Value is the set of feelings, thoughts and beliefs that the majority of the society accepts, adopts and teaches to the next ones, enabling people to take their place in the society. Transferring the values, which we can think of as unwritten rules in order to create the ideal order, to each individual in the most appropriate way, forms the basis of other international developments as well as the healthy and correct functioning of the social order. Only societies that have succeeded in developing positive values in individuals can achieve universality.
The efforts to develop these values, which organize social life and make it possible to live in harmony, appear as values education . Bringing values, which are an internal control mechanism of people’s attitudes and behaviors, to children through education ensures that children are prepared for social life as well as academic development. Values education, which is implemented within the national education system in institutions at the basic education level in our country, facilitates the adoption of values in children by embodying them through various project studies.
Values Education – Responsibility
Responsibility means that a person has to be accountable to himself and others for a job he has undertaken to do. Responsibility comes first among the values that need to be developed in order to ensure social control. The development of a sense of responsibility in people is very important in order to ensure a visible order in the functioning of social life. In societies consisting of responsible individuals, it becomes easier to ensure social order and people to live in peace.
Values Education Responsibility Board
Supporting learning activities with various visuals helps to achieve permanent learning by appealing to more senses. In addition to exhibiting cultural artifacts, the boards in educational institutions appear as valuable teaching materials in terms of celebrating important days and reflecting the messages desired to be given in an accurate and effective way.
Pictorial stories, posters and diagrams about responsibility can be used on school boards in order to effectively learn the awareness of responsibility that is aimed to develop in children in values education. In addition, it is possible to announce and follow-up that responsibilities will be imposed on children at certain intervals, and to carry out award announcements and announcements from these boards. This helps children both gain the habit of following certain publications and become aware of the value of responsibility.
Characteristics of Responsible Persons
- They carry out the duties assigned to them without interruption.
- They know when, where, what to do and what not to do.
- They try to complete their duties as well as on time.
- They take a serious and logical attitude in the face of events.
- Their self-confidence has developed.
- They set a good example for other people.
- They can look at things from different angles.
- They have good morals and virtue.
- They are people who have discipline and principles within themselves and within the society.
- They act mature.
- They are respected, loved and distinguished individuals.
- Empathy is developed.
- They use time correctly and effectively.
- They are reliable and loyal.
- Their self-control impulses are strong, they fulfill their responsibilities without the need for outside intervention.
Responsibility Activities
Taking responsibility is a phenomenon that affects not only a child, but also all individuals with whom he or she interacts with the choices he makes. In this respect, it is a great opportunity that can be given to children to develop a sense of responsibility, to realize themselves when they become adults, and to find a place in society by establishing healthy relationships. Reaching their own potential, gaining the courage to make decisions and take action by considering all the consequences is only possible if children develop the right value of responsibility.
The most effective way to teach a child a sense of responsibility is to be a model for him. Children who observe the behaviors of responsible adults around them achieve this gain more easily through social learning. In addition, it is possible to develop responsibility in children with various tasks and activities and to ensure that this attitude is permanent.
The following examples can be given to activities that will raise a sense of responsibility in children:
- making your bed,
- tidying his room, his toys,
- Helping with household chores such as dusting, vacuuming,
- Helping to set the table, removing the plate after the meal,
- feeding pets,
- looking flower,
- Throwing your dirty laundry into the basket,
- Placing the shopping bags in the refrigerator,
- throwing garbage,
- To wake up by setting an alarm during the school period or when he will reach a place,
- To make preparations for his friends who come to him as guests.
In addition to these methods that can be applied by parents at home, some activities at school, such as the following, can help children develop a sense of responsibility:
- Safeguards: It can be an effective method for the child to gain a sense of duty and responsibility by determining a material (it can be a toy in small groups) and having it in one person every week, showing the necessary sensitivity to protect it, handing it over after a certain period of time.
- Boiled egg: Boiling an egg and bringing it home to school for a week without breaking it, finding various ways to avoid breaking the egg, can help the child develop creative ideas and use problem-solving skills as well as feeling responsible.
- The flower in the classroom: Taking care of a live plant in the classroom is given to one person every week and scoring according to the condition of the leaves of the flower can also be applied as a responsibility activity.
- Library: The loan book system applied in school and classroom libraries is one of the most effective and useful methods to gain responsibility. Regularly buying books from the library and delivering the book registered with their names when the specified time expires will also contribute to their reading habits.
- Scoreboard: The boards and charts, in which the tasks given to the children are marked and scored, can be effective for the achievements to have a tangible return and for permanent learning in the name of these values.
Whatever task is given to children to gain responsibility, the first thing to do is to talk to them about what is expected of them and what this behavior will bring them. Involving the child in the process while deciding on the responsibility assignment to be given to him increases his interest and desire for the activity.
Providing correct feedback for each positive behavior they perform brings about reinforcement of the behavior and its inclusion in the personality as voluntary actions. However, as in every stage of education, it should not be forgotten that positive evaluations and rewards are more effective reinforcements than punishments. When the child has difficulty in fulfilling his responsibilities, it is also important to show him how to do it by guiding instead of taking it away by assuming the job, in order to maintain his confidence and belief in himself.