General
UNIT 5: Civics and governance
Key unit competence: Describe the Rwandan coat of arms, acceptable behaviour and District leadership.
Learning objectives
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
- Identify different elements of Rwanda coat of arms.
- Define harmony and disharmony.
- Define a leader and leadership.
- Name the main district leaders and their roles.
Skills
- Describe the Rwandan coat of arms.
- Draw the national coat of arms.
- Explain causes, consequences of disharmony and ways of promoting harmony.
- Describe qualities of a good leader.
- Draw a district organogram.
Attitudes and values
- Acknowledge the importance Rwanda coat of arms.
- Show respect for national symbols.
- Acknowledge the importance of harmony among peers.
- Show concern about bad behaviour and report to elders.
- Practice acceptable behaviours.
- Imitate good behaviours from peers and adults.
- Acknowledge the importance of leaders in our district.
- Show respect and collaborate with leaders.
Introductory activity
Discuss these questions.
1. Does every soccer/football team have a leader?
2. Why does the team have a leader?
3. Does your class have a leader?
4. Does our country have leaders?
5. Why do we need leaders?
6. Would you like to be a leader? Why?
Our national soccer/football team has a captain. The captain is the leader of the team.
5.1National symbols
A symbol is a mark or picture that represents or stands for something else. When we see the symbol it means something to us. For example, the members of a football team all have the same symbol on their shirts. People watching a football game can easily see which team the players belong to. All countries have symbols or emblems that tell the world something about them. One of these is the national coat of arms. Another is the national flag. A national coat of arms means something to the people living in a country. They are proud of their national coat of arms.
5.2 The national coat of arms of Rwanda
Each part of the Rwandan coat of arms has an important meaning. They stand for
values or goals that Rwanda wants to achieve.
Activity
Do the following:
1. Draw a picture of the Rwandan national coat of arms. Put all your drawings on the
walls around the class.
2. Make a list of the meanings of the symbols on the coat of arms.
3. Write down why these symbols are important in Rwanda.
5.3 Coats of arms of neighbouring countries
We must respect the national coats of arms of other countries. Here are the coats of arms of some of our neighbours:
Coat of arms of some of the East African community.
Activity
Point out the correct coat of arms for Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Tanzania.
5.4 Living in harmony
In Rwanda, we have different cultures and religions. It is important that we live together in harmony. Harmony means getting along together. It means being nice to each other even if we do not agree with each other.In order to live together in harmony we must all behave in an acceptable manner. Acceptable behaviour is behaviour that people normally approve of. Acceptable behaviour means we:
- respect other people
- are polite• are tolerant
- help each other and are kind
- work hard
- take responsibility if we make a mistake.
Unacceptable behaviour is behaviour that people do not approve of. Unacceptable behaviour means we:
- are rude
- lie, are dishonest or cheatCoat
- take drugs
- treat people badly (especially women and children)
- fight
- are lazy or do not help other people
- damage property.
Exercise
Read the case study and answer the questions that follow.
Manzi is a Grade Four pupil at Good Harvest Primary School. He works hard in class. He encourages other
pupils to tidy up the classroom even if the class teacher is not there.
When other pupils are nasty to him, he forgives them but reports the incident to the class teacher.
The teachers and other pupils like him because of his good behaviour.
At home, he helps his parents by fetching water at the public tap. He also sweeps the compound,
mops the house and washes utensils and clothes.
Questions
1. Why do the teachers like Manzi?
2. Mention any three activities that Manzi does at home.
3. What does Manzi do when other learners disrespect him?
4. Draw a picture to show Manzi fetching water
Disharmony happens when people are not on good terms with one another in
the community. When there is disharmony, there is misunderstanding between people.
5.5 Disharmony among peers
Peers are the people who are in the same age group or social group as us. If
there is disharmony in our school classroom, we cannot learn properly.
Activity
1. Make a list of things that can lead to disharmony.
2. Talk about what causes disharmony in your classroom.
a) Think about ways of how that could be avoided.
b) Present your findings to the rest of the class.
5.6 Ways of promoting harmony
We must all try to promote harmony in our communities. This means in our homes, at school and in our neighbourhood.
We need to be kind. We need to be peaceful.We need to listen to each other’s points of view and respect each other, even if we disagree.
Activity
1. Think about and discuss ways that we can all help to promote harmony in our neighbourhood.
Present your findings to the class.
2. Role play the following situations and talk about how they help to promote harmony.
a) My friend has lost his/her school lunch so I share mine.
b) A new pupil is being bullied. I tell the bully to stop. I help the new pupil to make some friends and to feel welcome in class.
5.7 Leadership in our district
A leader is a person who guides or directs a group for a purpose. We need good leaders in order to organise and make things happen. Schools, communities, sports teams, religious groups and countries all need leaders.
Activity
Talk about examples of good leadership.
5.7.1 Qualities of a good leader
Good leadership is very important. Without it countries
do not thrive and businesses do not grow. A good leader:
- can direct people for a common purpose
- keeps people informed about what is happening
- has integrity and honesty
- can think creatively and solve problems
- respects the ideas of the people he/she is leading
- sets a good example for people to follow
- is positive
- a good leader should be able to motivate and encourage people.
Activity
Make a list of the ways that can help the leaders in your community.
5.7.2 The main leaders of our district
There are 30 districts in Rwanda. Each district needs to have leaders to make sure that the district runs properly.
In each district a council is elected by the people living in the district.
The council is responsible for the smooth running of the district.
This includes public service delivery, such as tax collection, as well as economic development. The council uses money
collected from local taxes and fees such as business licences to do its job.
The council elects a Mayor to run it and also Deputy Mayors act as assistants.
The table shows the leaders of our district with their positions and roles.
Activity
1. Find out the names of the people who serve on your district council.
2. Find out what their roles are.
3. Draw an organigram showing your district council.
Self-assessment
Make sure that you are able to do the following on your own.
1. State any three ways of promoting harmony in your district.
2. Explain the meaning of leadership.
3. Choose one leader of your district and explain his/her duties.
4. Draw the national coat of arms of Rwanda and explain the meaning of at least four elements in it.
End unit assessment
1. What is the difference between harmony and disharmony?
2. Describe any three situations which can lead to disharmony in your district.
3. Identify any one act of disharmony and explain its results to the people in your district.
4. What is the title of the person who leads a district council?
5. Explain any two of the symbols on the Rwandan national coat of arms.
6. Describe any two qualities of a good leader.
7. Why do we need good leaders?
8. What do we mean by acceptable behaviour? Give an example.
9. Identify the picture:
10. Match the description from the Rwandan coat of arms with the correct symbol.
