Learning is not just from books or screens. One can learn from the surroundings as well. When a child is born, they start learning from the people around them, their parents, siblings, teachers, friends, and many more.
However, when talking about who a child’s first role model is, well, it’s their parents and teachers. They are the ones a child spends the most time with while growing up.
But the real question is, who are the role models?
A role model is a person whose attitude, behavior, or achievements serve as an example for others to follow. However, we often see role models in ‘famous’ people like celebrities and influencers. But for children, people who are there for them and show up every day and shower them with love, care, and guidance are role models.
It could be a child’s mother who is always there to cater to his needs and listens to him patiently. A father could also be a role model who keeps his promises. A teacher can be a great role model for children who always believe in a child and encourage them to test their potential.
Friends and siblings can also be considered role models, but the real foundation of a child’s beliefs and understanding is mostly shaped by parents and teachers. My Promise to Emily by Calvin Dudley is a delightful example of what it is really like to be a role model, especially for a kid.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A ROLE MODEL?
My Promise to Emily by Calvin Dudley is a story that is based on a real-life event from Calvin, the author’s own life. The story narrates what seemed like an ordinary fishing day after a chaotic school day for Calvin, where he meets a teenage girl named Emily. To him, there was something about little Emily that caught his attention.
After talking for a while, Calvin made a promise to Emily that his next catch would be a gift for her from him, to which Emily agreed happily. However, the catch was one of the biggest catches that Calvin had gotten his hands on. So, he ends up not giving Emily the catch. Instead of being disappointed and sad, Emily understood what might be going through Calvin’s mind.
Her reaction made him guilty, and he again made a promise to her. The next catch was even bigger, but he was able to give it to Emily. The happiness that Calvin saw on Emily’s face altered the way he thought about promises and the way he viewed the world.
The way Calvin acted during this moment, like the way he spoke, taught, guided, and showed her kindness, represents the way an adult should behave around children as they see them and follow them. When a child considers someone a role model, they expect them to be dependable and someone who can be the anchor that holds them when needed.
WAYS IN WHICH PARENTS AND TEACHERS CAN BE A CHILD’S ROLE MODEL
Parents and teachers are usually the ones in whom a child may see their very first role model. The way they talk, respond, act, and do things is just a few of the many things that children observe and set a role model for themselves.
Parents can be role models in ways that one cannot even begin to count:
- Listening to their kids without judging them.
- Admitting to their own faults.
- Showering kids with love with small acts.
- Establishing routines and structure.
- Encouraging kids and not pressuring them with the weight of success.
Teachers at school and other educational institutions can be role models in multiple ways:
- They make every child heard and seen.
- When they make children feel valuable and help them understand their worth.
- By believing in a child’s potential, even though the child is struggling.
- They teach out of the box and not just stick to the material in the curriculum books.
- By creating a safe environment where kids feel free to showcase their skills and talents.
CALVIN’S JOURNEY FROM A TEACHER TO A ROLE MODEL
It is very important to create an environment where a child is surrounded by people who serve as great examples for them, whom they can look up to, depend on, and can confide in. These are ways parents and teachers can be ideal role models.
Calvin Dudley’s experience as a teacher and teaching behaviorally challenged children has trained him to be a great role model for people, especially children, around them. This is why he was able to communicate with Emily and understand her during this chance encounter.
Calvin Dudley’s My Promise to Emily is a story that teaches multiple things, such as how important it is to keep promises, be a guiding light for children, and how adults, like parents and teachers, can become role models for their own children and others as well. My Promise to Emily is now available on Amazon.
Top comments (0)