Notes

Values can be defined as a personal measure of worth, such as how individual considers certain things.

Values are the beliefs,principles or ideas people attach to things based on their sense of values.



Examples of positive values include honesty, discipline, integrity hardworking, commitment obedience, humility self-reliance etc.



Each of these values adds warmth to one`s character and makes life easier and more pleasant for individual and for everyone in the society.





Importance of Values in the Society.



i Decision making: Values may help in decision making based on the importance we attached to things.



ii Values promote good relationship among people: Basic human values promote good relationship among people when they all accept such societal norms, attitude or ways of doing things.



iii Understanding our values system helps to resists pressure to conform to other people’s values and behaviours which may not be acceptable to generality of people or society.



iv If we do not act in accordance with our values, we may be ashamed and disappointed.



v Values guide human behaviour.



vi Values give purpose and direction to our lives since they are acceptable ways of behaviours recognised by the society.



vii Values also enhance good behaviour, attitudes and feelings in the society.


Levels of manifestation of values.





Values manifest at various levels, but most importantly at the level of the individual and society.





A. Individual.




i An individual may derive his value from various ways e.g. parental influence, community, cultural and religious teachings, the media, school and pear groups.


ii Most parents want their children to develop values similar to theirs though members of the same family may have different values.


iii Open and honest communication about specific values can help young people to understand importance of values.


iv Values guide our actions and enable individuals to make good choices.


v Individual values add up to make societal values.





B. Society.




i There are certain values, norms and attitudes of a society which are developed over a long period of time.


ii As we grow in the society we are made to learn or taught and acquire such values which are cherished by the society.


iii Such values can be learnt mostly through our rules and regulations.


iv Societal values collectively dictate what we accept as good or bad in our community.


v Our collective values ensure that peace and harmony exist in our society.

Factors that Promote Good Value System.



Consistency.


i It is a state of being the same in thought, behaviour, keeping to the same principles or regular.

ii Consistency helps individual who believes in what is good to stay focused and avoid negative things going on in the society.

iii It is the attitude of doing what is right all the time.

iv Consistency promotes good moral values in the society.



Trust.


i This is the ability to have faith or strong belief in something or someone in doing what is right.

ii Trust promotes good values by making individuals in a society to love and respect one another.





Tolerance


i This is the ability of accepting opinions, beliefs, customs and behaviours that are different form our own.

ii Tolerance promote good values by making individuals to respect other people’s right and opinions without doing any negative thing that will affect those rights.

iii Tolerance brings peace into the society.



Fairness


i This is the virtue of being just and not unduly favour one person to the detriment of the other.

ii We should act within the rules, stand for what is right and dissociate ourselves from what is wrong on the society.

iii It is the ability to judge without prejudge, fear or favour.

Integrity


i This is the attitude of having the sense of probity and accountability.

ii When this attitude is present in our society, our value system will be promoted and sustained.





Commitment


i This is the attitude of facing a given task with all seriousness.

ii When such attitude is present in our society our value system will be promoted, enhanced and sustained.





Effects of the manifestation of good values in the society.



These are the values good individuals bring into the society:

There will be maintenance of law and order.
There will be peace, progress and unity among the people.
The individuals in the society will learn to solve their problems and disagreements politely and calmly.
The society will be conducive for development and growth.
People will work together to promoted peace and progress of the society.




TYPES OF VALUES.

Honesty.
i This is the attitude of standing for the truth or being straight forward.

ii An honest person avoids deceit, cheating, lies or hiding facts.

iii An honest person is trustworthy and always attract people’s good will and respected by all and sundry.



Attributes or Characteristic of Honesty.

i Integrity: An honest person is a man or woman who would always do what is right.



ii Truthfullness: An honest person will always say the truth all the time.



iii Boldness: An honest person will not be bothered about whatever will happen when the truth is required in any situation.



iv Fairness: An honest person will be fair to all not minding what situation he may find himself.


i Responsibility: An honest person is a man who carries out his obligations or duties and answerable for his actions.





ii Honour: An honest man keeps to his word and opinion.








Benefits of honesty.


It gives individuals a good reputation.
One stands a chance of being liked by the general public.
One stands the chance of being entrusted with responsibilities.
Honest person can be relied upon.
It leads to political economic and social advancement in a country.
It moves the society and country forward.
It brings social justice and discourages cheating.
It brings fulfilment and contentment.
It brings honour to the person or group of people involved.
People can defend an honest person wherever he goes.




Consequences and characteristics of Dishonesty.


Dishonesty is the opposite of honesty which means that a dishonest person is a liar, a cheat and one who engages in all sorts of bad behaviours.





The consequences and characteristics of dishonesty are:


Punishment: The negative effect of dishonesty is the punishment that awaits a dishonest person by the law enforcement agents.




Cheating: A dishonest group of people or individuals will often cheat others in order to get things done fast and cheaply.




Shame: Shame and disgrace will be the outcome of any dishonest person when such truths are revealed.




Examination malpractices: A dishonest student sees no gain in studying hard for an examination. He will instead opt for short-cuts by engaging in examination malpractices.




Fraudulent practices: People that are not honest will always engage in some bad practices such as bribery and corruption as well as 419 activities known in Nigeria as advance fee fraud.




