How schools can help children build responsibility habits

We constantly hear complaints about children neglecting their duties. Lights and fans are left on, clothes lie strewn on couches, the floor is littered with empty snack packets, and mugs and glasses are dumped anywhere but in the sink. Just when it is time to leave for school, stationery inexplicably goes missing. Despite repeated parental admonitions, youngsters display a lamentable lack of responsibility. 

Teachers can do their bit to redress this sorry situation. If they make it clear that on no account can pens and pencils be shared, and that one cannot peer into a neighbour’s book, children are likely to pack their bags carefully.

Since items can get lost at school, students must ensure their belongings are secure before they leave for the day. They must be made to understand that items used at school are valuable, not merely because of their cost; a textbook with notes jotted in the margins could be irreplaceable. When students come across something that has been mislaid, they should not purloin it but should hand it in to the school office.

While what is required of children at school may differ from the household tasks they are expected to perform, educational institutions can still serve as a training ground for moulding boys and girls into responsible individuals. Even if there are people to sweep and swab the school premises, students should be encouraged to make life easier for the cleaning crew by keeping their classrooms tidy. It may be fun to fashion rockets out of chocolate wrappers and aim them at waste-paper bins, but if those missiles miss their mark, they cannot be left outside like stranded spacecraft. If neatness is inculcated in children at school, they may keep their homes free of clutter.

Children with younger siblings may be more responsible in this regard than single children, since they may have to clean up after them. Still, even those conscientious siblings can do with guidance at school. If they are occasionally asked to monitor their juniors, they will find it easier to keep an eye on the people they care for at home. 

Parents, reasonably enough, expect older children to help their younger siblings with their homework. The operative word is ‘help’. A senior student should be ready to clarify doubts and simplify concepts, but he/she must refrain from doing entire assignments on another’s behalf. Teachers must explain that getting somebody else to do one’s homework is no less reprehensible than copying during a test. Students should be told that such shortcuts are counterproductive. As Carla Delos states in her book, ‘Responsibility Rocks’, “Cheating means you will not feel the thrill of being able to achieve something all by yourself.” 

The author points out that rules and responsibility go together. According to her, responsible children will follow the rules laid down for them. Actually, the reverse is also true. If rules are firmly in place, students will have no choice but to follow them, and consequently, develop a sense of duty and discipline. They may be rule-resistant at first, but slowly cease to be selfish, as they realise that regulations are meant for the greater good. 

A golden rule is to remain silent during lessons. Quite apart from the fact that it is profitable for the teacher, who can progress uninterrupted, it benefits students who have to concentrate harder than others. Most importantly, children need to learn to listen. This will enable them to absorb advice and heed instructions, which will stand them in good stead at home. 

At school orientation programmes, parents are constantly urged to cooperate with the teachers to enhance their children’s academic progress. Teachers can return the favour by charting for those children, a roadmap to responsibility. 

(The author is an educator)