FULFILLING OBLIGATIONS
“Success isn’t something you
chase. It’s something
you have to
put forth the effort for constantly.
Then maybe it’ll
come when you least expect it.
Most people
don’t understand that.”
- Michael Jordan -
Contents
VOCABULARY
OVERVIEW
HOME
OBLIGATIONS
SCHOOL
OBLIGATIONS
COMMUNITY
OBLIGATIONS
SELF
OBLIGATIONS
QUIZ
VOCABULARY
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OVERVIEW
An obligation
is something that a person is bound to do or not do as a result of an
agreement or responsibility. Each of us
have obligations to fulfill throughout our lifetime: obligations to our families, our friends, our school, our
employer, our community, our nation, and most of all, ourselves. Sometimes our obligations seem to
conflict. Each of us must judge which
ones are important, and which ones stand the test of “high quality
values.” These are the ones in which we
should make great efforts to fulfill.
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HOME OBLIGATIONS
Home obligations will vary considerably
from one family to another. Listed
below are some common obligations that each of us has in our home:
Respect, honor, and obey your parents. Your parents love you and want the best for
you. Their authority
must be respected.
Help out with the household chores. Your parents will let you know what their expectations are. You should do your part without complaining or having to be
constantly reminded.
Be sure to give your brothers and sisters the respect they
deserve. Hurtful comments or bullying
tactics should be avoided.
Keep your parents informed of your whereabouts; return from
friends’ houses at agreed upon times.
Give your school homework a higher priority over
entertainment.
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SCHOOL OBLIGATIONS
The purpose of coming to school
is to “learn.” Learning
is defined as: “To gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery through experience
or study.” Keep in mind that learning
is a life-long activity, and happens in and out of school. However, schools do provide a focused and
structured approach to learning.
What are the benefits of being
a good learner?
better grades
more knowledge
feel good about yourself
earn greater respect from others
better job opportunities
better chance to advance
What are the consequences for not
learning?
poor grades
less knowledge
restrictions at home and school
fewer opportunities to play sports and participate in other
activities
feel poorly about yourself
disappoint those who care about you
poor job opportunities, or low paying jobs, poor advancement
“…the happiest people live to learn. They live for the delightful astonishments
that never stop coming to those who never stop learning.” -
George F. Will -
Myths & Facts about
Learning
Myth: If I am exposed to information, I will learn.
Fact: Learning is the result of
listening or reading, thinking, and doing. If you do these things, you will be a
successful learner. However, remember
that true learning will not take place unless you make a personal effort to
make it happen. Being exposed to
information is not enough.
Myth: If I have a good teacher, I will be a successful learner.
Fact: Not necessarily! Good
teachers are important, but they cannot “listen or read, think, and
do” for you. Your success in learning depends much more on your efforts
than the quality of your teacher, even if he/she is an outstanding
teacher. Be responsible for
yourself, and then good teachers can guide you to success.
Myth: It is the teacher’s job to
control the class and to make students behave.
I have no responsibility for student behavior
Fact: Yes, the teacher has ultimate responsibility to control the
class. However, you are responsible
for your own behavior. It is your
responsibility to make sure that your behavior does not disrupt learning
activities, and does not encourage or contribute to poor behavior by others
that interferes with learning.
The key to becoming a good
learner is to make a good effort.
Remember. You have 100%
control. Desired learning will not
happen unless you make it happen.
No one else can make it happen for you!
This means that you must take responsibility for your own learning. You do this through personal effort.
Three Basic Elements of
Learning
Successful learning has three
basic ingredients: listening or reading,
thinking, and doing.
Listening or reading. For our purposes, the definition of listening
is much more than hearing. To “listen”
is to pay attention while attempting to understand the meaning of what is being
said or discussed. Reading is only
successful when there is an attempt to comprehend. Repeatedly ask yourself, what does it mean? Reading words without making the effort to
understand is a waste of time.
Thinking. Visualize, imagine, anticipate, reason,
reflect, weigh ideas, compare and contrast, draw conclusions, etc. These are tasks that students must do for
themselves in order to be successful learners. Don’t let the teacher or some other student do the thinking for
you. If they do your thinking, they
will be the ones learning, not you.
That’s fine for them, but not for you. You must process information with
your own mind. Don’t take the easy way
out, make the effort and learn!