Electoral fraud: This type of malpractice is usually carried out during elections, votes are manipulated in favour of a particular candidates or politicians in order to gain undeserved victory.




Robbery: This involves taking ones property by force. Any robbery done with the use of guns and other weapons is called armed robbery. Victims of armed robbery are sometimes killed and end up losing their precious properties.




Vandalism: This involves wanton destruction of property by an individual or group of people. The vandals may end up in jail.




Neglect: A dishonest person will suffer neglect as people will not give such a person any responsible position in the society.


Co-operation.




i. Co-operation is working together for a common purpose or goal in order to achieve a particular result.
It is the working together to achieve a common goal in a family, school, community, town and country.
Co-operation is needed to promote other societal values and rapid development.







Attributes of co-operation.





Sharing.

i In sharing, people are able to give and take information or materials freely without anyone hiding anything.


ii Sharing brings people together, promote good values and make cooperation meaningful.





Supporting.

i People must support one another to achieve common goal and to make cooperation effective.


ii Supporting people during good and bad times not only promotes friendship but also good co-operation.





Obedience.

i People must obey the rules and regulations of the society so that there will be meaningful development and good values in the society.





Caring.

i This means being attentive, thoughtful, watchful, protectful and taking responsibility.


ii When an individual possessed this attribute, he will find it easy to cooperate with another people in the society.





Ability to keep secrets.

i This quality is very important in building cooperation and trust.


ii People who can mutually keep one another’s secrets can readily confide in one another and work together to achieve a common goal.








Factors that Promote or Encourage Co-operation.





Cooperation takes place in a society where the following factors exist:


There must be rule and regulations in the society so that conflict and mis-understanding will be reduced.
Everybody must be treated fairly by the government and in the courts of law. There should be social justice.
Bribery and corruption must be eradicated in the society.
Tolerance must exist in the society.
Tribalism, nepotism and sectionalism must be eradicated.
Merit should be promoted and people must be treated equally.
Unity must be encouraged. A situation where people see one another as enemies’ co-operation cannot take place.
People must respect the right of others.
Need – when the needs of the people are people are met, there will be cooperation
Empathy: This involves sharing other peoples feeling especially when they are in problem.
Goals: There must be some set goals which must be aimed at. Where there are set goals, effort will be made for its realization.




Benefits of Co-operation.



Some of the gains of cooperation include the following:

Co-operation leads to achievement of set goals, because people work together to achieve it.
Co-operation leads to the development of society and social amenities e.g. good roads, schools, hospitals, industries etc.
Peace reigns in the society where there is co-operation people will tolerate one another.
There will also be joy and happiness among the people.
Co-operation leads to team work and togetherness.




Self-reliance.


It is a type of living that one depends on the ability one’s self in order to make a living.
A self reliant person will not depend on anyone.
A self reliant person is always self sufficient.
He does not look anywhere for support.


Attributes of Self-reliance.



Work hard: To be self reliant one must work hard in order to achieve a given task.
Dedication: A self reliant person must be committed so as to achieve a desire goal.
Vocational training: A self reliant person must be trained for a particular job that will earn such a person means of livelihood.
Independence: A self reliant person can take any decision without consulting anybody. He can go to work and close at any time.
Risk Bearing: A self reliant person takes risk on his business and bears the losses and profit on his business alone.
Diligence: A self reliant person will be persistent and tireless.






Processes of Identifying One’s Natural Talents.



Gift: The gift that one has could be easily identified by people that are close to such through varying activities.
Parental Discovery: The parents of a person can help discover one’s talent as a result of long years of interaction and living together.
Group Activities: Through group activities people with exemplary talents can be discovered e.g. inter-house sports, literary and debating drama etc.
Press:The journalist can also monitor the activities of people with good talents with a view of exposing them.
Religious body: Religious bodies have been instrumental in discovering talents e.g. singing, use of musical instrument, pastoral etc.

Why an Individual must be Self Reliant or Benefits of Self Reliance





Self-sustenance: It is necessary to be self reliant so that one will be able to meet the basic necessities of life such as good food, clothing and housing.
It is necessary to be self-reliant because it is not possible for the government to provide jobs for all job seekers.
A self-reliant person will be able to assist the less privilege group in the society.
Self-reliance of people in the society will lead to development of society as such groups of people will use their resources for the development of the society.
It will also assist the government in meeting the needs of the society. It is not possible for the government to meet all our needs.
It will improve the living standard of the people.










How to nurture the identified talents.





Monitoring: The government and the society should monitor the progress of the identified talents so at to help them grow in such area identified.




Finance: Money should be provided for the development of such talents by the society or government so that the talent can develop.




Encouragement: The society should encourage such talented people in the society and not discourage them.




Tasks: Talents should be exposed to competition tasks that can allow the owner of such talents to make new inventions.







Enabling environment: There should be atmosphere of peace that will enhance optimal productivity of such talented people.
Holding onto one`s talent, even when there is opposition.










Consequences of wasted talents and undeveloped skills.





When skills are not developed the society will not make progress.
The skills the individual have may die with him when it is not identified or nurtured.
Some hidden knowledge may not be exposed and therefore people will live in ignorance.
The revenue that could have come to such talented people and society may be lost.