Who is your role model?
Who is your role model ? A question asked by my 11-year old's teacher in class sparked off a healthy but loud debate . Every child had a different role model as was expected. What disappointed the teacher was that all the children named celebrities - Bollywood stars, sports & political heroes. He was quick to point out that we are surrounded by real life heroes & role models in our daily lives. When asked to guess who they were, the children fell silent, a hush so loud, it spoke volumes of our shallow views. "Your parents, teachers, others in your community, even your helpers...there are so many of them." His words brought a smile to my face. The children though couldn't understand how "normal people" could be role models. "A role model, he explained, inspires us to do better in life. Don't your parents or teachers or your domestic help do that?" The children were then assigned to write about a role model they know closely. It