Doing. Doing means that students must
actively participate in a variety of educational activities designed to
encourage creativity, reinforce concepts, allow experimentation, and challenge
listening and thinking skills.
Teachers, parents, other people,
books, etc., are great resources. They
can assist you in many ways by providing access to information, giving
directions and advice, and evaluating your progress. However, what they cannot do is make the effort for
you. This is the most important
factor in becoming an effective learner.
Develop a plan of action:
WORK
WITH, NOT AGAINST, YOUR TEACHERS. Be
aware that your teachers are there to help you; let them do their job. The learning environment will be better,
and you, as well as other students, will benefit.
1.
Be
prepared. Find out what teachers expect of you. Bring appropriate materials to class (i.e.,
pen/pencil, book, notebook, etc.).
2.
Actively
participate in classroom activities. You learn by
thinking, participating, and staying on task. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked with nonproductive and
destructive activities (i.e., poor behavior of others or yourself). Remember that poor behavior by you also
interferes with the learning of other students.
3.
Be
responsible for completing and turning in all required assignments.
Excuses such as “I didn’t understand how to do it” or “I didn’t have
time” are unacceptable! It is your
responsibility to “find the time” and you can always “do your best,” even if
you are not sure if the work is correct.
It is okay to make mistakes. We
learn from our mistakes. The important
thing is to always try to improve. Ask
for help if you don’t know how to manage your time.
4.
Have
good attendance and be prompt. Good attendance is
extremely important to be a successful learner. Students should avoid being absent, except for acceptable reasons
such as illness or a death in the family.
Missing school without good cause is called “truancy.” Truancy is against the law.
“Responsibility finds a way while
irresponsibility finds excuses.”
- Gene Bedley -
Why is homework
important? Teachers assign homework
for a variety of reasons.
You have the opportunity to work independently, an important
skill to develop. Working independently
encourages self-discipline and responsibility.
Provides an opportunity to review and practice what you have
learned in the classroom.
Encourages the use of resources such as libraries and
reference materials, which help you to learn by yourself and to think for
yourself.
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COMMUNITY OBLIGATIONS
Each of us is obligated to
respect and obey the law. This includes
showing respect to those who enforce the law.
Without the rule of law, and people such as police men and women, there
would be chaos in our lives and all of us would live in constant fear and
danger.
There are many ways to help our
community to be a better place. How can
you help?
First: Be sure that you are not part of the problem. Use self-discipline to be sure that
you do not damage property, threaten the safety of others, or throw unsightly
trash.
Second: Volunteer your time to
community projects in an attempt to improve your community.
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SELF OBLIGATIONS
Take care of yourself. You are a very important person. Do what you can to make sure that you
develop and maintain a healthy body and a healthy mind.
Healthy body: People cannot totally control the spread
of some diseases, but reasonable precautions are possible. Disease control is beyond the scope of this
web site, but you can learn more about this in your science or health classes.
People do not always take
reasonable steps when they are ill. For
your own protection, and for the protection of others, you need to take reasonable
care and seek help when needed.
Do not abuse your body! Avoid harmful drugs, tobacco, and alcohol
that will harm your body and your mind.
Drugs or alcohol can damage you in many ways:
Drugs or alcohol can harm you in many ways:
Damages your brain, interferes with your thinking ability.
Distorts your senses (i.e., eyes, hearing, feeling, taste,
and your ability to control your actions.)
Give false feelings of high performance, when actually
performance is very poor.
Causes people to steal or use violence in order to support a
drug or alcohol addiction.
Laws require local communities to
provide alcohol and drug-free schools to students. Your school district is trying to enforce
these important laws. By using self-discipline
you can be sure that you do your part.
First, control yourself.
Second, if any of your friends are involved with drugs or alcohol,
encourage them to seek help.
There is an old saying:
“Drugs: You Use - You
Lose!”
QUESTION: What do you lose?
ANSWER: Your judgment,
your health, your opportunities,
and just maybe, your life. In
addition, your family suffers,
your friends suffer, and your community suffers.
Shown
below is an anonymous letter from a mother in distress. It was printed on July 23, 1997, in the
Imperial Valley Press. It is one
example of the great suffering caused by drugs.
Could
you help me warn kids not to use drugs?
I am 32 years old and have been using drugs for 17 years. No matter how hard I try I can’t stop.
