What is True Leadership
by Larry Turner

I looked at the news feeds on my I-phone for one day recently and was informed about the following:

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Concert goers threw objects at the entertainers and wimped when a return object struck
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The development of a riot at an electronics giveaway which included hurling objects at the police called in to calm the situation
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While these events were transpiring, the electronic media was interviewing educators about why students and other young people are so difficult to deal with in today’s world, and why so very few can speak English properly.

I hate to say it this way but “back in my day as a youth,” had I been involved in any similar events I would first have been “dealt with” by my parents and then incarcerated for at least a brief time.

What has happened is that parents and educators alike have abdicated their responsibilities to teach, in the general sense, and guide our youth so they understand what is expected of them and what the recourse will be for non-compliance.  That doesn’t exist today, and the police can’t handle these situations because, even though they might not have been “defunded,” their budgets have been allocated to matters other than enforcement and they are simply outnumbered and disrespected.

Further, when it is said that few of our kids speak well, just listen for a while to their current music favorites who obviously didn’t get close enough to a classroom to throw a spitball, and who represent a language style that challenges our ability to understand.  And, I am reluctant to say this, but listen to some of the educators interviewed on TV about their individual situations and you have to wonder how close they came to picking up an English textbook.

The bottom line is that our “leaders” of tomorrow disrespect authority figures, prefer their own lingo, have little interest in working, and don’t give a second of thought to the ultimate consequences. This is what happens when the authorities let their constituents shun authority and pretty much do what they want.

I’ll stop after a telling story:

A few years ago, I struck up a conversation in a retail store with a twenty-something year old man at checkout. He said his brother was a teacher at a school west of the shopping center.  He was bemoaning the fact that the school leaders had ceased offering courses on mathematics because the students were unable to learn the subject. I hope that does not represent today’s leadership style:  if it doesn’t work, give up!

As with so many things, maybe the answer to the problem is staring back at us from the mirror in front of us.