SELF ADVOCACY Now,for most of us who were brought up in an old school family set up can identify with me.We danced in the rain.By that I dont mean literary jumping in the rain shirtless.I mean we did things in less mentored way.And we did it our way.If you chose to jump in the river with your head,it was up to you.And if in the process of making the kiss of death dive you hit the rock with your head,it fell under your choices have consequences catalog [this was an evident prize we paid for the choices we made in our naivety]But somehow we made it.We never buried any boy. That was then. Well,things have changed.In this era of information-harvesting,every information you need may be a mouse click a way.Unless it is classified.Nowadays,every parent is conscious about choices their kids make.The mentoring starts at a very tender age.Its not a wonder to find a kindergarten kid with a comprehensive well organised diary,and weekly plans these days, with a highlight like this [on Tuesday October 22nd 2013 at 1135am I will take my pet dog Snowy on a walk].Time management is also evident there.God knows if I ever owned a dairy. So the deliberate organizational mentoring will make the kid have a balanced view about life as well as equip him with a sense of responsibility that is vital in facing this tough world.This gives a rational answer as to why we have so many geeks and child prodigies these days.They are born staring at an I pad,complete with a fast internet connection.They take a center stage early. And all the above new age deliberations are crowned by the art that I am trying to define here.The SELF ADVOCACY,this comes when the kid reaches a ripe age,lets say in his /her teen when trying to define his identity.The kid is put on a central position whereby he is given the responsibility of learning what his need are,and the responsibility of solely defining and speaking up to get them attended to.This responsibility to speak up for your self to get heard is an essential.And this is the epic unfolding of the kids future and identity. Now,Its not late.I can still learn.Let me start by buying a dairy next week. It is called late registration on personal mentor ship programs.At this age I am my own mentor,compensating the wrong choices I made alone as a kid to jump in the river,head first.Whatever that means.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 22:44:07 +0000