes Responsibility
, which includes both private, personal responsibility
and public responsibility. Individuals and groups have
responsibilities. Responsibility is about action,
and it includes much of what people think of as
good citizenship. You may wish to point out that one
of the main responsibilities of students is to learn.
They must educate themselves so that they can
live up to their full potential.
- Finally,
the theme of Courage is important
to good citizenship. Human beings are capable of moving
beyond mere goodness toward greatness. Courage enables
people to do the right thing even when it's unpopular,
difficult, or dangerous. Many people - including Thomas
Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Errol Barrow
and Eric Williams - have had the courage to change the
rules to achieve justice.
WHAT IS CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY?
The
age of criminal responsibility means the age at which a
person can be prosecuted for a crime. It should be the age
at which they understand the consequences of a crime and
take full responsibility for that crime.
At
what age do you think a child or young person is old enough
to stand trial?
The
age of criminal responsibility varies from country to country.
This
table shows the age within some Caribbean countries.
| Country
|
Age
of criminal responsibility |
| Barbados |
7 |
| Belize |
7 |
| Cuba |
16 |
| Grenada |
7 |
| Netherland
Antilles |
12 |
| St.
Kitts and Nevis |
8
|
| St.
Vincent and the Grenadines |
8 |
| Suriname |
10 |
| Trinidad
and Tobago |
7 |
| UK
Overseas Territories |
10
|
RESPONSBILITY
CHECKLIST
BE R ESPONSIBLE
Most
people think of a grownup as someone who takes responsibility
for his/her own life. And being responsible shows your parents
that you are growing up and can handle more freedom. Here
are six ways to be a responsible person:
-
Take care of your own affairs.
-
Follow through on commitments.
-
Answer for your own actions.
-
Be trustworthy.
-
Don't procrastinate.
-
Always use your head.
CHOOSE TO DO THE R IGHT THING
Some decisions are easy to make, others are more complicated.
When it's a choice between right and wrong, you don't need
to weigh the pros and cons. Choosing to do the right thing
is an act of self-respect and responsible decision making.
Here are some guidelines for deciding what's right:
- What
do my heart and conscience tell me?
-
Could it hurt anyone - including me?
-
Is it fair?
-
How would I feel if somebody did it to me?
-
How will I feel about myself later if I do it?
-
What would adults I respect say about it?
R ESPECT YOURSELF
Respecting ourselves helps us make good choices. And making
good choices lifts our self-respect. Good self respect helps
every aspect of our personal and social lives, and makes
it a lot easier to get through the tough times. Here are
some things that are almost guaranteed to make you respect
yourself.
- Take
responsibility for yourself.
-
Always do what you believe is right.
-
Be true to yourself and your highest values.
-
Respect others and treat them right.
-
Set goals and work to achieve them.
-
Say "no" to negative pressures.
-
Don't let others make your choices for you.
ARE YOU A GOOD CITIZEN? (Take
this self-evaluation and find out.)
True
|
False
|
|
I
do my part for the common good.
|
I
participate in community service.
|
I
help take care of the environment .
|
I
obey the law.
|
I
help make our democracy work by voicing my opinions,
voting, and participating in the decision making
process.
|
| I
think I am/am not a good citizen because: ______________________
|
Remember,
citizenship is social responsibility in action!
TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE
Being
responsible doesn't have to be boring - it just means that
you have more control over your life, and you can determine
your own attitude, goals and limits. If you set a course
and plan to follow it, no one can stop you but you. You're
powerful.
You
become powerful when you take charge and responsibility
for all of your life. That means when you make a mistake,
you don't blame someone else. You learn from making the
mistake. You become wiser, more experienced and more effective
by using the mistake as a lesson. You allow yourself to
have opinions, to have rights and to speak up when necessary.
Each time you take the risk of using your power, you learn
it works and that you CAN make a difference!
Your
power allows you to make your life whatever you want it
to be. Knowing your likes and dislikes, expressing them
if necessary, helps you to have the kind of life you want.
You don't need to wait for someone to offer you what you
want. You are free to ask for it, or simply get it for yourself.
You are in charge of your life and are only limited by the
size of your dream. With the awareness of your power, your
dream can become reality.
Personal
power is tremendously effective if you are willing to use
it. One letter to the proper authority can profoundly affect
social, political and economic institutions. A phone call
can create change. You have the power to correct wrongs.
You have the power to influence the thinking of others,
and to offer solutions to problems.
source: http://www.curriculum.edu.au
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