CITIZENSHIP
By
Tamara C
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Tamara C at Smashwords
Citizenship
Copyright © 2011 by Tamara C
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
What Do I Do? (A story about choices)
The Report (A story about respect)
The Doll (A story about responsibility)
Maddy's Day (A story about caring)
The Play (A story about perseverance)
Broken Promise (A story about trust)
Charlie's Day (A story about thinking positively)
A Long Day (A story about fairness)
Confusion (A story about honesty)
Introduction
Bullying has become an issue in so many schools and at so many ages. Learning how to stop bullying needs to be taught at a young age. Some think that if they weren't the bully they aren’t the bad guy, but that is wrong. If you are watching someone being bullied and don't do anything about it you are also at fault. By not standing up for a person being bullied, a bystander is in effect standing up for the bully. This encourages bullying! Many bullies have been or still are being bullied by someone.
Let's break the cycle by creating overall good citizens instead of bullies. It starts one person at a time. Make a good choice and standup for others.
Everyone has choices to make every day whether it be something small like what to wear or eat or something big such as creating a new product that could add or take jobs away from people. Our choices always affect ourselves but they also affect other people around us. Sometimes it might just be one other person and other times a choice can have a domino effect, where one choice affects another person which affects another person and so on. Being aware of our choices and thinking about the consequences be they good or bad, means you are making an informed choice. In the end, it is ultimately up to you. You are the one who makes that decision not someone else.
Character Traits to follow for Overall Good Citizenship:
Respect for others should be a priority. It is up to everyone to know where the line between being respectful and being disrespectful is. It is different for everyone so you must always be conscious of the people around you. Everyone likes to be respected, but when the line is crossed it isn’t funny anymore and feelings get hurt. It can make a person feel sad, stupid, or embarrassed. Once you have crossed that line you are being disrespectful. It is better to make fun of the things you do or say. What ways can you show respect to others and yourself?
Be responsible for yourself and your belongings. If you make a bad choice, admit to it instead of blaming someone else for your mistake. Take responsibility for your actions by being aware of your surroundings. This could help you avoid accidentally hurting someone or something.
Caring for others means showing someone that you show an interest in them. Ask questions and really listen to the answers. Remember what’s important to others and ask about it without being told. Ask to help before the person has to ask for help. Think of what is really important. When you make a choice between two things, it shows others what you are choosing to do is more important to you than the other choice. If a friend asks you to play but you choose to watch television it shows what is on television is more important than your friend.
If you keep trying and trying and trying your best you show perseverance. When you work hard at something you know you gave it your all even if in the end it doesn't work out the way you planned. As long as you know you did everything you could do, you know you’ve done your best.
Keep your promise to show you are trustworthy. Everyone carries a trust bucket for the people they know. The bucket empties a little when a small promise is broken or a lot when a big promise is broken. It takes a lot longer to fill it up than to empty it out. Trust is something that is earned and hard to get back when it is lost. If you lose someone’s trust, it is up to you to prove to the other person that you can be trusted. Don’t expect them to just fill up your bucket again.
Try to find the good in everything that happens, keep a positive attitude. Be optimistic by seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty. Bad things happen, and though we can't stop that we can choose how we will react and what we can take away from the experience.
Fairness is unbiased, impartial, and unprejudiced. It is about taking turns, playing by the rules and knowing your way is not the only way. Don't let your own feelings get in the way of being fair. Fairness is based on facts. Not everything can be fair all the time but people can work together to help it balance out the best they can.
Tell the truth, and don't lie. Little white lies can still. Actions speak louder than words. When adults lie to children, they are showing their children they don't have to follow the rules. Being honest sounds very simple but it doesn't come easy to everyone. Honesty doesn't mean you have to hurt peoples feeling but if choices you make means you cannot be honest with those you care about, think twice before doing it.
What Do I Do?
The playground suddenly became quiet. "You can choose to speak in a nice way or a rude way. It’s your choice."
"Who is saying that? I want to know." The voice startled Allie. As she looked around she noticed no one else was able to move. It was like all the people were frozen in time except for Allie.
"You can choose to speak in a nice way or a rude way. It’s your choice," said the voice again.
