Are You Accountable? A Third Grade Lesson.

My 3rd grade daughter came home the other day bothered by the fact that she missed a portion of her recess because she had not completed her homework and had to first finish it before being permitted free time to play outside with her classmates. She had failed to alphabetize all of her spelling words, she had only put the first ten in ABC order. I think she was looking for sympathy from me but she didn't get any. I asked her several questions. Below are the questions and her answers.

Q:Why did you only do ten words?
A: Because I thought we only had to do that many.

Q: Why did you think that?
A: I am not sure. That's what I wrote down.

Q: So you misunderstood the assignment?
A: Yes.

Q: Well, what did you learn from that?
A: That I don't like missing recess.

I laughed at that last answer and stopped asking questions. I told her that she needed to be sure that she understood what her homework was and that she wrote it in her assignment book completely so as to avoid confusion/misunderstanding. She told me that she didn't do it on purpose which I said I understood but that it is her responsibility to make sure she knows what her homework is and if she is unsure to ask her teacher for clarification. I then went on to explain what it meant to be responsible and accountable. I had a great opportunity to use a simple example that she had experienced. She faltered in being accountable and there was a consequence that she didn't like. It was not a particularly painful experience for her, thankfully, but enough of a negative that hopefully she learned from it. I am certain she will be more diligent about understanding her assignments but I am hopeful the lesson she learned will help her be more responsible in other things too. Remembering to put her shoes in the closet would be a good place to start! I think the shoes of both of my children are going to start disappearing when they aren't put in the closet. Perhaps when they have no footwear to put on they will get it!

This little experience of my young daughter is a great lesson for us all - not just 3rd graders. It very simply illustrates a drawback of not being accountable. It's a rather inconsequential experience but it is not difficult to extrapolate out and see that the bigger the falter the bigger the consequence. I see, for example, people text-messaging while driving! "Holy cow" I say when I see this and try to get away from these drivers asap. These texting drivers are a menace on the roads. They are not being personally accountable - they are putting their well-being and that of others at risk doing this. Worst case scenario they cause an accident that takes a life. That's a serious consequence! I know that's a big jump from missing recess but the point I'm trying to make is that we need to be accountable in everything that we do because when we aren't there are consequences - sometimes minor, sometimes not even noticeable but sometimes they can be significant, even tragic.

If I think about the choices I make every day I try to think about what the consequences are or if there are any associated with them. If there are I consider whether that makes a difference. Clearly if the consequence is positive there isn't much to consider but if there are potentially negative consequences then it gives me pause. I may have to and often do reconsider my choices.

So, are you accountable in your everyday life? Do you recognize the potential consequences of the choices that you make? What difference would it make if accountability was a standard in your life?