What is Responsibility?

• Taking care of yourself and others
• Carrying out a duty or task carefully and thoroughly
• Being accountable for your own behaviour
• Demonstrating self-discipline and a strong work ethic
• Accepting personal accountability
• Acting without continual guidance
• Demonstrating commitment, pride, and a positive attitude in completing tasks
• Contributing to the class, school, and community
• Doing things to build a better world
• Keeping promises
• Doing what you say you will do, even when it is difficult
• Accepting the consequences of your own actions

Having responsibilities gives us a sense of purpose and makes us feel like we belong. As we fulfill our responsibilities, our self-esteem improves because we feel as though we have accomplished a task and gained new skills. Also, we build trust with those around us because our behaviour demonstrates that we will complete a task when we say we will. Others know that we will do what we commit to with excellence.

What might responsibility look like/sound like?

• Completing homework, assignments, and other tasks on time and to the best of your ability
• Cleaning up after yourself and throwing waste into the appropriate garbage, recycling bin, or compost
• Being an active member of a group by contributing to the final project or assignment, and not letting one person do all of the work
• Asking for help when needed, or asking for the instructions to be repeated if clarification is needed
• Being organized by using a planner or agenda to keep track of due dates and deadlines
• Not leaving everything until the last minute
• Working around obstacles that prevent you from reaching a goal
• Taking responsibility for your own actions and not blaming others
• Contributing to making the world a more peaceful, safe, and caring place

Quotations

"Do good and care not to whom." (Italian Proverb)

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single minute before starting to improve the world." (Anne Frank)

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." (Gandhi)

"In the long run, we shape our lives. and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility." (Helen Keller)

"Provision for others is the fundamental responsibility of human life." (Woodrow Wilson)