Basic 8 · Social Studies · The Individual and the Community
The Role of Individuals in the Community
In this topic you will examine the role of individuals in the community, including what a community is, how individuals contribute and what makes a person a responsible community member.
By the end of these notes you should be able to:
- Explain the meaning of a community
- Describe how individuals contribute to the community
- Explain the qualities of a responsible member of the community
What you already know
- Family roles and responsibilities
Copy everything that has a blue line on its left into your notebook. The other parts are for reading.
Lesson 1
- Strand
- Sense Of Purpose
- Sub-strand
- The Individual and the Community
- Indicator
- B8.3.2.1.1 – Examine the role of the individuals in the community
Introduction
A proverb used across Africa says that it takes a village to raise a child. Communities need people, and people need communities.
1. What Is a Community?
Community: A group of people living in one area or sharing common interests.
A community may be a village, a town or a neighbourhood. It may also be a group that shares a common interest, such as a school, a church, a mosque or a trade association. Members of a community share facilities such as schools, roads, markets and water. They also share problems, like flooding or poor sanitation, and they depend on one another.
2. Interdependence
No one can provide everything for themselves. The farmer needs the teacher to educate their children, the teacher needs the farmer for food, and both need the nurse when they fall ill. This mutual reliance is called interdependence. In Ghana, the idea of ubuntu is sometimes borrowed from Southern Africa to express it: "I am because we are." The Akan also have a saying, "Benkum dware nifa, na nifa nso dware benkum," meaning that the left hand washes the right hand and the right washes the left.
| Person | Contribution |
|---|---|
| farmer | grows food |
| teacher | educates the young |
| health worker | cares for the sick |
| trader | supplies goods |
| artisan | builds and repairs |
| police officer | keeps order |
| chief or assemblyperson | leads and represents people |
| learner | studies and helps in the community |
3. Benefits of Belonging
Communities provide belonging and safety. When a family loses someone, neighbours visit and help with the funeral. When someone is sick, friends bring food. Festivals such as Homowo, Hogbetsotso, Aboakyir and Damba bring people together and build pride and unity. Communities also pass on language and culture from one generation to another.
4. Rights and Duties
Every individual has rights in the community, such as the right to safety and to take part in meetings. Every individual also has duties, such as obeying laws, paying taxes or rates, keeping the area clean and helping in communal work. Rights and duties go together. If people claim only rights and neglect their duties, then the community suffers. Think of a borehole: everyone has the right to use it, but its maintenance needs everyone's contribution.
New words
- community
- A group of people living or working together.
- interdependence
- Relying on one another.
- rates
- Local taxes paid to an assembly.
- communal
- Shared by a community.
Summary
- A community is a group that shares an area or an interest.
- Members depend on each other through different roles.
- Individuals have both rights and duties.
Class activity: Community Web
- Write community jobs on cards.
- Link them with string to show who relies on whom.
- Discuss what happens if one is removed.
You need: Printed Ghanaian community-role cards, Local newspaper, Talking-stick prop
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Relying on one another is…
- A. interdependence
- B. isolation
- C. pollution
- D. migration
Show answer
Answer: interdependenceMutual.2. Which is a duty of a community member?
- A. keeping the area clean
- B. littering
- C. ignoring meetings
- D. damaging boreholes
Show answer
Answer: keeping the area cleanDuty.3. Festivals can unite a community.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueUnity.4. Local taxes paid to an assembly are called ______.
Show answer
Answer: ratesLocal government.5. State three benefits of belonging to a community.
Show answer
Answer: Safety, help in times of need and shared culture.Any three.6. Why do rights and duties go together?
Show answer
Answer: People enjoy rights only when others perform their duties, as with shared facilities.Citizenship.
Lesson 2
- Strand
- Sense Of Purpose
- Sub-strand
- The Individual and the Community
- Indicator
- B8.3.2.1.1 – Examine the role of the individuals in the community
Introduction
You do not need a title to make a difference. A community becomes strong through the everyday behaviour of its members.
1. Qualities of a Good Community Member
| Quality | Example |
|---|---|
| honesty | returning lost property |
| respect | greeting and listening to others |
| patriotism | caring for public property |
| tolerance | respecting other faiths and ethnic groups |
| cooperation | joining communal labour |
| responsibility | keeping promises and paying rates |
| hard work | doing your job well |
2. How Individuals Contribute
Individuals may contribute in different ways. They can give their time by joining clean-up exercises, or their money by paying dues and supporting projects. They can share their skills: a mason could repair a school wall, and a nurse could teach first aid. Leaders can organise people and bring in resources. Young people can teach younger children to read, help the elderly with errands and create awareness of issues such as sanitation and road safety.
3. People Who Made a Difference
Ghana's history is full of individuals who served others. Yaa Asantewaa led the Asante resistance to British rule in 1900. Dr Kwame Nkrumah led the country to independence. Dr James Kwegyir Aggrey worked to promote the education of girls and is remembered for his saying about the keys of a piano: you need black and white keys to make harmony. Many others are little known: teachers in remote villages, nurses working at night, or farmers who plant trees. Each one shows that a person can change the lives of others.
4. Harmful Behaviour
| Behaviour | Effect on the community |
|---|---|
| littering | blocked drains and disease |
| stealing public property | services break down |
| tribalism | division and conflict |
| bribery and corruption | loss of public money and trust |
| drug abuse | crime, illness and broken families |
| lateness and laziness | poor service and less production |
Every person's choices affect others. If one trader sells bad food, many people can fall sick. If a contractor uses poor materials, a school block may collapse. Responsible people think about the effects of their actions on others, and they report wrongdoing.
New words
- patriotism
- Love and care for one's country.
- tolerance
- Accepting differences.
- corruption
- Misusing a position for personal gain.
- tribalism
- Unfair loyalty to one's ethnic group.
Summary
- Good members are honest, respectful and cooperative.
- Individuals contribute time, money, skills and leadership.
- Harmful behaviour damages the whole community.
Class activity: Community Hero
- Identify someone who serves your community.
- Interview them or write about them.
- Present their story to the class.
You need: Printed Ghanaian community-role cards, Local newspaper, Talking-stick prop
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Love for one's country is…
- A. patriotism
- B. tribalism
- C. corruption
- D. laziness
Show answer
Answer: patriotismValue.2. Who led the Asante resistance in 1900?
- A. Yaa Asantewaa
- B. Yaa Naa
- C. Queen Elizabeth
- D. Efua Sutherland
Show answer
Answer: Yaa AsantewaaHistory.3. Littering can cause disease.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueDrains.4. Misusing a position for personal gain is ______.
Show answer
Answer: corruptionHarmful behaviour.5. Give three ways of contributing to a community.
Show answer
Answer: Giving time, paying dues and sharing skills.Any three.6. How can one individual's poor work harm a community?
Show answer
Answer: A contractor's poor materials can cause a building to collapse, harming many people.Effects.
Homework
- List five things you did this week that helped your community.