Responsible Decision Making
Responsible Decision Making as defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as the ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations.
Responsible Decision Making also includes the capacity to consider ethical standards and safety concerns and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.
Responsible Decision-Making skills as defined by CASEL can be shown through:
- Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness
- Learning how to make a reasoned judgment after analyzing information, data, and facts
- Identifying solutions for personal and social problems
- Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one’s actions
- Recognizing how critical thinking skills are useful both inside and outside of school
- Reflecting on one’s role to promote personal, family, and community well-being
- Evaluating personal, interpersonal, community, and institutional impacts
Our lives are made up of our decisions, so it is critical to learn how to make good ones at a young age. Even the smallest decisions we all must make in a day can affect our lives, like deciding to stay up late to watch your favorite show, which causes you to hit the snooze button in the morning, which causes you to end up late for work.
If you feel like you need to brush up on your decision-making skills you can use this model from PositiveAction as a guide:
- Identify the problem.
- Analyze the situation.
- Brainstorm solutions and solve the problem.
- Consider ethical responsibility.
- Evaluate and reflect.
From the big, life-altering decisions, to the smallest most seemingly insignificant ones, responsible decision-making can make navigating the rough waters of life a little calmer. Making responsible decisions can help you feel more in control of your life, and learning the right decision-making skills as a child can help make all the difference in the world.
The Rock Digi program has multiple lessons that teach students about responsible decision-making. Programs such as the Don’t Be Hatin’ (Bullying Prevention) Lesson for grades 2-4 and 5-6. As well as the Come Full Circle, Do the Right Thing Lesson for grades 2-4 and 5-6. Another would be Economic Decision Making for grades 7-9. Our Mental Health, SEL, and Substance Abuse Prevention for Grades 7-12 feature Making Healthy Choices- Problem Solving.