To analyse a personal responsibility scenario, find the duty, find what pulls against it, and name who depends on the duty being kept. Then choose the value that fits.
This lesson opens personal and family responsibilities.
How do you find the duty?
Underline a promise, a role or a task that someone relies on. Write it in the form “X is expected to …”. Then write what tempts the person away.
| Duty | Temptation | Who relies on the duty |
|---|---|---|
| Wash the dishes tonight | A game starting now | Parents |
| Pick up a cousin at four | A friend’s invitation | The cousin |
Once both columns are filled, the question is clear.
Worked example
Scenario: Rani promised to water her grandmother’s vegetable plots each afternoon during the school holidays. Today her classmates ask her to join a swim at the same time.
Duty: Water the plots. Temptation: The swim. Who relies on it: Her grandmother and the plants.
Answer: “Rani should water the plots first and join the swim afterwards if there is time, because responsibility means keeping a promise even when something more fun appears. Her grandmother depends on her, and unwatered plants may wilt in the afternoon heat. Rani can also message her friends to say she will arrive later.”
The answer offers a solution, not only a refusal, so both the duty and the friendship are respected.
The mistake to avoid
A common slip is writing “Rani should be responsible” and stopping. That names the value but skips the duty, the person affected and the action.
| Part | Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Responsibility | Responsibility as keeping a promise |
| Person affected | (missing) | Grandmother, plants |
| Action | (missing) | Water first, then swim |
Check yourself
Scenario: Hakim agreed to set up chairs for his school’s parents’ meeting on Saturday morning. On Friday night he feels tired and considers asking a friend to do it without telling anyone. Write an answer using the duty, temptation and who relies on it.
Answer
Duty: Set up the chairs. Temptation: Staying in bed. Who relies on it: The teachers and parents who arrive.
Answer: “Hakim should do the task himself or tell the teacher honestly if he cannot come. Responsibility means keeping the commitment he made, and honesty means not secretly passing it on. If nobody sets up, the meeting may start late and the teachers will lose trust in him.”
What to study next
Continue with comparing fair responses to a family dilemma, where two duties compete. The command words that shape your answer are in decoding the command word.
For teacher review of your scenario answers, see online one-to-one Pendidikan Moral tuition.