GRADE 10

LIFE
ORIENTATION
Development of
the self in
society
Term 1
SELF AWARENESS AND SELF-
ESTEEM
What is self-awareness?
 It is the way we see, think and
feel about ourselves.
 It is our ability to recognise our
strong and weak points and
make choices and decisions
based on these abilities.
 It is about your likes and
dislikes and skills and wishes
for your future.
What is self-esteem?
 It is the way we feel about ourselves. How
much do you like yourself. It is based on what
we think other people think of us.
 It is a awareness of our worth as a person. Other
people can boost or destroy our self-esteem.
 It means how much you like yourself and how
good you think you are.
How do I improve my self-
confidence and self-esteem?
 If you feel good about yourself,
you will have confidence in the
things you do.
 You need to build on the situations
in which you are confident and try
to extend it to other areas in your
life.
 Self-esteem is the image you have
of yourself. Self-confidence is the
way you act out this self-esteem.
What is self-development?
 It is when you try to improve
yourself.
 It is when you build your
strengths and improve your
weaknesses
 It is when you develop yourself
to become the best you can be.
 The difference between self-awareness,
self-esteem and self-development

Self-awareness Self-esteem Self-development

Know yourself Like yourself Improve yourself
Know yourself: Believe in yourself, respect Strengthen weaknesses, build
Skills, strengths, weaknesses, yourself, value yourself, have on your skills and strength
likes, dislikes, interests, goals, confidence
values
 Factors influencing self-awareness and self-esteem
Many factors or things influence, or affect, the way in which you see yourself. The factors affect
how much you like yourself and how well you know yourself. These factors include:
• what other people say about you
• what happens in your life
• how well you cope with difficult things in your life
• your response or reaction to your successes and failure
• how popular you think you are; how much you think your friends like you
• how your family, friends and other important people in your life treat you: they can build your
self-esteem if they support and praise you or break down your self-esteem if they say only
negative or bad things to you.
The media, such as newspapers and magazines, TV and radio, cellphone messages, entries on
Facebook, Twitter (X), WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Internet can also have a large effect on
your self-esteem. Pictures of what some people think are perfect faces and bodies, types of people,
advertisements and fashions may influence how you see yourself.
You may compare yourself to these images. Some people try to be or look just like their favourite
celebrities. When they can’t do this, they feel bad about the way they are or look.
 Strategies to build confidence
in yourself and in others
 Start to focus on what you are good at. Yes, everybody does have something.....
 Start to complete tasks immediately, to the best of your ability. Keep on improving in
every task until you do it perfect and right.
 Finish the tasks you start. Don’t give up.
 Start to take part in sport at school. Remember not all of us can play in the first team,
but remember the first team needs a second team to practise against.
 Start to take part in activities in the community and at church. You will feel good about
yourself if you do something for somebody else.
 Strategies to build confidence
in yourself and in others (continues…)
 Volunteer to help in your community.
 Make good and right decisions. Do not blame peer pressure. You are in control of
yourself and your own future, so take responsibility for your actions.
 Make sure you communicate how you feel to those around you and make sure those
around you understand what you are trying to say.
 Praise and encourage yourself and others around you. You will attract a lot of new
friends by praising them, but be honest. Tell your class mates if you think they have done
well or look good or has done something good you agree with.
 Action plan to build self-esteem

Be strong when others’ words hurt you. Whatever they say is just their idea, it is not always the truth.
But accept criticism if it is helpful and true. End each day with a short reflection. Think about your
success of the day or what good you did on this day.
For the next 3 weeks:
Before you fall asleep at night. Think about yourself and something good you have done or
achieved today, doesn’t matter how small. See yourself achieving your dreams and goal. Tell
yourself that you like yourself and that you are a winner. Start to like yourself, and then others will
like you too.
Acknowledge and
respect the uniqueness
of self and others and
respect differences
Every person in the world is unique, uniqueness means that every person is different in
some ways and is special. Although there are many similarities among people, there are
also differences.
 We all have different cultures, religions, skills, values, abilities, looks, likes and
dislikes.
 According to our constitution we are not allowed to disrespect or discriminate against
any person because of their culture, races and gender.
 We are all equal. No races or culture are better than the other.

 You must always respect somebody else, even those who have different abilities than
you.
 Learn more about other cultures, because the more you know about other cultures the
easier it will be to respect and understand others.
Do you understand the meaning of the following words?

