The Way to Provide Good Role Models
Charles Barkley stands in a dimly lit gym with a basketball squeezed between his beefy
hands. He is only filming a commercial. Or is he? As he looks squarely into the camera, he
declares, " I am not a role model...I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court" (Smith 1).
After he says this, a question begins to form in the minds of the viewers. Who, then Charles,
should be a role model? Now, just because this is a commercial for a basketball shoe does not
mean Charles Barkley does not have a reply floating around in that shiny bald head of his. He
retorts, "Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball, doesn't mean I should
raise your kids" (1). Whether many people care to admit it or not, Charles Barkley is absolutely
correct. Basketball players, along with other athletes, are experts at their chosen sport and not at
guiding youngsters through their childhood years. According to sportswriter Mark Goodman,
"It's probably misguided for society to look to athletes for its heroes- any more than we look
among the ranks of, say, actors, lawyers or pipefitters" (Dudley 46). What can society do to
prevent young kids from idolizing athletes for more than their on-field talents? The answer lies
in parents and teachers. In order to prevent children from looking up to athletes, children must
be taught right from wrong. By then it should become obvious to children that a good role
model does not solve problems with violence or disrespect people in authority. Adults can take
care of themselves, but children need a guiding light.
Karl Malone, a member of the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association (NBA),
once stated that, "We [athletes] don't choose to be role models, we are chosen. Our only choice
is to be a good role model or a bad one" (Dudley 43). Sadly enough, athletes are not choosing to
be good role models. That is why it is time for a change. That is why it is time for qualified
people and people who want to be role models to be given a chance to be role models. Athletes
such as Charles Barkley have recognized this need for a change. Dave Winfield, a former major-
league baseball player with such teams as the New York Yankees and the former California
Angels, recognizes this need for a change. He believes that athletes should not be the primary
role models in a child's life. Instead parents, not athletes, entertainers or politicians, should
claim the position of being a role model (Berlow 31). This statement not only speaks for itself,
but it also poses an interesting question. If athletes themselves continue to declare themselves
ineligible to be a role model, then why do people continually allow their children to admire these
athletes for more than his/her sports abilities? At this point in time, the parents should know
better. Parents would not allow their kids to admire some hoodlum on the street, but because
sports are in a controlled atmosphere, they do not see the dangers in athletes being role models.
As Charles Barkley puts it, "There are a million guys in jail who can play ball. Should they be
role models? Of course not" (Berlow 35). Yet, many parents do not realize or do not want to
admit that many athletes have a good amount of time on the "other" side of the law. The big
message here is that being a sports star does not constitute being a role model. Parents should
know this and need to know this. However, once children have the capabilities to discern
between the good role model and the bad role model, the parents will not have to rely on athletes
to do the job for them. In this present state, though, ignorance is an excuse and knowledge is the
answer. Society must rediscover the concept of morals in order to provide a safe future for its
people.
First of all, what is a role model? Would society not want a good role model to be
someone who leads a positive life in every aspect of his/her life? As a result of athletes proving
themselves unworthy to be good role models, parents should be the first choice for a child. First
of all, athletes are not in a position to provide each child with the proper guidance that they
need. Sports stars cannot be at the door to greet the child home from school or to congratulate
them on a good test score. Parents provide a shoulder to cry on and a smile of encouragement at
times when children need them the most. It is true that athletes can bring about a smile of
encouragement, but consistency is the name of this game. These athletes can come and go in a
matter of years, but parents can be there for a child for a lifetime. Once parents find themselves
in this position of being a good role model to their children, the process of teaching morals and
strong values may become easier. Time is quite precious in this situation. Once again, athletes
cannot spend time with kids to develop good morals and strong values. Parents need to take
control. If Mom is sitting at home with Junior, a book about helping others may not only
entertain him for five minutes, but the message might engrave a life-long lesson in his mind.
Dad can do his part by teaching his kids how to share toys or to respect the elders in their
community. This might sound a bit lame, but these are valuable lessons. What if nobody
learned these lessons? What kind of world would exist today? People would not try to talk
things out, they would smack each other in the face or pull out their biggest guns to settle an
argument. Parents need to show their kids just how important good morals and strong values
really are. Athletes must step aside and let the parents do the teaching.
The situation may arise where the parents in a child's life may be less than suitable. Dr.
Robert Burton, a Northwestern University psychiatrist, claims that, "kids need to have someone
they can idolize in order to aspire to become better themselves. Without that, there's not much
hope for them" (Gelman 1). Divorce has been running rampant in today's society. According to
some experts, "about fifty percent of recent marriages will end in divorce and in those divorces,
children are involved in over seventy percent of them" (Robertson 360-1). This is where many
teachers are more than willing to step in and help. Most teachers make excellent role models,
even for kids who have good parents. Teachers motivate and help children to the next learning
level and even to another level in life. These teachers are also good examples of people who
have achieved success through education, which many athletes cannot claim to have
accomplished. Now, more than ever, athletes are skipping high school to get to the big leagues.
Just last year, Kevin Garnett came straight out of high school to play for the Minnesota
Timberwolves of the NBA. Instead of people complaining about him foregoing college, they
praise him for his athletic ability. Many instructors have also shown how hard work and
determination will breed success, unlike athletes. Shaquille O'Neal signed a fifty million dollar
contract with Reebok before he even stepped onto the court for an official NBA game. He later
went on to sign with his first team, the Orlando Magic, for forty-one million dollars over seven
years (O'Neal 46). If children can see teachers going to college and becoming successful for
more than ten years, then more children will opt to go to on to higher education. Another plus
for having teachers as role models is that children can learn how to be great teachers. On the
other hand, Charles Barkley knows that many athletes have been blessed with talents and that
many kids will never achieve greatness in professional sports, saying that "...they got people
modeling themselves after something they can never be. Kids can't become Michael Jordan"
(Berlow 35). But they can become teachers and they can expand their horizons in college. Not
with the help of athletes, but with the help of teachers.
