Society on the Future

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Something I notice [and I am sure others notice] is that many young people look for people to lead them which is what you are supposed to do when you are young, but its more like they use it as a way to be... lazy. They rely too much on others. They dont take initiative and they lack confidence. I have noticed on robotics teams that many times students dont try to step up, because they have the mentors to lead them. And when said student does step up -- the other students do not always listen because they dont have authority. Where is the respect for your peers?

Stepping up - Leadership - Authority - Respect - Prosperity. It's pretty easy to connect all and see a very strong relationship. It's how all teams work. 80% of the students are lazy. 20% of the students probably do 80% of the work. If you just hand work over to the kids, some will, some wont. It's just the way things are. Everything is not for everybody. But those who step up and work hard benefit more than the others - even if the result is not immediate.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

I feel that kids today are exposed to too much, and struggle to make decisions on their own. They always seem to need someone to tell them what to do. There are so many choices you can make that are right or wrong. I think television and videogames are not so great for society. I know 8 year olds who dance like Britney Spears or Missy Elliot and swear like Eminem. But then again, are their parents trying to help them make the right choices when they are young?

You are absolutely right. Television and videogames are the #1 brain damager in the world. Why? It's the easiest and most available way for kids to immitate. Very fanscinating and influenctial, they know how to get you. If you watch directors, movie makers, television commercial makers talk indepth about how they make their productions, they will straight out tell you its about manipulating the public's minds. But wait a second.. that is wrong. That's not suppose to happen. The kids are not suppose to look up to Eminem as their role model. His stuff on TV is just for ENTERTAINMENT, but the kids have taken it way beyond. The reason is they have no other role model to follow, no direction, no motivation so they will obviously follow what influences them the most. I blame the parents - and let the parents blame their parents, and let them blame their parents, it will keep going on. The right thing to do is take control and learn the right way. Books might help. Let me demonstrate an example. I have a passion for photography and am saving up for a digital SLR. The reason is because my uncle owns one and I sit down with him and learn all this stuff. He's motivating me to do something worthwhile and useful.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Another subject that was brought up is how people always have to find something to put the blame on. If something happens or goes wrong "it wasnt my fault." If they fail a class -- its the teachers fault. It just seems to me that you make the choice to do or not to do your work -- making it your fault. Sometimes it seems to be a team effort to me though -- a teacher/student work balance.

Blaming is one thing that will NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER STOP NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. BUT - people of real character will accept their faults. I have one message for all of you - apologizing and admitting to your faults DOES NOT make you of LOWER STATUS in front of other people. Infact, it's the opposite. Accepting your faults also lets you analyze youself and improve the quality of your life.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Another area was how kids arent getting the right direction. Today schools are more worried about a childs self esteem than whether or not they understand the material. They are not holding kids back because it could hurt their self-esteem. This doesnt teach them anything for later in life. As Kim brought up.... What are they going to do when they get into college? In college they arent going to care about your self-esteem. They are going to go by the choices you make. Whether you decided to go to class and do your work, and take initiative and get things done.

That's why I love FIRST. It has boosted my self esteem and self image so much. I could never stand in front of a crowd and speak before I joined FIRST. After giving numerous presentations for various things, I can now confidently stand and talk and not worry if I mess up because I know as long as it's natural its good. By facing tough situations and doing some intensive work, FIRST helps us boost our self image. wo0t.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

One way in which I would like to relate this to FIRST is that [I know there are many student leaders] But I really think more students should be able to step up and take initiative in FIRST and strive to get things done.

Leadership is an art, not science. Therefore it does not apply to engineers. OK Just kidding. But you are right, the world needs more leaders. Leadership is no joke because when you are a leader, people want to follow you. They want to copy you. If you do the wrong thing, they do the wrong thing. There are going to be obstacles, if the leader does not stand strong there will be chaos. There will be an opposition. Another person who wants to be a leader but has wrong values and people will even be willing to follow this person. If the real leader is not strong, then the wrong things will happen. Leaders have to be go-getters. If they put off work, everyone will.

The other day someone asked me "Are leaders born?". My answer was "yes". All leaders are born, I don't know any unborn leaders. What I am trying to say is there is no such thing as "born leaders". Read books by John Maxwell for more about leadership. He has done very intense research about this subject. Everyone has some sort of leadership qualities in them - you just have to bring them out. I would suggest reading "The leader in you" by Dale Carnegie. I would also suggest reading this post. Those books have helped me tremendously in my personal life and I hope it helps you to embetter yourself too.

-Bharat