People
say, “Just quit.” Quitting is the easy
part. I have quit many times. Staying off is the hard time.
I
have lost my family. They try to act
like I don’t exist, but I do exist. I
would like to talk to my mother but she won’t talk to me. I lost custody of my son. I miss my son.
I
hope my mother doesn’t give up on me. I
have been sober for three months. I
hope this time I make it.
I
wish I had a car. I want to go back to
school so I can get a real job. I need
to save money. I need my son to stay
with me.
I
broke so many promises to my son. When
I make promises, I mean them. I hate
using drugs so much. It’s so evil!
Healthy mind: A healthy
mind comes from self-respect.
Self-respect comes from having pride in your personal values and your
accomplishments.
If you commit yourself to becoming a person with high quality values
and have the determination and courage to live by those values, you will have
self-respect and a healthy mind.
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QUIZ
Directions:
Complete the following exercises. They
are not tests, but should be used as a learning tool to help you learn. You should think through a concept and
complete the exercise. Then you can
immediately find out if you have learned correctly by reviewing the answers at
the end of the exercise.
- Match the following:
|
_____
on-task
|
|
a. The right to be obeyed.
|
|
_____
obligation
|
|
b. Harasses others.
|
|
_____
learning
|
|
c. Logical outcomes of an action.
|
|
_____expectations
|
|
d.
Accomplishments which can be expected.
|
|
_____consequences
|
|
e. Acquiring knowledge.
|
|
_____
bully
|
|
f. A responsibility to complete a task.
|
|
_____
authority
|
|
g. To remain attentive to the
task you have been assigned.
|
- There are many types of obligations. Some are important, others
are not. How do we decide which
ones are important?
- List three home obligations:
a)
b)
c)
- List three benefits of learning and three
consequences of not learning:
Benefits Consequences
a) a)
b) b)
c) c)
- The four steps in developing a plan of action
for effective learning are:
a)
b)
c)
d)
- Each person has an obligation to take care of himself
or herself.
To
do this we must develop and maintain a __________________
and
a ___________________________.
Answers:
1. g, f, e, d, c, b, a 2.
Those that meet the test of high quality values.
3. a) Respect, honor, and obey your
parents. b) Respect brothers and
sisters. c) Keep parents informed. 4.
Benefits (any three): better grades, more knowledge, feel good about
yourself, more respect from others, better job opportunities, better chance to
advance. Consequences (any three):
restrictions, fewer opportunities, feel poorly about yourself, disappoint
others, poor job opportunities. 5. a) be prepared, b) actively participate, c)
be responsible, d) have good attendance.
6. healthy body, healthy mind
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Authority
The right to be
obeyed. Someone whose knowledge and
opinions
command respect,
such as a parent or teacher.
Synonyms:
leadership, in charge
Consequences
A logical result
of an action. The student got
“grounded” because
he did not do
his homework.
Synonyms:
outcome, result
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Effort
The use of
physical or mental energy to achieve a desired outcome.
Synonyms:
try, endeavor
Expectations
Accomplishments
which can be expected. A father has
high
expectations
that his son will graduate from high school.
Synonyms:
prospects, outlook
Antonym:
disappointments
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Learning
The acquiring of
knowledge or skill.
Synonyms:
comprehend, master
Antonym:
ignorance
Listening
To hear while
attempting to understand. To pay
attention.
Synonyms:
be attentive, heed
Antonyms:
disregard, ignore
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Obligation
Something which
a person is bound to do or not do as a
result of an
agreement or responsibility.
Synonyms:
duty, commitment
On-task
To concentrate
on the task at hand. Not to be distracted.
Synonym:
concentration
Antonym:
distraction
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Success
The achievement
of something desired, planned, or attempted.
Synonyms:
accomplish, attain
Antonyms:
failure, defeat
Thinking
Visualize, imagine, anticipate,
reason, reflect, weigh ideas, compare
and contrast, draw conclusions,
etc.
Synonyms: conceive, deliberate
A Responsible Person
A person with
high integrity who can be trusted to be respectful of
the rights and
needs of others, and who fulfills personal obligations.
A responsible
person is a problem solver, makes choices based
on “right and
wrong,” and avoids making excuses for failures; instead
accepts
consequences of choices.
Synonyms:
conscientious, creditable
Antonym:
unreliable
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