When it comes to finding solutions for our country’s problems, too many people look to government and politicians in D.C., when in reality, many of the changes we need in society are at an individual, family, and community level.
HBCU Coach Deion Sanders is one of the men leading the charge of positive cultural change, including with this message to his team of students as they prepare to head back to class for the school season:
Sanders advised young boys how to present themselves by making some simple guidelines:
- No slide shoes
- No armpits exposed
- No wife beaters
The coach then included valuable lessons on how to be the best at learning and respecting your teacher, like sitting at the front of the classroom. Finally, he told the students to be “the perfect gentleman.”
This is the kind of spark young men need in their lives to set them on a better path for the decades of life ahead of them. Stats show that children who grow up in single parent households have a much higher likelihood to commit crime, suffer from mental illness, show higher levels of aggression, and drop out of school more often. Unfortunately, nearly a quarter of children in the U.S. live with just one parent, and of that group, nearly 80% of children live with just their mother in the home.
Removing the father from the home creates horrible circumstances for young men especially. One way to ensure that children get the tough fatherly love and life lessons necessary to their development is via coaches like Sanders. This man stepped up and set high standards for these young men that will hold them accountable for their appearance and their actions, which it is very possible no one else in their live’s was doing prior. Tell children that they can and should achieve more is the most impactful thing you can do to empower the next generation — I hope we can see more of this soon!
