Raising a New Generation of Leaders by Joy Isa

Paramount on the heart of every parent is the success of his/her children in academic and non-academic pursuits. A lot of time and money is often invested into the lives of our children ensuring that they receive the best education we can afford %u2013 and we sometimes strive hard, denying ourselves certain privileges in our attempt to keep up with the ever rising cost of good quality educational services. As our children are diverse and of varying abilities, we often require the services of private instructors/lesson teachers to complement the efforts of the school teachers in our quest for good education.

 As part of their curricula, schools offer civics, citizenship or moral instruction (some offer religious education) in an attempt to equip the children with much needed social skills, standards of moral excellence and a measure of patriotism. Assemblies, field trips, school visits by outstanding professionals and notable public figures are an integral part of this program, providing the children with first hand experience of the principles taught in class.

Though a lot of effort and time is invested in making sure they learn all they have to in class, the average school day is limited to 6 hours. So what happens to the rest of the day?

As parents, we expect optimum input from the schools for whatever fees we pay. We invest tirelessly into our children%u2019s education over a span of at least 20 years and as such we tend %u2013 unintentionally - to abdicate the responsibility of educating them to the school system. Upon reflection, we have seen that the path on this journey often leads to a turbulent future for our children. When we stop and consider the expectations we have for them as the future %u2018men%u2019 and %u2018women%u2019 at the helm of affairs, be it in our personal businesses, in governance, in any sphere of the public and private sectors of our nation and even globally, we may discover that they are ill-prepared for the demands and the challenges such an assignment would involve. We seem to be raising a generation of dependent individuals who would unfortunately lack the dexterity to lead us on a personal, national and international level.

The former US Secretary of state, Collin Powell once told a group of University graduates the following: %u201CDo the right thing by setting your own internal standards of excellence, your own internal standards of behaviour and making sure that you meet them and exceed them. Do the right thing, even when you get no credit for it, even if you get hurt by doing the right thing. Do the right thing when no one is watching or will ever know about it. YOU will always know.%u201D

Having intrinsic motivation to succeed is a sure indicator that an individual will self actualise, regardless of place or circumstance. Intrinsic values and drives, as much as they are dependent on the individual can be acquired, developed and optimised. Like the popular saying goes: %u2018Garbage in, garbage out!%u2019 We cannot expect to have loving, considerate individuals who are able to empathise with others if we do not make the effort. These individuals have to be raised. They have to be cultivated, nurtured and groomed in our homes. These individuals have to be taught the values and virtues needed to rise to the helm of affairs at any level.   Such a vital and monumental task can most certainly not be accomplished by one individual alone. It takes the combined effort of the school, religious establishments, and most importantly parents, to get the job done. It is therefore essential that we review the lifestyles of our children with the aim of identifying and developing natural abilities and talents and the acquisition of knowledge while maintaining high moral standards at all times. We must deliberately examine the way in which we raise our children. Teaching virtues such as responsibility, accountability, honesty, tolerance, empathy, and all the other %u2018ty%u2019s%u2019 should be high priority on our list.

This should by no means constrain us to put our children in armoured-tank-vehicles and to have satellite monitors track them 24/7. Far from it! Instead, we should choose those moments often referred to as %u2018teachable moments%u2019 when you can communicate a valuable life lesson to your children. It could be at the end of a movie on the way home, you can review the character traits that you want to highlight or correct in an informal chit-chat. You can point out the flaws and suggest alternate behavioural patterns that would have empowered this individual to overcome whatever challenges they faced. You can actually take an hour or less every weekend to have a conversation with your children. This is especially important for preteens and teenagers, as the line of communication is often unintentionally closed during these crucial years of development.

The former US Secretary of state, Collin Powell once told a group of University graduates the following: %u201CDo the right thing by setting your own internal standards of excellence, your own internal standards of behaviour and making sure that you meet them and exceed them. Do the right thing, even when you get no credit for it, even if you get hurt by doing the right thing. Do the right thing when no one is watching or will ever know about it. YOU will always know.%u201D

Having intrinsic motivation to succeed is a sure indicator that an individual will self actualise, regardless of place or circumstance. Intrinsic values and drives, as much as they are dependent on the individual can be acquired, developed and optimised. Like the popular saying goes: %u2018Garbage in, garbage out!%u2019 We cannot expect to have loving, considerate individuals who are able to empathise with others if we do not make the effort. These individuals have to be raised. They have to be cultivated, nurtured and groomed in our homes. These individuals have to be taught the values and virtues needed to rise to the helm of affairs at any level.   Such a vital and monumental task can most certainly not be accomplished by one individual alone. It takes the combined effort of the school, religious establishments, and most importantly parents, to get the job done. It is therefore essential that we review the lifestyles of our children with the aim of identifying and developing natural abilities and talents and the acquisition of knowledge while maintaining high moral standards at all times. We must deliberately examine the way in which we raise our children. Teaching virtues such as responsibility, accountability, honesty, tolerance, empathy, and all the other %u2018ty%u2019s%u2019 should be high priority on our list.

This should by no means constrain us to put our children in armoured-tank-vehicles and to have satellite monitors track them 24/7. Far from it! Instead, we should choose those moments often referred to as %u2018teachable moments%u2019 when you can communicate a valuable life lesson to your children. It could be at the end of a movie on the way home, you can review the character traits that you want to highlight or correct in an informal chit-chat. You can point out the flaws and suggest alternate behavioural patterns that would have empowered this individual to overcome whatever challenges they faced. You can actually take an hour or less every weekend to have a conversation with your children. This is especially important for preteens and teenagers, as the line of communication is often unintentionally closed during these crucial years of development.