Futures at stake

Image from the Prince's Trust

The first statistic to grab my attention was that 45% of those questioned do not consider their parents as role models.  Another figure that’s alarming is 34% believe that their own communities do not care for them and only 3 out of 10, aged between 21 and 25, believe they could still achieve the career of their dreams.

Many of us who interact with young people know too well the disconnect that can occur with young people and their parents and we try to bridge that gap with life experiences we have had and learned from.

Digesting the report made me reflect on what role models affected my life and career.

Growing up I didn’t have parents to encourage, advise me on career decisions, life-style issues or even to teach me life skills but what I did have was one or two role models who up to this day are probably unaware of how much they helped me when I was vulnerable and desperately needed a guiding hand.

The first of these I met during a short stint in prison following the 1981 Brixton Uprising.  It was a challenging time for me where I couldn’t imagine a life for me of any worth or substance.  My eventual role model was my cell mate and he was a voracious reader.  He introduced me to the great CLR James, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Alan Sillitoe, Dickens, Maya Angelou and so many more.  On many a cold night we would debate the merits of characters in fiction and what informed their life-changing decisions.

Through reading fiction, I found empathy for others.  My new mentor taught me that if I could read the texts that the greats had studied, I had the potential to accomplish wonderful things like them.  The experience left a permanent impression on my self-esteem.  I came out of prison believing I could make a contribution to society.  I didn’t feel worthless.

Role models can come in all shapes and sizes.  They could be a school librarian advising a student what particular work of fiction might suit them, or a passionate history teacher who may be unaware that their enthusiasm for relating the War of the Roses is setting a career path for a quiet student at the back of the class.  It could be the quiet dignity of how a French tutor calmly deals with a rowdy class.

Those of us who engage and interact with young people must be fully aware of the responsibility we carry in how we advise and counsel the young, especially the vulnerable or those who lack a role model at home.  At times we must try to discern who may need a friendly ear and an encouraging voice.

As tutors, lecturers and professors we may know our individual areas of study better than most but as we go into 2019, we mustn’t forget or even neglect the role model in all of us and how impactful we can all be with the right words of encouragement and guidance.

See the report here.