What do Year 9 students consider when they make choices?

The following was what my students decided would be the steps that they would take when making a moral decision.

The original "Stop Sign Method" included the Bible, Church teaching, Jesus, Reason, Natural Law, an Informed Conscience and so forth, as the steps that a Christian would take in helping them make a correct moral decision.

I asked each group to come up with 5 steps that the group as a whole decided upon. It is enlightening for students and teachers to discover 'how' students make decisions and what they think about 'how' they make decisions. Do these steps respect the right of ALL in our society or only of some? See below for what the students themselves said.

Following are the steps the different groups created. Do you notice any similarities?

  • PEERS - WHAT WILL THEY THINK?
  • YOURSELF - WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT?
  • PARENTS - WHAT WILL BE THEIR REACTION?
  • WILL - DO YOU WANT TO DO IT?
  • LAW - WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ABOUT IT?
  1. LAW - IS IT ILLEGAL? WILL I BENEFIT FROM IT?
  2. PUNISHMENT - WILL I GET PUNISHED IF I DO IT?
  3. PARENTS - WOULD MY PARENTS MIND
  4. PEERS - WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS THINK ABOUT IT?
  1. HEALTH - WILL IT HARM MY BODY?
  2. RESPECT - DOES IT RESPECT OTHERS?
  3. INSTINCT - WHAT DO I KNOW?
  4. COOL - IS IT COOL? WILL IT HELP MY SOCIAL LIFE?
  5. REASONS - IS THERE A GOOD REASON FOR DOING IT?
  6. FRIENDSHIP - WILL PEOPLE LIKE ME?
  7. CONSCIENCE- WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT IT?
  8. CONSEQUENCES - WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
  1. PEERS - WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK?
  2. CONSEQUENCES - WHAT ARE THE LAWS INVOLVED?
  3. VALUES - WHAT WILL YOU GET OUT OF IT?
  4. REASONS - WHY DO YOU DO THIS?
  1. BENEFITS - HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT ME?
  2. PEERS - WHAT DO MY FRIENDS SAY ABOUT THIS?
  3. LAW - IS THIS LEGAL?
  4. INSTINCTS - WHAT IS YOUR GUT FEELING?
  5. PUNISHMENT - WILL I GET PUNISHED?
  6. PARENTS - WHAT WILL MY PARENTS THINK?
  7. HEALTH - WILL IT AFFECT MY HEALTH?
  1. PUNISHMENT - WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?
  2. MONEY - DO WE HAVE ENOUGH?
  3. TRANSPORT - CAN WE GET THERE?
  4. FEELINGS - WHAT DO OUR GUTS TELL US
  1. CONSCIENCE - DO I THINK IT IS RIGHT?
  2. PUNISHMENT - WILL I GET INTO TROUBLE?
  3. FAMILY - WILL IT AFFECT MY FAMILY? HOW? OUR TRUST?
  4. MONEY/COST - DO I HAVE MONEY TO SUPPORT IT?
  5. FRIENDS - WILL THEY STAY WITH ME?

 

REASONS GIVEN IN RESPONSE TO QUESTION:

Which of the methods respects the rights of ALL and protects ALL in society?

" Mine is for teenagers and what the main part of society and the law support. The other one is for the Church and what old society wanted in olden times"

  • " The one we received is more respective of everyone as it is designed for everyone. The one we designed is designed just for teenagers and what they would think of. Our stop sign method does not respect the rights of the whole community…… If everyone followed the given stop sign method it would protect everyone and their rights in the community. I think everyone needs their own method, but if not, overall, the religion based designed one is more protective of the communities rights of everyone."
    •

    "The real stop sign method is more respectful of the rights of all because it is more Christian than our one."

  • " I think the Stop sign method most respects the rights of all and protects all in the community. The method is more fair and the questions make you think about your decision and what the right and wrong decision is. In your own mind the questions make you understand what you should do and why you should do it. The Stop sign method does respect the rights of all because it does what is right and it also protects all in our community because of the same reason."
    •

    " Our stop sign method is based on a different age group of people than the original Stop Sign method. So the original Stop Sign Method probably respects the majority of people because it is aimed at the whole community, not just at a certain age of people"

  • " The Stop Sign Method and our method have very different steps but I think overall our own method respects the rights and protects all people in our community." ( Law, Consequences, Peers, Values, reason)
    •

    "Our stop sign method is based on teenagers and up. The other Stop Sign Method is based on Religion and mainly what the Church thinks and what your instinct feels about the issues. They're both really based on decision making and you do what you feel is the right thing to do. Our method is really teaching you how to think or what's right and wrong and if you feel free within yourself"

  • " I think our stop sign method is better because it is not stereotyped and it's more to what I myself think about it. Also the other method is also very much based on the Catholic Church and not everyone agrees with the Church. One is more for teenagers who aren't necessarily Christian and the other is more for older people who are more likely to be Christian. The original one is basically from someone else's point of view so it would be much clearer and more understandable to have our own."
    •

    " I think the Stop Sign Method would be best for today's society because of the consequences and all the stuff and non-harm involved with the difference between our stop sign method and the original one."

  • " I think the method we made up was the best one because it came from people our age that know what it is like to be a teenager in the 90's. Our method seemed better because it covered most of the issues that appear through teenagers' lives. The other stop sign method was effective too because it gave the questions to a wider group of people. I mean it focused more on people ranging from children to elderly people; that is something everyone has to face."
    •

    " The original Stop Sign Method respects the rights of ALL and protects ALL. My stop sign method worries more about my self than others. The first steps of the original and mine are respectively, " Does this action serve others? Is it loving?" and " How does this benefit me?" As you can see, the first asks how it helps others. This shows that you worry about others as well as yourself. My method only worries about myself."

    " I think our method is better because the youth usually think about these things more than Church and stuff like that. People these days think more of acceptance rather than divine law. Most people would probably not even know what that means. People also don't know what the Church teaches. Considering whether something is respectful is easier to understand than "Is the action human?"

  • "I think the original method respects the rights of all. There are many models we may follow including Jesus and The Holy Spirit."
    •

    " The original Stop Sign Method isn't as modern as the new stop sign method. Not everyone is Catholic which makes it a bit hard to use the original but everyone can use the new one. Not everyone is in touch with their conscience. Conscience isn't needed for the new one. A shorter method would be easier and less time consuming. Many people have grown away from God and tend not to think about him anymore. It depends on the person."

  • " My stop sign method is the best because it is made by society not some overpowering idiot. Society should make up the rules because we have to abide by them and people don't like it when they don't want to do it. Society should run the law because we are the law. Even though the original stop sign method is good, it is very hard to follow because; not everyone is Catholic, not everyone knows the Catechism off by heart or carries it around with them, not everyone is in touch with their conscience, their 'guts' may tell them to propose the act, and the natural law may say it is okay."

    • " I reckon mine is better because people don't usually stop and think about Jesus and the Church. They usually just do it. …… People have run away from God because they think they are free but get in trouble when they do something wrong because we aren't really free."

    I then posed the following questions to my students!

    1. Which of the above don't actually answer the question but demonstrate an emotional reaction to the question?
    2. Read the parts in italics. Is what is being said true?
    3. What are the rights that we all share as human beings?
    4. What should be the true role of society?