Civics Form One Notes – Proper Behavior and Decision Making
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1, Develop self-discipline
2. Know each other.
3. Prepare for marriage.
4. Acquire property.
5. Show evidence of maturity
Any marriage ofa person below the age of 18 is considered an early or premature marriage. The
following are some customs and beliefs that may encourage early marriage.
1, Payment of bride-prce
2. Gender discrimination in education
3. Traditional initiation,
4. Inheritance
5. Lack of education
Problems associated with early marriage include complication during delivery, prevention of
‘young women from continuing with their education, increase in poverty, spread of HIV and
AIDS and breakdown of families. Thete are three common types of Families: nuclear family,
extended family and single-parent family.
TOPIC 7: PROPER BEHAVIOR AND DECISION MAKING
Meaning and types of behavior
[Behavior isthe way a person does things in a particular situation. Given different situations,
people may show qualities such as politeness, harshness, cruelty, co-operation, envy and.
arrogance.
A person’s behavior ean change depending on his or her mood, place or person he or she is
<ealing with. For example:
(2), Mood — when a person is happy, he or she behaves differently from the way he or she
bbehaves when angry or sad
(b) Place ~ a student ina classroom behaves diferent from he or she behaves in the play
ground,
(©) Persons one is dealing with —a student behaves differently when dealing with fellow
students or fiends, from the way when dealing with teachers, parents, relatives or strangers.
‘There are two types of behavior. These are
1. Proper behavior, aso known as good behavior
2. _ Improper behavior, also known as bad behavior.
Proper behavior
‘This is the behavior which is acceptable to the society. Example of such behaviors includes
honesty, love, kindness, openness, obedience, sympathy and co-operation.
This type of behavior may originate from various areas in the society. These include:
1. Parents — good parents guide their children toward proper behavior.
2. Mass media — radio, television, news paper and other media have programmes or articles
which teach people good behavior.
3. Proper education — people who get proper formal as well as informal education usually
have good behavior.
4. Good friends – good friends guide and counsel each other so that they can behave properly.
5. _ Religious teaching ~ people who follow proper religious teaching behave properly inthe
society.
Elements of proper behavior
1. Respect for parents, relatives and other people.
2. Use of proper language. This means not using abusive language or any word that make
people angry.
3. Taking part in community activities such as funerals, wedding and environmental
conservation
4. Proper dressing. This refers tothe style of dressing which is socially acceptable
5. Working hard by spending time in the positive and productive way.
6. Helping others where and when its necessary.
Importance of behaving properly
“Members ofthe society are encouraged to behave properly. The following are some ofthe
‘benefits of proper behaving inthe society
|. There is unity, peace and harmony in the society since there is respect among people.
2. ‘The members inthe society are helpful and co-operate with each other.
3. Everyone inthe society is free to exercise rights and fulfill their responsibilities
4. There is development and prosperity in the society as people work hard.
Improper behavior
“This i behavior which is not acceptable inthe society. Examples of improper behavior include:
(@) Use of abusive language.
() Prostitution.
() Taking illicit drugs.
(@) Laziness.
(6) Fighting
(®) Stealing and robbery
(e) Causing trouble and disturbing the peace
(h) Disrespect for school rules.
(9. Disrespect for parents, elders and relatives,
(Arrogance that is, being rade because one feels that he or she more important than the
others
Improper behavior can be result of many factors, Some ofthese factors ar:
1, Lack of parental care and guide: some parents do not spend enough time with their
children to know their problems. When a child lacks guidance from his or her parents he or she
may develop baad habits
2 The mass media: television, radio, the internet and the news paper play a great role in
changing people behavior, especially young people, Some of the programmes and article expose
young people to violence, prostitution and other social evil young people may be tempted to
copy what they see, hear and read in the mass media
3. Poverty: some people may be forced to engage in bad habits because oftheir poor
‘economic status. They may steal or engage in prostitution to earn money.
