Activity 1: Relationships, Goal Setting & Social Media

What is meant by the term ‘goal setting’?

The process of deciding what you want to achieve or what you want someone else to achieve
over a particular period

State four benefits of setting SMART goals.

- Improves time management.

- Boosts motivation
- Evaluates your strengths and weaknesses.
- Helps with prioritization.

Differentiate between realistic and unachievable goals.

A realistic goal is one you can achieve, given your skills, time, and level of motivation. Once
you determine these goals, you will get closer to achieving them. Realistic goals need to be
attainable.

An unachievable goal is one that is impossible to achieve. Expectations are unrealistic and
not able to be achieved. When you set unachievable goals you will grow bored and burn
yourself out, making you quit quickly. To recognise unachievable goals, check each step of
your goal setting plan to make sure that they are all achievable.

Describe the impact of an inability to set relevant academic goals on grade 11 learner’s
schoolwork.

As a grade 11 learner, it is important to set goals. Goal setting at that point in your life is
important as it is the time in a teenager’s life when they will have to achieve results which
they will use to apply to university with. Being unable to set academic goals for oneself will
lead to:

Lack of direction: Learners will lose their sense of direction and will be uncertain about
their academic path. Learner’s will begin to struggle when it comes to identifying the path
that they would like to follow in the future. This will demotivate them and make them feel
like their life lacks purpose.

Increased stress and anxiety: The uncertainty of knowing what your academic goals are
will contribute to increased stress and anxiety. Learner’s will feel overwhelmed with all the
stress from schoolwork and expectations from their family and friends. This will negatively
impact their well-being.
Explain three ways in which the media could negatively influence your relationship
goals with family members.

 Caring less about each other:

Social media has become a world-wide source of entertainment. People have become
addicted to the media, which leads to a change in their behaviour. It influences the way a
person’s mind works as well as the way they act in society. An addiction to social media will
cause a person to spend more time on social apps rather than interacting with their family in
real life. They lose out on precious time with their families which leads to them losing any
care that they had before.

 Absent Minded in Family Issues :

People who spend most of their time on social media grow to become absent minded. When
asked a question, they will take some time to comprehend what they are being asked, which
sometimes makes them seem foolish. They take a few long seconds to reach their present
state of mind, making it seem like they are truly out of their senses. This makes it difficult to
communicate with one’s family, especially when trying to have a conversation with someone
who is easily irritated. Family members might not want to converse with a person due to how
absent minded they are.

 Priorities:

Many people, especially teenagers, let social media interfere with what their main priorities
are. People who become so obsessed with social media and video games will often put those
things first, before their own family. A teenager would rather spend their night playing video
games and talking to their online friends than spending time with their family. They lose
sense of how important family is.
Discuss four safety strategies that teenagers may consider when interacting with virtual
friends, ensuring that they remain on course with the attainment of their safety goals.

 Withholding personal information:

When teenagers interact with their online friends, they should always be aware of the
dangers that they are facing. They should consider keeping their personal information
private, as this could get them into danger. In this new day and age, it is so easy to find a
person’s address and personal information by knowing so little as a full name, age and
country that a person lives in. By speaking freely of this kind of information with virtual
friends, they could easily get stalked and tracked down.

 Staying away from suspicious links and websites:

In today’s times, it is so easy to hack a person’s phone by sending them a link and waiting
for them to click on it. It is so easy for a teenager to click any links that their virtual friends
send them without a second thought. Teens need to consider the dangers that could come
from simply clicking a link. They could get ‘doxed’ which refers to a person’s sensitive
information being exposed such as their IP address, phone number, home address, school or
workplace and other financial or personal information.

 Making sure they know who they are speaking to:

Teenagers need to ensure that when they talk to their virtual friends, they know exactly who
they are conversing with. They need to see a picture of the person and scan the internet of
that picture to make sure that it is not a fake photo. Teens need to do the appropriate research
before befriending people online.

