February Virtue: Citizenship

During the month of February, we focused on the virtue of Citizenship. This topic expanded on many of the virtues we had already be learning such as respect, responsibility, and stewardship. I thought the red, white, and blue star theme would be perfect for the bulletin board.

The board includes several ways to show citizenship:

• Do your share to make your school, your community, and the world a better place.
• Take responsibility for what goes on around you.
• Be a good neighbor.
• Follow the rules of your family, your school, and your community.
• Treat people with respect and dignity.
• Participate in community service.
• Help take care of the environment.
  

In my middle school guidance lessons, we discussed the ideas of freedoms and responsibilities. The students were asked to list all of the different freedoms they were gaining now that they were older (cell phones, stay home alone, go out with friends, stay up later, etc). We then discussed how these new freedoms also came with new responsibilities (stay on top of texting and phone calls, be safe and responsible at home alone, get enough sleep, etc). We also talked about the future freedoms they would be gaining (driver's license, voting, buying cigarettes and alcohol) and what responsibilities would accompany those freedoms. The students were able to use real-life situations and this helped them to better understand the concept.