From the Portland Press Herald By Charles Lawton
Success depends not on enthusiastic beginnings but stubborn perseverance. Whether young people today have been tortured and scared, filled with a digital diet of unrealistic athletic and celebrity role models, or simply been left to fend for themselves without any examples of lives to which they might aspire, the point remains young human beings are great imitators. If we as a society wish people to behave in civil, compassionate, intelligent, responsible ways, we as adults must provide models. When growing up and working weren't so greatly separated, both geographically and emotionally, we didn't have to think too much about that modeling. It occurred naturally. Today, it's much harder to accomplish. It requires far more than a 'take your son or daughter to work' day once a year. All of these examples of ways to address this 'aspirations problem' deserve our support and our suggestions. Get out to the Abromson Center; give an interview to Navigating the Real World; login to Project Login. There are plenty of very exciting role models in Maine. We need to do a far better job of presenting them to our children.