4. Drunkenness: drinking alcohol excessively ean make some people lose control of his or
har action resulting in improper behavior.
5. Lack of proper education: education isan important tool in changing people’s behavior.
Ignorance can lead to improper behavior.
6 Friends: some friends are not good. They can lad one into bad habit like truancy,
stealing, use of abusive language, drugs, prostitution and absentessm rom school
Consequences of improper behavior
Improper behavior may result in bad consequences. Some ofthese ae
1. Spreading of HIV and AIDS due to prostitution and sharing of nedles for inition of
drugs.
2. Crime such as robbery and rape
3. Socal problems such as drug abuse, homosexuality and corruption
4. Family problems such as lack of fod, unwanted pregnancies and early mariage
5. Poverty, when people donot work and therefore do not produce wealth
6. Lawlessness in the society as people does not respect each other.
How to control improper behavior
Several measures can be taken to contol improper behavior. Some ofthese measures are
| Mass education on good behavior among member of the society
2 Parents need tobe closer to ther children and spend quality ime with them, counseling and
siding them
3. People who belong in diferent fit should adhere to their religious teachings on good
behavior
4. The goverment should enforce the existing to lw to curb anti-social behavior
5. The importation of pornographic material shouldbe banned
6. Schools and colleges should educate young people on how to behave propery inthe
soviet.
7. ‘The government should ensure ll children get formal education Parents should be
encouraged to take their children to schoo
Responsible decision-making
{A decision is the choice in which an individual makes after thinking through different option on
a given situation, Decision-making i the one way of solving problems.
Responsible decision-making involve making a choice after carefilly considering all option
available and using a particular criteria to make the best choice.
Importance of responsible decision-making.
Decision making is important for the following reasons:
1. Iteads tothe effecting and implementation of undone tasks.
2. tis the only way to make difficult and dangerous decisions
3. Itbuilds a sense of commitment when members of the society are involved in making
<ecision that affects them,
4. Itfacilitates proper utilization of available resources,
5. Itensures sense of equality. This is due to the equal participation of members in decision
making,
6. Iensures efficiency because member of the society make decision to issues that concern
them,
7. Itereates the sense of collective responsiblity in carrying out tasks and polices
8, _Itencourages a person to achieve what he or she has planned to do,
Skills needed to make responsible decisions.
‘There are six steps that help person to make good decisions. These ae:
1, Identifying the problem: problem here means the issue a person needs to make decision
on. For example, a form one student scores low marks in civics
2. Listing the possible solution tothe problem: at this stage the person collects information
‘on possible solution solutions to his her problem. In our example the possible solution can be
(2) To take part in group diseussion
() To increase the amount of time spent studying civies.
(©) To get extra tuition from the teacher.
3. Starting the riteria to use: at, this stage the person analyzes the principles to consider in
selecting a particular solution. That means he or she thinks of advantages and disadvantages of
cach solution listed below.
4. Evaluation: to evaluate isto form an opinion of something after a carefully consideration
In this case, the person forms an opinion on availabe alternatives inorder to make decision. At
this stage the stage the person compares the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative
solution. In our example above, the student should consider the chances of suocess or failure in
choosing one solution over the other listed. On basis of evaluation, a decision is made
5. Making decision: the person selects the best solution and act on it. In our example a
student can decide to take part in group discussion
6. Checking the results: this means assessing the choice made to determine whether the
<ecision that was made has worked to solve the problem. If the problem has not been solved,
then the person goes over and list of possible solutions against and tries another alternative to see
whether it works
Chapter summary
[Behavior isthe way person does things in a particular situation, There are two types of behavior:
proper behavior and improper behavior.
Responsible decision-making involves making a choice afte a carefully considering all options
available and using particular criteria to make best choice
There ae six steps that help a person to make a good decision. These are:
1. Identifying the problem.
2. Listing the possible solution to the problem.
3. Starting the criteria use,
4. Evaluation
5. Making decision,
6. Checking the results.