Allie jumped and turned around expecting to see someone behind her. No one was standing there. The only person near her was her friend, Elaine. When Allie looked closely at Elaine’s face she remembered what they were talking about. Elaine just said something hurtful to Allie and Allie was about to say something mean to her to get Elaine back.
"You can choose to speak in a nice way or a rude way. It’s your choice."
Getting frustrated, Allie exclaimed, "What do you want? Why do you keep repeating the same thing over and over again?”
"You have a choice to make and it’s going to affect your relationship with Elaine. Here is a look into the future to explain.”
Allie felt like things were spinning out of control. She could see parts of the playground flying in and out of her vision but nothing stayed in focus very long. Her feet didn’t feel like they were on the ground anymore and she couldn’t move. Where this swirling vortex was going to take her she didn’t know. Higher and higher she went her until all of a sudden she was no longer spinning or standing on the playground but up in a nearby tree.
Looking down she noticed Elaine and then saw something peculiar. She saw herself standing in front of Elaine but now things were in motion. Listening carefully she heard herself yelling back at Elaine. A wide-eyed and teary Elaine then ran in the other direction and talked to some other friends. From the look of it, they were talking about Allie and they weren’t saying anything good. While Allie still watched from the tree the Allie on the ground ran away crying.
All of a sudden things started spinning again and she just watched the playground go by, she knew there was nothing she could do. When it finally stopped she was still in the tree but the scene reset itself. Again she could see Elaine on the ground standing next to her. This time the Allie on the ground didn't yell at Elaine but said something in a quiet tone. Instead of Elaine running away like last time she gave Allie a big hug and said she was sorry. The two walked off to talk some more.
For the third time her world was spinning but when it stopped Allie was no longer in the tree, she was right back next to Elaine, where she started.
"You can choose to speak in a nice way or a rude way. It’s your choice."
Allie knew what she wanted to do. After all it was her choice. Once her decision was made time started to tick forward.
The next day while Allie was walking around the playground she found everyone frozen in time again.
“You can choose to help someone in need or walk away and ignore it. It’s your choice."
"Why won't you tell me who you are?"
“You can choose to help someone in need or walk away and ignore it. It’s your choice."
Allie looked around. She didn't know what the voice was trying to tell her. No one was right next to her this time. The only thing she had noticed before everything froze was an older girl picking on a younger girl across the playground. That wasn't anything for her to worry about. It wasn't something happening to her like the situation yesterday.
“You can choose to help someone in need or walk away and ignore it. It’s your choice."
"What can I do? I don't know the girl and it isn't my problem, is it?" Allie thought about it and put herself in the younger girl’s shoes. What would I want others to do if I was in that situation? I do have a choice. Allie came up with a plan. All of a sudden things started moving again.
Allie went over to three of her friends and pointed toward the younger girl. That was all it took before all four girls were running over to help. Standing behind the younger girl, the bully could do nothing but walk away.
"Thank you, my name is Anna. Why would you help me, you don’t even know who I am"
Allie went up and put her arm around Anna and said, "We couldn’t stand by and watch you be bullied, if we did we would be just a bad as the bully. If people help instead of walking away and ignoring the situation maybe there would be fewer bullies and more friends."
“You can choose to help someone in need or walk away and ignore it. It’s your choice."
Allie smiled. This time nothing froze but she realized where the voice was coming from. It was inside her all the time. Her conscience somehow gave her time to think about her choices. From now on she would have to make her choices without hesitating. Words and actions cannot be taken back and there are no do-over’s. Forgiveness can be given for bad choices but that is a choice only for the person who has to forgive.
After thinking about it Allie decided she’d pay more attention to how she would want other people to respond to her and base her choice on that. Treat others as you would like to be treated her mom would always say. Now she understood what it meant.
The Report
Billy and Fred were the best of friends. Sure, they had their disagreements but they were always there for each other when the other one needed them. It wasn’t until one day at school that things changed.
"Please take out your animal reports. It’s time to read them aloud in a small group to practice," said Mrs. Anderson.
All the students took out their reports and moved to their small group spots to get ready to read. Billy and Fred were in the same group so they sat next to each other. After choosing the order they would read in they began.
Fred went first. His report was on cheetahs. While he read everyone listened and Billy grew more nervous. Fred had some incredible information about cheetahs that impressed everyone. When he was done he received a round of applause.