Gender Whether you are male or female

Uniqueness People are not the same. Each person do have
something that makes him/her special or different from
the others around them
Respect To treat people with concern, value and high regard
Disrespect Lack of respect or politeness towards others
Discriminate To treat somebody different or unfavourable on the
grounds of race, sex, religion etc.
Power and gender
 Definition of concepts:
power, power relations,
masculinity, femininity and
gender
What is power?
Power means to have control or
authority over another person or your
environment. It also refers to force,
strength or might. Power is the ability
to get things done.
How you understand power can affect
your relationships. Power is abused if
one person has too much power over
another person. That leads to unequal
power relations.
 What is a power relation?
Power relations are the sharing of power between people in a relationship. For many years men held
the position of power over women in the workplace and in the home. However, this is changing as
government and society are trying to promote equal power relationships.
In some relationships one of the partner can be dominant, that is, having more power and control
over the other. The person who is less dominant is called submissive or meek. In some cultures,
women are encouraged to be submissive to men. Men often have more power because they are
physically stronger than women. But our laws protect women from abuse.
• An unequal power relationship is when one person has the power to either give or deny
something to the other person. Often, money, violence, emotional abuse and sexual intimacy are
used to control the other person.
• An equal power relationship is where no person has power over the other person.
 In most societies men are in power. These
power roles are traditional in that they are
Traditional followed by generation after generation.
These roles are supported by some religious
power teachings which state that the man should be
relations the head of the home. In traditional gender
roles, being masculine means being dominant,
while being feminine means being submissive.
 In the modern society there have been many
changes in the roles of men and women.
Roles today Women are taking on roles outside the home,
e.g. in the workplace and politics.
What is a Gender and Gender stereotype?
• Gender is the role that society expects of you to play
whether you are a women or a man. Gender
stereotype is when we give men specific roles and
women specific roles in society. Men must be the
breadwinner or women must stay at home and have
children. When you have very rigid and fix ideas of
what men can and cannot do.
• Masculinity: means that you have the qualities that
are associated with men and boys-maleness. It refers
to the male sex and behaviour expected of men.
• Femininity: means having the qualities that are
associated with women and girls- femaleness. It refers
to the female sex and behaviour expected of women.
 Power relations: decisions made by husbands

Unequal power relationships are often seen in families. For example, household decision-making,
such as making choices on health care, household purchases, and visits to relatives, is not always
equally shared between women and men.
Many men make the decisions about their wives’ health care. The effects are that women cannot
make health care choices for themselves, and they may be more exposed to illnesses and disease.
Relationship power inequality also increases the risk of HIV in women.
 Power relations: decisions made by husbands
(continues…)
In many countries, men make the decisions regarding household purchases for both daily items and
such as food, and larger purchases such as furniture. This limits women’s economic power in the
home.
In some countries, men decide if women can visit their family and friends. When women cannot
decide when to visit their own family and friends, they may become socially isolated or alone, and
have less personal power.
Differences
between a
man and a
woman
The biological differences between women and men
Women and men are similar in many ways but also different in some ways. The most obvious
differences are biological.

Male Female
Penis outside the body Vagina inside the body
Testies that produce sperms to Menstruate/ have ovaries that
fertilise eggs produce eggs/give birth
Small hips/more body hair/ Larger hips to give birth/less body
hair
Small breasts that do not produce Bigger breasts that produce milk
milk
 Reproduction and roles in the community
 Traditionally women had the children and raise them. Today more mothers are working
and in the modern home men and women share the duties inside the house as well as the
duties of parenting. Men do have parental duties.
 In your relationship it is very important that you discuss and agree on these duties.
 Most gender rules of society is outdated, and we need to change them to fit our
individual needs for the modern society we live in.
 Parents should raise their children so that they will fit into this modern roles and
responsibilities that will wait upon them in the community.
Stereotypical views of gender roles and responsibilities
Examples of gender differences as decided by societies:
 Women may earn less than men for similar work.
 Men are promoted to positions of power instead of women. For example, there are more male school
principals than female principals.
 In some societies women are not allowed to smoke or drink, but men are allowed.
 Often men are allowed to have many partners, but women are allowed only one husband or one
boyfriend.
 Male sports teams get more funding, media coverage and pay than female sports team.
 In some societies men are allowed to drive cars while women are not.
 In societies women are not allowed to go out without a male family member who serves as an escort.
 Women have to do more housework than men.
 Women play a larger role in parenting.
Stereotypical views of gender roles
and responsibilities (continues…)

