The Junction

29 April 2022

A Note From Mr Green

Responsibility

We use, see and hear this word often. Indeed, at various times over the course of a school year, I will find myself explaining this term to students from different year groups. However, I feel that because it is used so often, we sometimes lose focus on what it really means. It takes on a different meaning to different people in different contexts, but to me, it simply means to accept that I, alone, am accountable for my life. Being responsible, therefore, comes with the realisation that we are where we are, and what we are, because of our own conduct, behaviours and choices. If we were to look more closely at the word responsibility - ‘response - ability’ - we can see that it is simply the ability to choose one's response.

It's an important word. Crucially it's an important characteristic. Once we accept responsibility we realise that no one else can live our lives. Accepting this leads to a much more proactive outlook on life, more proactive values, where we actively seek and go after the things that we want to do and accomplish in life. At school, as educators, we commit ourselves fully to supporting our students to achieve their goals, but responsibility is achieved when the student realises that it is ultimately up to them to achieve these goals.

Responsible people tend to be highly proactive people. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behaviour. Their behaviour is a product of their own conscious choice, based on core values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feelings.

All successful people look upon themselves as the cause of what happens in their life. They understand that they are in control, and where they are today is a direct reflection of their actions in the past. We feel good about ourselves to the degree to which we feel in complete control of our lives. When we blame other people or things for the way our life is, we lose that control, and with that, a loss comes a feeling of helplessness and negativity. There will always be external factors that we cannot control, which can sometimes have a huge impact on our lives, but it is how we respond to these difficulties that is important. Our "response" becomes a measure of how "response able" we can be.

So, as we think about the meaning of the word responsibility, we should take a moment to think about what it means to us personally. Whether it's about making sure you spend an extra twenty minutes on the piece of homework due in next week, whether you need to make amends for a wrong you inflicted on a friend, or whether you stick to that revision programme you have created to ensure success in forthcoming examinations, you would do well to remember that where you are today is a result of your actions in the past. Therefore, your future will be a result of what you do today. When we start accepting full responsibility for our life today, we can create the future we want for tomorrow.

Wishing you and your families Eid Mubarak.

Student Well-being Summit

On Wednesday 27 April 2022, five of our Year 12 student leaders attended the first-ever Student Well-being Summit at Safa Community School. The students worked collaboratively with other students from across Dubai schools to analyse data from the Dubai Schools Well-being Census and develop initiatives to improve well-being in their schools.

The projects created included resilience training, student-led podcasts to develop a sense of belonging, and transition/taster events to prepare students for each stage in their schooling.

Dillen, Pippa, Molly, Malik and Leen were excellent role models. The students' voice is powerful at JAS so we hope to see some of these initiatives come to life in the future.

Online Safety

Helpful Hints