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
“ Responsibility finds a way. Irresponsibility makes excuses.”
Gene Bedley- National Educator of the Year
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY &
ACCOUNTABILITY
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 fulfill my moral obligations.


I am reliable and dependable.
I am accountable for my actions; I don't make excuses or blame
others.
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 www.GoodCharacter.com.
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 fulfill my moral obligations.


I am reliable and dependable.
I am accountable for my actions; I don't make excuses or blame
others.
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 www.GoodCharacter.com.
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 <www.goodcharacter.com>
and click on "Opportunities for Action." There they will find
opportunities to become involved in activities and issues relating to
personal and social responsibility.
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. E-mail 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 www.GoodCharacter.com.
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 make the choice
to be happy or sad,
to have a good day
or have one that is bad.
I choose if my room
will be messy or clean,
I make the choice
to be kind or mean.
So now I will choose
what is best for me.
I am responsible
I hold the key!
It is up to me
just how much I will learn,
the grades that I get
will be grades that I earn.
•
•
•
•
“ Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goals: my strength lies
solely in my tenacity.”
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
WORK ETHIC & HOW IT ALL
RELATES
“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
http://workethic.coe.uga.edu/cgi-bin/new_owei/owei.pl
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 1 - 3 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)