 In some societies, the widow does not inherit

her husband’s home or money; the home and
money go to her in-laws.
 Some careers are traditionally seen as just for
men or just for women. For example, pilots,
mechanics, engineers and army commanders
are often seen as men’s jobs, while nurses,
social workers, crèche assistants, librarians and
make-up artists are seen as women’s jobs.
 Gender differences in participation in physical
activities
Men have larger hearts and lungs than women. The difference in the amount of oxygen they breathe
has an effect on their physical performance. For example, when a man is jogging at about 50% of his
ability, a women will need to work at over 70% of her ability just to keep up with him.
To ensure fairness in sport, men and women are separated, so they don’t compete against each other.
 For example, due to the biological difference between women and men, men play five sets and
women three sets in tennis tournaments.
 Similarly, men run longer distances than women in long-distance races.
Why must boys sometimes do longer and more activities in PET for the same marks? Is
this fair? The answer lies in the biological difference between boys and girls. The result:
Games and rules in games are different for boys and girls.

Boys Girls
 Build muscle easily  Have to work harder to build
muscle
 Have greater capacity for
cardiovascular endurance  Have less capacity and endurance
 Have larger hearts and lungs  Have smaller hearts and lungs
 Are stronger  Will need to work harder to keep
up with men
 Influence of gender
inequality on relationships
and general well-being
 Sexual abuse and violence
When girls or women are involved in relationships where power in not equal, men may decide on the
conditions under which sex happens. Sadly, this may mean forced sex.
Sexual abuse includes rape, incest and violent sexual acts. It refers to any inappropriate or wrong
touching by family, friend or strangers that makes you feel uncomfortable. When you are forced to
have sex, it is sexual abuse. Report abuse immediately and tell an adult whom you trust.
Some men are violent towards women and beat women up. These men are uneducated and don’t
understand that their greater body strength does not give them the right to abuse women.
Internet and cellphone sexual abuse violence is on the rise. Never send anybody, even if you trust the
person, a photo of yourself naked or in a sexual act. Often these photos end up on the Internet or get
passed around school on cellphone. This leads to embarrassment and can lead to sexual violence
against you.
Teenage pregnancy
Unwanted teenage pregnancy may happen because of:
 peer pressure
 lack of information on safe sex and contraception,
that is, birth control and prevention
 poverty
 rape
 wishing to have a baby to feel loved and have
somebody to love, but not wanting the baby once it is
born because you are not ready for such a
responsibility
 thinking having a child will keep a relationship going
or force a marriage
 being forced to get pregnant because there is no
choice due to gender inequality; it was the man’s
decision.
 STIs including HIV and AIDS
Gender inequalities influence your exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.
In some societies males act out their masculine roles and so take control of sexual relationships.
Gender customs may force women to be passive or obedient in sexual relationships. This means
women may not discuss or negotiate for safer sex such as condom use, or abstention. Hence, they will
not be protected against STIs such as HIV.
HIV is spread quickly when:
 women have no say in the use of protective measures during intercourse, such as the use of condoms
 there is age-mixing in sexual relationships, for example when a man of 45 has a relationship with a
girl of 15
 there is more than one partner
 there is transactional sex, that is, sex that is paid for
 rape occurs.
Untreated STIs
In both females and males, untreated
STIs can increase the risk of HIV
transmission. Women are at risk
because most STIs go unrecognized;
unlike in men, the sore or other signs
are absent or hard to see. So, women
do not suspect they are at risk. Even
when there are symptoms, STIs in
women often go untreated.
 Careers and
career choices
Term 1
career decision-
making
Self-knowledge for career
choices
As you are in Grade 10, you need
to start preparing for the work you
want to do after you have left
school. If you follow the steps in
this Unit, it will help you make a
career choice.
 Step 1: know your own interests, abilities,
talents and strengths
Making a career choice will be far easier if you know yourself well. So the first step is choosing a
career is to think about the following:
 What are your interests? What do you like to spend your time doing? About what would you like
to learn more? Perhaps you like to cook and would one day like to run your own restaurant.
 What are your abilities, the things you can do well? Your abilities are your skills. You can learn
them and improve them. Perhaps you are very good at solving problems, or finding information,
or organizing and planning, or explaining what information means.
 What are your talents, the natural abilities you were born with? You may have a talent for singing
or solving mathematical problems or playing soccer.
 What are your strengths, the things that you are always good at? Maybe you know how to
communicate your ideas and are able to persuade people.
 What are your weaknesses? What are you not good at? What do you not like doing? Perhaps you
find it writing letters and reports difficult, or perhaps you find it difficult to work in a team.
 Step 1: know your own
interests, abilities,
talents and strengths