Analyze how the ability to revisit your relationship goals could be helpful to teenagers
who have suddenly lost interest in social relationships.

 Self-awareness and reflection:

Revisiting relationship goals could encourage teenagers to take another look at their self and
reflect on the person that they have become which will stimulate their self-awareness and
help them realize all of the good relationships they have lost.

 Motivation:

Visiting old relationship goals will help a teenager remember how passionate they used to be
which will give them a nostalgic feeling, motivating them to either rekindle or make new
social relationships.
Critically discuss how being goal directed could enable you to live a self-
fulfilling life

 Having goals gives a person a sense of direction. When a person has an idea of the path
that they are following they will know how to stay on that path and motivate themselves
to fulfil their goals, which will inevitably lead to them having a fulfilled life.

 Being goal directed gives you the ability to stay focused, which will lead to having a
much better academic career which will enable you to live a fulfilled life.
 Being goal directed enhances your growth and development. Goals encourage personal
growth and development. By setting goals you will acquire new skills, knowledge and
become a better individual. This leads to self-improvement which will contribute to a
sense of fulfilment and accomplishment.

Evaluate how social relationships may influence your ability to achieve

your desired goals in life.

 Trend following: Many teens feel obligated to follow the same path in which their
friends are going which will lead to them changing their life goals according to what
everyone else is doing.

 Peer pressure: Sometimes teenagers are pressured by their peers to have goals that are
‘cool’ and ‘trending’, which makes them feel like they need to change their goals to fit in.

 Distractions: Social relationships could often serve as a distraction for a person who is
trying to achieve their desired goals. They fall into bad habits and lose focus on what is
important.

 Stress: Many times, social relationships can be quite stressful because of drama and
fights that occur. This adds to one’s stress, making you feel overwhelmed. This could
make a person feel hopeless and unable to achieve their goals due to all of the energy
consuming occurrences in their life.

Recommend one way in which you, as a young person, could advise

your friend who is in poor relationship with his/her parents due to
the inability to pursue helpful lifegoals.

I would recommend that my friend should have an open and calm discussion with their
parents. It's important to express their thoughts and feelings calmly and respectfully, trying to
get their parents to understand rather than to look for a blame. They should mention their life
goals and explain how it will help them with their personal growth. They should also listen
to the concerns coming from their parents and reassure them that they will have nothing to
worry about. My friend will need to try and find a common ground with their parents so that
they can compromise.
State 2 reasons why obtaining a NSC is important

- Allows learner’s to access higher education institutions

- Having an NSC is a common requirement for most jobs

What further education options are available to learners who have completed matric?

- A tertiary education such as going to university or college.

- TVET colleges

Differentiate between learnerships and apprenticeships

A learnership is a learning programme that leads to an occupational qualification.

Learnerships include classroom-based learning at a training centre or college and on-the-job
training in a workplace. Learnerships are usually 1 year qualifications.

Apprenticeships are regulated, long term, paid positions that train participants in a skilled
trade. An apprenticeship is a work-based route to a qualification for learners who are
interested in working in a practical, technical field, so that they can become certified skilled
workers. Apprenticeships have different levels that can take up to 3 or 4 years.

Describe the challenges resulting from most grade 12 learners wanting to persue studies
at universities, instead of other higher education institutions such as TVET colleges.

- Limited Capacity: Getting accepted into a university is much more difficult than getting
into other higher education institutions. Universities have thousands of applicants in each
career choice and only a limited number of space, making it difficult for Grade 12’s to get
accepted for what they would like to study. They will need to meet the minimum
requirements, but sometimes that is not even enough as there are hundreds of other
students that have achieved way above what was required.

