Responsible Decision-Making

Students understand that their competence and character will be judged in terms of the choices they make and they demonstrate the ability to employ critical and creative thinking skills to solve problems and make rational, ethical, and effective decisions that produce the best possible result.

Key Beliefs:

• Thinking logically will create the best path out of stressful situations.
• My decisions should be based on reliable facts and solid information.
• I can make the best decisions if I consider all the options carefully and thoughtfully.
• Learning how to make a variety of choices will enhance the outcomes of my actions.

Activities:

• Find examples in literature or current events to demonstrate the benefits of calm decision-making.
• Use the newspaper or Internet news stories to write your own moral dilemmas.
• Use case studies in media and literature to illustrate how our choices impact others.

Quotations:

Quotations are great writing and discussion prompts.

• “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious than to be able to decide.” – Napoleon Bonapart
• “When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.” – William James
• “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” – Roy Disney
• “Choices are the hinges of destiny.” – Attributed to both Edwin Markham and Pythagoras
• “Some persons are very decisive when it comes to avoiding decisions.” – Brendan Francis
• “When one bases his life on principle, 99 percent of his decisions are already made.” – Unknown
• “Life is the sum of all your choices.” – Albert Camus
• “Indecision becomes a decision with time.” – Unknown
• “The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” – Flora Whittemore

Helpful Information

 Making Good Choices

• Students need to demonstrate the ability to make effective decisions that efficiently use the least amount of time and resources to accomplish the desired result without causing unintended and undesirable consequences. There are key concepts and definitive truths related to choices:
  • Every person affected by a decision is a stakeholder because he/she has a ‘stake’ in that decision and a moral claim on the decision–maker to make the decision wisely and ethically.
  • Students have the power to choose what they say, do, and think. As a result, all of their words, actions, and attitudes reflect their choices.
  • Even when students don’t like the alternatives, they still have a choice.
  • Choosing not to choose is a choice. If one chooses not to act, this is still a choice.
  • Although students don’t always have the power to do what they want to do, they always have the power to do what they can.
  • Students need to accept that they are morally responsible for the consequences of their choices – even those made subconsciously.
  • Good choices lead to personal success and greater happiness. Bad choices lead to rocky student opportunities, poor career experiences, and unhappy lives.

Videos:

• Truck Stop – “With so much riding on the choice at hand, the spirit of a boy, or the wisdom of a man.” https://www.passiton.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/87-truck-stop
• Locker – “Locker” models a positive example of reaching out to someone else in need by a conscious choice of an athlete. It also positions the athlete in the spot as part of the solution – not part of the problem. https://www.passiton.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/72-locker
• Umpire – Because every choice that you made is born somewhere in between who you are today and who you’d like to be. And no matter that decision, there will be one more coming through – the easy way out or the right thing to do. https://www.passiton.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/89-umpire

Educational Outcomes:

• Rational, Ethical, and Effective Decisions
• Healthy Choices