Interests, strengths, and abilities can be

grouped together into personality types
or categories. For example, if you are
interested in and good at dealing with
people, communicating, and caring for
people, you are a ‘Social’ type. You
may be more than one type. For
example, you may be both ‘Social’ and
‘Artistic’. Know yourself before you
choose a career.
Step 2: Know more about
jobs, occupations,
careers and career fields
You have decided what your
interests are and what you like
doing. The second step in
choosing your career is to
decide what you would like to
do after you have finished
school. In which area would
you like to study and work so
that you can follow your
interests and do what you do
well?
 Jobs

If you have a job, you are

employed and you get paid for
working. You may need only
some basic training for a job. For
example, you may have a job as a
shop assistant, or truck driver.
 Occupations

An occupation is the work that you do;

it usually requires special education,
training or skills. For example, your
occupation can be a newspaper
reporter, editor, orthodontist, dental
assistant, civil engineer or a doctor.
 Careers

A career is an occupation that you have

for a large part of your life. It gives you
opportunities to progress. You get
promoted and a raise in salary. For
example, teaching may be your career.
You start off being a junior teacher and
progress to becoming head of
department. You would need a diploma,
a certificate or a degree for a career.
 Career fields

A career field is a grouping of occupations. The occupations have common skills, knowledge, and
work settings. People who are employed in a career field have similar interests and talents. A career
field is more than just one job, occupation or career.
For example, the health science career field includes the occupations of dental assistant, dietitian,
medical scientist, medical equipment technician, optometrist, pharmacist, nurse and surgeon. A
career field includes occupations that require different levels of education and training. For some
occupations you may need a diploma; for other occupations in the field you may need a university
degree.
Step 3: know the requirements for the
National Curriculum Statement (NCS):
choose the right subjects

The National Curriculum Statement (NCS)

is the policy on curriculum and assessment
at school. It explains what knowledge,
skills and values you should learn. It
provides access to higher education and
helps with the move from school to work.
 Subjects and career options

The NCS guides you on how to make subject choices. It uses the organising fields of the National
Qualifications Framework (NQF), so it’s easier to decide on the subjects you need for a career fields.
From Grade 10 to 12 there are compulsory subjects you have to study, and others you can choose
from to suit your chosen career field. To get a National Senior Certificate (NSC), which is the
certificate you get if you pass Grade 12, you have to have four compulsory subjects and three
optional subjects. You have to study the seven subjects from Grade 10 to 12. you need:
 Two official languages: one must be on the Home Language level, and the other must be on either
Home or First Additional Language level. One of the two languages should be the language of
learning and teaching.
 Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy
 Life Orientation
 Plus three other subjects (that you can choose from the subjects list)
 Compulsory subjects

 Languages  Home language

  First additional language
 Maths or Maths  If you take science you must
Literacy have maths

 Life Orientation  Must pass this subject

Your 3 choice subjects must come from the school subjects that your school will offer. Subjects are
grouped together according to a field of learning
Field of learning f School subjects
Human and Social Science Geography, History, Religion Studies
Services Tourism, Consumer Studies and Hospitality
Physical, Mathematical and Computer and CAT (computer applications Technology, IT (information technology, Life Science,
Life Science Mathematical Literacy or Maths and Physical Science

Engineering and Technology Civil Technology, Electrical Technology, Mechanical Technology, EGD –Engineering graphics
and design

Language and Communication Studies 2 official languages and approved non-official languages, like Latin

Business and Commerce and Management Accounting, Business Studies, Economics

Studies

Arts and Cultures Dance Studies, Design, Dramatic Act, Music, Visual arts
 Socio-economic factors to
consider when making career
and/or study choices
 Community needs

You will have to see if you can identify

any career in your community that will
help your community like becoming a
good teacher or policeman. Your
community might need an entrepreneur
that can create jobs for others in your
community.
Availability of finances

When you want to study it is very

important that you look at the cost
of studying and if you can afford it
or how you will find the necessary
funding for it. You will have to
know the difference between the
following options.
Affordability

It is very important that you and your family

start planning for you studies at a very early
age. If your family or parents cannot afford
to send you to a tertiary institution, you need
to look at alternative ways of doing your
tertiary qualification.
One such possibility is to work at first and
safe some money and study then.
Another possibility is to work during the day
and study part time at night.
If you want to follow these trends you will
have to be very disciplined and willing to
work very hard.
Type of financial help Explanation
Bursary  You do not pay back a bursary.
 Who qualify to get it?
 Students who perform well at school
 Student selected by companies to study in areas of scares skills e.g. accountants, engineers
etc.

