Consequences and Responsibility

Instructions: Read the scenarios and the questions. In the space provided discern to the best of your ability what the answers/appropriate responses SHOULD be BASED ON THE LESSON we discussed in class.
Name: 


  1. The Sycamore Hills football team has had a frustrating season. Players have been late for practices, some even skipped. The crowds stopped attending and the Athletic Director has threatened firing the coach. The local newspapers has published articles all season long that point fingers at how poor both the offense and defense performances have been.

    At the banquet the football coach gets up to give his speech. Much to the chagrin of the crowd, he's full of criticisms and has nothing good to say about the support from the administration, fans of the team, local papers, and the players themselves. Answer these three questions in the space provided.

    1. What does this say about the coach? (Did he accept responsibilty? Should there be consequences?)

    2. How could accepting responsibility during the season have changed the outcome for the failing season?

    3. Is there anyone else to blame besides the coach? If so, how so and should there be consequences? What outcomes could have been achieved if there was acceptance of consequences and accountability during the season by the players and the coach?


  1. John Tabletop has had a horrible senior year. It has been so bad that he's before an expulsion board. All year long teachers have tracked his performance in their respective classroom and John's performance has been the same--blatant disrespect, refusal to complete assignments, and no activity on his senior project whatsoever. John comes from an affluent family and his family has given him an attorney to help represent him. As the attorney unravells the evidence against John the records are clear that he has been written up for insubordination on several occassions, mid-term reports have documented not only his failure to complete any work but his blatant disregard for school work in general. The attorney sees something rather suspicious when challenging the administration during the hearing. John is before an expulsion hearing and he has never been given a detention, suspension, and no one has bugged John to offer him extra help.

    Who's at fault?

    Who is accountable?

    How should leadership have interacted with the staff (teachers) before the hearing?

    What other "things" should have been done to get to the root of the problem?