- Mental Health challenges: Almost everybody wants to pursue their studies at a

university level. The problem is, not everyone gets in. Learners will face many mental
health issues such as stress and anxiety which comes from pushing themselves too hard
and working under pressure as they study and try their best to work hard in order to get
accepted into university.
Explain 3 reasons why entrepreneurship may be considered a viable option for the
youth after they have matriculated

- Many students are not financially stable enough to pay for an education after high school.
Entrepreneurship is a viable option for the youth that would like to attend a tertiary or
higher education institution after matric. Entrepreneurship gives learners the ability to
make their own schedules, have full control over their time and lets them set their own
rules. This allows students to make money to pay for their expenses while studying at an
institution.

- Entrepreneurship provides the youth with the chance to make their own path, pursue their
passions, and make a meaningful impact. By starting their own business, young
entrepreneurs can introduce new products or services that address existing challenges or
needs in the market. They have the freedom to experiment and create something unique.
This allows the chance to gain experience and obtain new skills and abilities.
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- Many learners do not want to attend any tertiary or higher education institutions after
hight school. Entrepreneurship is an opportunity for these matriculants to generate an
income without having any qualifications. Entrepreneurship comes with risks, but it also
has the potential to reward you greatly. This gives students who are unable or do not wish
to study further an opportunity to still be successful.

Discuss how the inability to source funding for tertiary studies can negatively impact
young people who are keen on studying

- Limited Access to Education: Without funding, many students may not be able to afford
tuition fees, which will prevent them from accessing higher education altogether. This can
limit their career prospects and continue the poverty cycle.

- Limited Opportunities: Without a degree or certificate from a tertiary or higher

education institutions, young people may have fewer job opportunities available to them.
This can limit them to lower paying jobs, which will stand in the way of them getting
higher in life.

- Waste of potential: Leaners who are dedicated to learning and do not have the finances
to attend further education institutions are prevented from achieving their dreams. The
lack of funding for studies makes it impossible for students to live up to their aspirations,
which will ultimately lead to their potential being wasted. They will give up on their goals
and dreams, making them feel like life has no meaning. This will lower their self-esteem
and make them not want to achieve any goals in life.

- Mental illness: In South Africa, the teen suicide rate goes up every year around the time
matrics get their results and start to hear back from universities. People who have worked
hard and achieved the results that they had hoped for, but don’t get access to their dream
universities due to lack of funding, often fall into depression and self-loathing. Many
students result to suicide after being unable to pursue their life goals.
Discuss the benefits of meeting bursary obligations for tertiary education to a young
person

- Financial Support: Bursaries provide financial assistance to cover tuition fees,

accommodation costs, books, and other educational expenses. This support reduces the
financial burden on the student and their family, making higher education more
accessible.

- Focus on Academic Success: With the financial support provided by bursaries, students
can focus more on their studies and academic pursuits without the added stress of
finances. This can lead to improved academic performance and better outcomes in terms
of grades and qualifications.

Critically discuss 2 strategies that school leavers who do not meet the admission
requirements for higher education may consider to still pursue their specific career
goals

- Rewrite matric exams: Learners who want to pursue a specific career, but did not meet
the admission requirements for higher education, can rewrite their matric exams as they
know what to prepare for the second time around, as well as knowing what to apply for
again, which could serve as an advantage to achieve better results which will lead to them
meeting the minimum requirements for the following year.

- Vocational Training and Certification Programs: One strategy for school leavers who
do not meet higher education admission requirements is to pursue vocational training and
certification programs. These programs offer practical, hands-on training in specific
industries, providing learners with the skills and qualifications needed to enter the world
of work. Vocational training institutions such as TVET colleges offer a wide range of
courses in fields that learners could have an interest in.

Evaluate the impact of early application to study at a tertiary institution while still in
grade 11 on learner’s chances to eventually enrol at these institutions

Applying early at universities could increase a learner’s chance of being accepted, as it puts
the learner in a position where the university is aware of their achievements, which serves as
an advantage when trying to enrol at the institutions as the university will recognise their
name and accomplishments when going through all of the applicants.

Recommend 1 way a learner can minimise educational debt while studying

A learner can get a part time job in which they will work shifts that do not clash with their
lectures, which will ensure that learners receive their full education while earning money to
pay for their educational expenses.