Evaluating another

  1. International Baccalaureate Learner Profile: This 10-trait chart expresses the goals of IB schools for their students. There are more than 755,000 IB students at 3,371 schools in 141 countries. So clearly, there are a lot of people who value the Learner Profile.
  2. The Five Pillars of Islam: These expectations show Muslims how to live life properly, according to that faith. There are more than 1.3 billion Muslims in the world. So clearly, there are a lot of people who value the Five Pillars of Islam.
  3. Stages of Development: This six-stage progression discusses how humans’ morality and decision-making matures over time. A recent study of psychologists revealed that experts consider Lawrence Kohlberg the 30th-most important psychologist in human history. So clearly, there are a lot of people who value his Stages of Development.
  4. The 10 Commandments: These expectations show Christians and Jews how to live life properly, according to those faiths. There are more than 2.1 billion Christians in the world and over 14 million Jewish people. So clearly, there are a lot of people who value the 10 Commandments.
  5. The Eightfold Path: This process shows Buddhists how to attain a perfect balance and harmony with the universe. There are more than 360 million Buddhists in the world. So clearly, there are a lot of people who value The Eightfold Path.

Your job is to use these codes of conduct and measurement within cultures to evaluate an individual. Be honest. Be specific. And support your ideas with evidence.

IB LEARNER PROFILE

Use the 10 elements of the IB learner profile below to judge what kind of IB student the individual would be. Rank the individual’s abilities in those 10 elements, with 10 being the one he’d be best at and one being the one he’d be worst at. For each of the 10 elements, use specific examples to support your choices.

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers / They develop their natural curiosity, acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning, and actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
Knowledgeable / They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Thinkers / They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators / They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
Principled / They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
Open-minded / They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring / They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
Risk-takers / They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
Balanced / They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
Reflective / They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
LPTs / Please rank on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being a distinct strength and 1 being a distrinct weakness / Evidence to support your ranking
Inquirers
Knowledgeable
Thinkers
Communicators
Principled
Open-minded
Caring
Risk-takers
Balanced
Reflective

Choose two LPTs represent opportunities for growth for this individual. Which are they?

How could this individual pursue growth in those areas?

Five Pillars of Islam
1. Shahadah is a statement professing monotheism and accepting Mohammad as Allah's messenger. The shahadah is a set statement normally recited in Arabic, translated as: "[I profess that] There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah." How well would this individual fare with the expectation of this Pillar? Use specific examples to support your response.

2. Salat is the requirement to pray five times a day at fixed times during the day. The times of day to pray are at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. Each salat is performed facing towards Mecca. Salat is intended to focus the mind on Allah; it is seen as a personal communication with Allah, expressing gratitude and worship. According to the Qur'an, the benefit of prayer “restrains [one] from shameful and evil deeds”. The prayers are essentially expressions of adoration of God, but the worshipper may add his own personal request. The most commonly repeated prayer is the short first Sura, or Section of the Qu'ran, beginning, 'Praise be to Allah, Lord of Creation, the compassionate, the merciful'. How well would this individual fare with the expectation of this Pillar? Use specific examples to support your response.

3. Zakat or alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. It is considered to be a personal responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others and eliminate inequality. Zakat consists of spending 2.5% of one's wealth for the benefit of the poor or needy, including slaves, debtors and travelers. A Muslim may also donate more as an act of voluntary charity, in order to achieve additional divine reward. There are four principles that should be followed when giving the Zakat:

  1. The giver must declare to Allah his intention to give the Zakat.
  2. The Zakat must be paid on the day that it is due. If one fails to pay the Zakat, people think he is refusing to fulfill God's wishes.
  3. Payment must be in kind. This means if one has a lot of money then he needs to pay 2.5% of his income. If he does not have much money, he needs to pay in a different way. For example, if he has a lot of cattle, then he pays in cattle instead of money.
  4. The Zakat must be distributed in the community from which it was taken.

How well would this individual fare with the expectation of this Pillar? Use specific examples to support your response.

  1. Ritual fasting is an obligatory act during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk during this month, and are to be especially mindful of sins. The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness to Allah, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, to atone for their past sins, and to remind them of the needy. During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam by refraining from violence, anger, envy, greed, lust, harsh language, gossip and to try to get along with people better than normal. In addition, all obscene and irreligious sights and sounds are to be avoided. Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory, but is forbidden for several groups for whom it would be very dangerous and excessively problematic. These include pre-pubescent children, those with a medical condition such as diabetes, elderly people, and pregnant or women. Other individuals for whom it is considered acceptable not to fast are those who are ill or traveling. Missing fasts usually must be made up soon afterward.How well would this individual fare with the expectation of this Pillar? Use specific examples to support your response.
  1. The Hajj is a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime if he or she can afford it. The Hajj is mandatory for both males and females. The main rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the Kaaba, touching the Black Stone, travelling seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah, and symbolically stoning the Devil in Mina. The pilgrim, or the haji, is honored in their community. For some, this is an incentive to perform the Hajj. Islamic teachers say that the Hajj should be an expression of devotion to Allah, not a means to gain social standing. The believer should be self-aware and examine their intentions in performing the pilgrimage. This should lead to constant striving for self-improvement.