If the two strongest groups of suitable role models, those being parents and teachers, are
able to work together, then a suitable program can be developed to strengthen moral values in
children and help them achieve attainable goals. For many children, school becomes almost a
home away from home. If parents can teach children good values that would help society be a
safer place in the future, then schools should strengthen those goals. Countless hours of
practicing arithmetic, reading short stories and finger painting are spent in the classroom.
Elementary school teachers in particular find themselves in a position not many others outside
the profession encounter. Sitting before them five days a week are anywhere from fifteen to
thirty children with minds wide open. Society should seize these precious moments to teach
these kids more than reading, writing and arithmetic. What exactly should be taught? Children
should be taught that lying is wrong. Helping each other out is right. Cheating is wrong. Saying
"please" and "thank you" is right. Violence is wrong and so is disrespecting authority, etc. After
all of this is said and done, children will not look up to Dennis Rodman, who has headbutted
referees, kicked an innocent bystander and uttered obscenities to prove his point (Chronology 1).
Also, Robert Horry will not be admired for throwing a towel in the face of his head coach over a
disagreement over playing time (Suns 1).
Sadly enough, this suggested solution is not the answer some people are looking for.
Brock Chisholm, the first head of the World Health Organization and co-founder of the World
Federation of Mental Health, feels that people need to stop teaching children the difference
between right and wrong and leave that part up to the psychiatrists, psychologists and other
social scientists (Society 3). This might work if everyone in the world could afford to see a
psychiatrist, but unfortunately, many are not in this position. Another current downfall is that
instead of telling children that they are responsible for his/her actions, schools have leaned
towards a decision-making model which was meant to help students to think more independently
and critically about values. But when kids are told that there are no right or wrong answers, that
is exactly what they believe, says John Kilpatrick (Society 4). For example, in the classroom
with the decision-making model, children are taught to go with what feels "right" to them.
Suppose "Johnny" passes a stranger on the street and decides to murder him because he needs
the money. Obviously, murder is not taught in schools, but at the time, Johnny felt it was "right"
for him (Kilpatrick 219). Who is to blame in this situation, only Johnny, or the schools that are
not teaching kids what is exactly right and what is exactly wrong? The decision-making model
was also designed on the assumption that a child who feels good about himself or herself will
not want to do anything wrong. What has proven to be the result, however, is that a child who
has a great deal of self-regard will draw the conclusion that he or she is immune from doing
anything "wrong" (218). These actions are represented by many athletes. A great deal of sports
stars feel that because of his/her athletic ability, they are immune from having to take
responsibility for his/her actions. Why should they? They bring people to the games with their
acrobatic dunks and dramatic homeruns. They bring money to the organizations they play for,
night after night, season after season. Athletes of today grew up in the same "decision-making"
world that Kilpatrick warned of in his findings. Does society really want the four and five-year-
olds of today to judge for themselves what is right and what is wrong? It is time for a change.
What can the schools do? Change the curriculum to include the teaching of basic
morality and start as soon as the teachers understand what needs to happen. Character education
encourages children to practice courage, justice and self-control (218). In order to succeed in
teaching children these values, the teachers need to not only read a story about people helping
others or the dangers of lying; they need to discuss the morals of the stories with his/her
students. In the eyes of William Kilpatrick, author of the book, Why Johnny Can't Tell Right
From Wrong: Moral Illiteracy and the Case for Character Education, "Character education
provided a much more realistic approach to moral information. It is built on an understanding
that we learn morality not by debating it, but by practicing it" (219). Teaching right from wrong
in schools does not need to include the church. All it needs to include is teaching kids basic
laws, like stealing and perjury. It is dangerous for schools to continue to allow students to travel
down a blind alley of not really having a firm grasp of right and wrong. Once they do grasp this
concept, it will be apparent to kids that the actions taken by many athletes are wrong, regardless
if the athlete perceives them to be right.
Parents and teachers make good role models. At this point, it is up to the children to
decide who they choose for this coveted role. Yet, how does society ensure that children will
not make a less than honorable selection? By teaching good morals and values in the classroom,
society will not have to worry as much as before. If society does not start somewhere, then the
children of today will soon be raising children of their own on the same beliefs and morals that
they were brought up with. Society must start now. In most instances, parents worry about what
kind of people their kids are going to be in the future. Will they aspire to be someone like
Mother Theresa, who gives without expecting something in return? Or will they turn out like
Dennis Rodman, someone who disrespects authority and uses violence to solve problems?
Being that society's future is still being taught the concept that if it feels "right" then it probably
is right, many children will walk in Dennis Rodman's footsteps. Not only will moral and
character education provide youngsters with good criteria for good role models, it will help
them in other aspects of life as well. They will be taught to abide by the laws, to respect
teachers and their parents, to help each other and to solve their problems not by violence, but by
talking things out. "We're All In the Same Gang" participant Young M.C. sang, " I believe that
the children are the future, but what's it all about if in the future they shoot ya?" (West)
People must not only provide a good moral foundation for their own well being, but also for the
sake of others. Kids need to see other people setting good examples because "experts say
children are influenced by the behavior they see on television, which offers a close-up view of
the trash talk and fistfights, as well as the dazzling athletic prowess. For better or worse, a sports
star's influence has a powerful effect on young minds" (Peart 11). Those young minds cannot be
wasted on athletes who have proven themselves unable to be suitable role models.
Bibliography
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