Ronald E. Byrd
The focus of this unit is on decision-making and values-clarification. Students so often think of themselves as powerless that they neglect to look at their lives in terms of the decisions they have made. They do not see that one bad decision can transform them from a student with friends, a car and a room of their own to a lonely individual in a ten-by-twelve cell. They need to learn the difference between a major decision and a minor one. They need to know how major and minor decisions are related, and how such decisions affect their lives.
Students need to me made conscious of values as well. They need to be asked: What is a value? How do values affect decision-making? How do decision making and values work hand and hand? The lesson plans which follow are intended to show the relationship between decisions and values and to illustrate the profound effect of values on the decisions that individuals make. I’m fully aware that we cannot change anyone by ourselves; they must want to change themselves.
