Thoughts to ponder

Something happened today and it got me thinking.... when you are confronted about making a mistake do you admit you are wrong, take the blame, apologize? Or do you deflect the blame onto someone else, thereby avoiding responsibility altogether?

I work in a middle school and everyday there are kids that don't take responsibility for their actions (or lack of action, ie: homework not done).They have a million excuses, and these excuses usually point the finger at some other party, thereby absolving themselves of any part in the wrong-doing.  It makes me crazy when this happens and I wonder how I can instill a sense of responsibility in them.

I try to be a good role model, and readily admit if I made a mistake, and always apologize to the kid involved. I hope that by seeing me take responsibility it might spark something inside of them.

BUT, today, I encountered an adult that did that same darned thing......HOW can I hope to change the way the kids behave when there are so many adults out there that don't take responsibility for their own mistakes/actions and blame their parents, the boss, their neighbor, the "government", etc, etc?

Some synonyms listed in the dictionary for "responsible" include:trustworthy, mature, able, adult, capable, competent, conscientious, dependable, dutiful, efficient, faithful, levelheaded, loyal, qualified, rational, reliable, sensible, stable, steadfast, trusty, etc.

These are all qualities that I would love to see in the children that I work with, and I imagine that parents would want to see these qualities in their children. Unfortunately, in order to teach responsibility a person must also be responsible themselves.... Kind of a paradox in these times, don't you think?


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