“Hold Yourself Responsible for What You Do”

January 25, 2011

Today’s Bit of Advice…

“Hold Yourself Responsible for What You Do”

This has been on my mind quite a bit these days for a variety of reasons, mostly stories I have heard on the news.  Then I had a situation at school today that reminded me again about responsibility and accountability so I knew this would be my advice for the day.

I’m sure most everyone has now seen the infamous video that went viral last week – you know, the video of the lady texting on her phone who was so distracted that she fell into a mall fountain.  The same lady who decided to sue the mall for the dangerous placement of their fountain.   If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a watch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXYY_ep5Nh0&feature=fvwk).  In the interview the woman says that she is so embarrassed that all of America is laughing at her “accident”.  She always talks about how dangerous cell phones are.  I mean, after all, you could end up walking into a fountain.

The problem with the fountain incident is that the woman never says “I did something stupid”.  She doesn’t acknowledge that she chose to send a text while walking in the mall toward the fountain and that she took her eyes off of her surroundings.  Is the mall really responsible for her poor judgement?  Should they have tried to protect her?  I think not.   This woman needs to take responsibility for her decision. 

The State of New York seems to be working hard lately to pass legislation that helps New Yorkers stay safe from similar “dangers”.  We already have laws preventing us from talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. This sounds like a smart idea but I heard a study today that says there has actually been an increase in texting while driving accidents since this law was passed.  Why?  People are now texting under the dashboard, in the console area, or over the front seat into the back part of the car so the police don’t see their fingers at work.  Amazing, isn’t it?  We also have a law against trans fats in our commercial foods because it has been assumed that we can’t make nutritional decisions for ourselves.

But the new one I heard today was a real doozy (doozy?  Is that a real word?).   Senator Carl Kruger wants to impose a $100 fine on those who cross roads while listening to music, talking on a phone, or using a video game or personal organizer.  Really?  Check it out yourself: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/0702/070210-ipod.html

It all comes back to taking responsibility for yourself.   If you can’t do two things at once (see my previous blog on the benefits and challenges of multi-tasking), then you shouldn’t do it.  And, if you do something stupid, you need to own up to it and accept that you, and you alone, are at fault.

Hold Yourself Responsible for What You Do.

I said that this came to mind while I was at school today.  Before you start to wonder which of my colleagues walked into a fountain or tried to cross the parking lot while listening to an ipod, it wasn’t anything like that.  I had to hold myself responsible for a situation and do the right thing.  I had a student come to me and share some troubling information about his life at home including some details of possible abuse.  I was very careful in my questions and comments during our conversation and was able to get quite a bit of information from him that he hadn’t shared with many others because he was afraid of the consequences.  When our conversation was over I was left feeling quite troubled and sad for this child.

This isn’t the first time I have had this type of situation happen – I guess children think I’m a good listener and a trustworthy adult.  But I am also a “Mandated Reporter” in the state of New York as all teachers are.  I have a responsibility to follow up on this type of discussion.   I am not allowed to ignore it even though I’d like to think that what happened was a one-time event with no future implications.  I did what I have been trained to do and, hopefully, the situation will be improved for this child.  The troubling part for me, though, is that he told me that at least one other adult already knew about some of what had happened and didn’t follow up with the questions that needed to be asked to get the details that I learned.  The “responsible” action didn’t occur.

Hold Yourself Responsible for What You Do.  For the stupid things and the smart things.  It’s just that simple.

Hope you enjoyed the read.