Student loan from bank  You will have to pay back the money after completing you studies they borrow you.

 It can be a bank or company that loan you the money.

 Banks will charge you interest

Scholarship  Some companies or organisations will give you a scholarship if you do very well at school in
your studies in their field of operation
Learner ship  You work and earn money and learn at the same time. You study some time of the year and
the rest you practise those skills you studied in your job.

 At the end of the training program you will be able to get a qualification
Loan by companies  Some companies will give you a loan and do not expect you to pay it back but you need to
work for them for a number of year.
NSFAS  NATIONAL STUDENT FANANCIAL AID SCHEME

 They offer bursaries and loans for students who want to study futher.
 Stereotyping

We have already dealt with

stereotyping in relationships, but we
also have stereotyping in the field of
careers.
Stereotyping in the field of careers
means we allocate specific jobs to men
and women e.g. women cannot be fire
men, or mine managers or men cannot
be nursery school teachers or chefs.
Accessibility
Another question you must
ask yourself is how far or
close is the institution you
want to study at. Can I
afford to travel if it is far
from home? Do I have the
correct subjects and
achievements to get access
to the University or college.
Democracy and human
rights

Term 1
Diversity, discrimination
and violations of human
rights
In the next few lessons, you are
going to learn more about
diversity and discrimination. You
are going to learn more about
human rights violations and
which instruments to use to
oppose human rights violations.
You are also going to learn about
people and organisations
working to stop discrimination
and human rights violations
 Diversity
Diversity means being composed of different
elements. If refers to difference of variety about
aspects of being human, such as:
 culture
 Religion and belief system
 Race
 Language
 Gender
 Age
 Health status
 Place of birth, such as Africa or China
 Where you stay, for example in an urban or rural
area.
Diversity (continues…)

Every human being is unique. We all

have individual differences. We are
also similar in many ways. We have
to respect the differences. We must
not judge each other on the basis of
differences. If we promote fairness
and respect for each other, we still
live in a peaceful, successful,
progressive and caring country.
Diversity
(continues…)
In South Africa, diversity mainly refers to the
different cultural groups that enrich and bless
our country. To accept and honour diversity
means you:
• take pride in your own and others’ cultures
• agree that everybody does not have to be the
same, or look or think alike
• respect others’ opinions, even if you disagree
with them
• understand, tolerate and respect different
views and experiences
• are willing to learn and live in peace with
diverse people .
Diversity
(continues…)

Ubuntu promotes respect for

diversity. Ubuntu is an African
philosophy that is based on:
• care and understanding
• our connectedness to each other
• our shared humanity
• the desire to understand and
respect each other
 Discrimination
Discrimination means to treat people unfairly and
differently. When you discriminate, you deny people
their rights, power and privilages. So, to discrimination
is to violate or abuse others’ human rights. Often,
discrimination is based on ignorance. For example, some
people discriminate against others who:
• have tuberculosis (TB)
• live with HIV or AIDS
• are younger or older than they are
• live or come from rural on an urban area
• live with albinism
• belong to different cultural groups
 Human rights and
violations
Human rights are rules to
help everybody live together
in peace, safety and
happiness. Sometimes people
don’t follow these rules.
Then they they violate or
abuse human rights.
 Example of human rights
violations: human trafficking
Human trafficking is the global illegal transporting of people
across international and local borders. To be trafficked means
to be taken against your will, or tricked into going with
traffickers or criminals who then sell you. You may be bought,
sold and transported into slavery:
• for sexual exploitation and forced marriage
• to work in shops or factories for no pay
• to beg to provide money for your capturers
• to harvest and sell your organs such as kidneys
• to work on farms or do domestic work
Call the toll-free helpline 0800 555 999 for help or you
suspect human trafficking is going on in your area.