The ultimate goal of
the steps of responsibility is the development of sense of responsibility
in situations where the milk is spilled and a pupil has already
done something wrong. The fact that the pupil takes all the steps
of responsibility described up until now, (admits to what
he has done, demonstrates that he understands the consequences
of his actions, apologizes, repairs in some way the
damage he has caused and promises not to do the same kind
of things again) does, however, not guarantee that there will be
a strengthening of the pupil's sense of responsibility. The pupil
can, after all, comply only superficially and regard all of it as
simply an inescapable obligation.
One can talk about sense
of responsibility only when the pupil sincerely thinks that he has
done something wrong and means it when he declares that he will
not do anything similar again. But true sense of responsibility
also includes caring for others, willingness to contribute to preventing
also others from doing similar thing.
A sign of true change
in attitude is when the pupil is willing to contribute to the work
that is being done in the school to cut down on the incidence of
similar kinds of wrongdoings. For this reason the pupil should be
offered an opportunity to play some part in this work. This way
his wrongdoing and his his taking responsibility becomes capital
that can be of benefit not only himself but also to other pupils,
and ultimately to the whole the school.
When news of the fact
that the pupil has found a way to contribute to the prevention of
similar acts come to the attention of people, there is a good chance
that the pupil's reputation will become better and people will begin
to trust him again.
Example
A teenage boy had called his teacher "fucking homo." Because
of his verbal abuse a meeting was summoned. Present in this meeting
were the headmaster, the pupil himself, the teacher, and both of
the teenagers parents. When what had happened was discussed, it
became evident to everyone that what the boy was well aware of the
fact that he had done wrong and that he was genuinely sorry for
the frogs that had come out of his mouth. He stated clearly that
if there was any way he could make up for what he had done he would
not hesitate to do it. After a relatively short discussion the headmaster
told the boy: "If you mean what you say, so perhaps you would
want to contribute in some way to the work that is being done in
our school to get rid of the common use of foul language. The boy
said he'd be willing to do "something". A month or so
later he wrote an essay on his English lessons which was related
to the subject. It was a story about a computer that had become
fond of four letter words and the difficulties of reprogramming
the computer into communicating respectfully. The essay was so funny
that it was chosen to be published in the annually published journal
of the school. It provoked many a conversations not only among parents
and teachers but pupils as well.
