Focusing on the Value of Responsibility - Living Values Activities for Children and Young Adults

LVEP is a comprehensive values education programme. This innovative global character education programme offers teachers and facilitators a variety of experiential values activities and practical methodologies to enable children and young adults to explore and develop 12 key universal values: Cooperation, Freedom, Happiness, Honesty, Cooperation, Love, Peace, Respect, Responsibility, Simplicity, Tolerance, and Unity. LVEP also has special materials for use with parents and caregivers, children affected by war, street children and children affected by earthquakes.

LVEP's Living Values Activities series of books is published by Health Communications, Inc. In each newsletter we bring into focus one of the values explored by LVEP, excerpting from this award winning series selected ideas and activities on each value. In the last edition the focus was on happiness; this edition focuses on responsibility.

What strengths within me allow me to be responsible? Responsibility is a unique value which brings contentment to the self and benefit to others. A truly responsible person is a creator of positive change. Explore the Reflection Points on Responsibility below in the light of your own experiences.

Reflection Points from Living Values Activities for Young Adults, Responsibility Unit.

Responsibility is doing your share.
Responsibility is accepting what is required and carrying out the task to the best of your ability.
If we want peace, we have the responsibility to be peaceful.
If we want a clean world, we have the responsibility to care for nature.
When one is responsible, there is the contentment of having made a contribution.
As a responsible person, I have something worthwhile to offer ? and so do others.
A responsible person knows how to be fair, seeing that each gets a share.
With rights there are responsibilities.
Responsibility is not only something that obliges us, but is also something that allows us to achieve what we wish.
Each person can perceive her or his own world and look for the balance of rights and responsibilities.
Global responsibility requires respect for all human beings.
Responsibility is using our resources to generate positive change.

You can read an excerpt on responsibility from Living Values: A Guidebook to stimulate thought; please click as indicated below for activities on Cooperation for Parents, Children and Young Adults. Young adults may wish to explore a few of the ideas with family or friends while parents may wish to take up some of the activities with their children. And do let us know how you get on or if you've got other experiences or activities you'd like to share!

"As members of the United Nations, we also bear a responsibility towards each other. Finally, we share together a responsibility to the world community for seeing to it that the principles of the Charter and of the international law and procedure which we have slowly but surely been building, are interpreted with judgment as well as with vision, and with moderation as well as with justice.'"

Mr. Lester B. Pearson, President of the seventh session of the UN General Assembly,
October, 1952