How well would this individual fare with the expectation of this Pillar? Use specific examples to support your response.

Stages of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg was an Americanpsychologist, who specialized in research on moral education and reasoning. He is best known for his theory of stages of moral development. His six stages can be grouped into three levels of two stages each: pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. It is extremely rare to regress backward in stages—to lose the use of higher stage abilities. Stages cannot be skipped; each provides a new and necessary perspective, more comprehensive than its predecessors. Like Bloom’s Taxonomy, these stages are a ladder.

Pre-conventional: This level of moral reasoning is especially common in children, although adults can also exhibit this level of reasoning. Reasoners at this level judge the morality of an action by its direct consequences. The pre-conventional level consists of the first and second stages of moral development, and is solely concerned with the self. Someone with preconventional morality has not yet adopted society's rules regarding what is right or wrong, but instead focuses largely on external consequences that certain actions may bring.

Stage one (obedience and punishment driven), individuals focus on the direct consequences of their actions on themselves. For example, an action is perceived as morally wrong because the doer is punished. "The last time I did that, I got spanked. So, I will not do it again." The worse the punishment for the act is, the more "bad" the act is perceived to be. It lacks recognition that others' points of view are different from one's own. Has the individual accomplished this Stage of Moral Development?Use specific examples to support your response.

Stage two (self-interest) espouses the "what's in it for me" position, in which right behavior is defined by whatever is in the individual's best interest. This reasoning shows a limited interest in the needs of others, but only to a point where it might further the individual's own interests. As a result, concern for others is not based on loyalty or respect, but rather a "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" mentality. Has the individual accomplished this Stage of Moral Development?Use specific examples to support your response.

Conventional:This level of moral reasoning is typical of adolescents and adults. Those who reason in a conventional way judge the morality of actions by comparing them to society's views and expectations. Conventional morality is characterized by an acceptance of society's conventions concerning right and wrong. At this level, an individual obeys rules and follows society's norms even when there are no consequences for obedience or disobedience. Adherence to rules is somewhat rigid, and a rule's appropriateness or fairness is seldom questioned.

In Stage three (conformity driven), the self enters society by fulfilling social roles. Individuals are receptive to approval or disapproval from others as it reflects society's judgment of that perceived role. They try to be a "good boy" or "good girl" to live up to these expectations, having learned that there is inherent value in doing so, not just for reward. Stage three reasoning may judge the morality of an action by evaluating its consequences in terms of a person's relationships, which now begin to include things like respect, gratitude and the "golden rule". "I want to be liked and thought well of; apparently, not being naughty makes people like me." Desire to maintain rules and authority exists only to further support these social roles. Has the individual accomplished this Stage of Moral Development?Use specific examples to support your response.

In Stage four (authority and social order obedience driven), it is important to obey laws and social conventions because of their importance in maintaining a functioning society. Moral reasoning in stage four is thus beyond the need for individual approval exhibited in stage three; society must learn to go beyond individual needs. If one person violates a law, perhaps everyone would—thus there is an obligation and a duty to uphold laws and rules. When someone does violate a law, it is morally wrong; culpability is thus a significant factor in this stage as it separates the bad domains from the good ones. Most active adult members of society remain at stage four, where morality is still predominantly dictated by an outside force. Has the individual accomplished this Stage of Moral Development?Use specific examples to support your response.

Post-Conventional:This level, also known as the principled level, consists of stages five and six of moral development. There is a growing realization that individuals are separate entities from society, and that the individual's own perspective may take precedence over society's view. Because of this level's "nature of self before others", the behavior of post-conventional individuals, especially those at stage 6, can be confused with that of those at the pre-conventional level. People who exhibit postconventional morality view rules as useful but changeable and ideally can maintain the general social order and protect human rights; rules must not be obeyed without question. These people live by their own abstract principles about right and wrong-principles that typically include such basic human rights as life, liberty, and justice. They may disobey rules inconsistent with their own principles. Contemporary theorists often speculate that many people may never reach this level of abstract moral reasoning.

In Stage five (social contract driven), individuals are viewed as holding different opinions, rights and values. Laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid orders. Those which do not promote the general welfare should be changed when necessary to meet "the greatest good for the greatest number of people". This is achieved through majority decision and inevitable compromise. Thus democratic government is based on stage five reasoning. Has the individual accomplished this Stage of Moral Development?Use specific examples to support your response.

In Stage six (universal ethical principles driven), moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles. Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws. Rights are unnecessary, as social contracts are not essential for moral action. Decisions are not reached hypothetically in a conditional way, but rather categorically in an absolute way. This involves an individual imagining she would do in another's shoes, if she believed what that other person imagines to be true. The individual acts because it is right, and not because it is instrumental, expected, legal, or previously agreed upon. Although Kohlberg insisted that stage six exists, he found it difficult to identify individuals who consistently operated at that level. Has the individual accomplished this Stage of Moral Development?Use specific examples to support your response.

10 Commandments

Note: There are slight differences in the reading and order of these commandments according to different sects of Judaism or Christianity. This is considered the oldest version. This is not to say that other versions are inaccurate.

1.I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

2.Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.