by Mark Silva
The game, follow the leader, has found new meaning in a new survey of the youngest Americans.
Few youths today say they aspire to leadership – with the exception of an apparently ambitious generation of African-American girls and boys, and Hispanic girls.
“A new national survey of girls and boys found that a majority of children and youths in the United States have little or no interest with achieving leadership roles when they become adults,’’ the Washington Post reports this morning.
Kids rank "being a leader" behind such aspirations as "fitting in," "making a lot of money" and "helping animals or the environment." The study was commissioned by the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.
Yet three-quarters of African American boys and girls and Hispanic girls surveyed identify themselves as leaders – while only about half of white kids see themselves this way.
Kids also "see a disconnect between what they aspire to and what is,’’ Judy Schoenberg, research director for the Girl Scouts, told the Post.
“The survey comes amid a presidential campaign that has expanded the role models for leadership by providing, for the first time, the distinct possibility that a woman or an African American may become the country's leader,’’ the paper notes. “Still, that has not seemed to motivate many young people to aspire to leadership roles.’’
The survey is a random sample of more than 4,000 children ages 8 to 17.
Boys cited some reasons for not wanting to be a leader, including a lack of experience and simply being uninterested.
“African American and Hispanic girls are considerably less likely than white girls to worry about their capabilities,’’ the Post notes.
Kids surveyed rated parents as “very influential in helping them aspire to become and to become leaders -- more so than friends, coaches and celebrities, who captured about 10 percent of the vote. Mothers topped the role-model list with 81 percent of girls and 75 percent of boys.’’
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Comments
Pathetic, but what do we expect from the nanny state?
Posted by: Jeff | March 27, 2008 10:34 AM
Blue collar kids wouldn't know to want to be a leader; tell them that they would better be able to save the environment or animals if they were in a position of power and then they would say that they want to be a leader.
My kids are in elementary school and want to be attorneys because we have told them that attorneys can change laws. The only reason they want to be a leader is because they have been taught that leaders can take care of animals or make more money.
Speaking from experience, children of blue collar workers probably don't understand the power of leadership and apparently pollsters don't understand those children either. I grew up as a blue collar daughter and it wasn't until I had jobs in corporate America, that I realized how 'good it is to be the king.'
One of the reasons that it is easy to keep blue collar people down is that we are basically naive in our understanding of the power of politics both in the office and the world. Luckily my husband was a many generation upper middle class guy so what I didn't realize in my employment, he filled in with his family's experience which was vastly different from my family's view. Economics more than race seperate Americans.
Never forget that Obama's 'typical White grandmother' was the first woman bank vice president in Hawaii. He went to school in a prestigious private school in high school and his mom has a PhD. He would definately understand the power of leadership because he saw first hand what it brought to his home.
Posted by: Abby | March 27, 2008 10:40 AM
You little whippersnappers need to sit on Good Ol' Grandpa McCain's knee and he can tell them how the world works, he's a flyboy, see. Life's not as sweet as lolipop the size of your head or a $.05 scoop of Rocky Road from the Soda Shop don't ya know. It's a mad world, see and this Obama kid, I've got a beef with him, he's all wet. Furthermore, she might be a bearcat but ah applesauce to this bird Clinton's ideas. Now go on, scram, this McCain's the real McCoy.
Posted by: McCain's Fanbase | March 27, 2008 10:49 AM
No wonder. Kids hear their parents talk about how incompetent, immoral and untruthful our President and Vice-President are. Not exactly role models for America's younger generations.
Posted by: Rick/Sneads Ferry, NC | March 27, 2008 7:35 PM
Spend a few hours watching children's TV or sit through a few elementary school classes and you'll understand this poll result. It has nothing to do with white collar or blue collar. It has everything to do with what these kids are being taught: Not language skills. Not mathematics. Not science (other than environmentalism). And not history. It's entirely how to feel good about yourself, and how to "be a good person." And how do you accomplish those goals? By doing exactly what you're told and by never asserting yourself. Those who do things like that are "bad" and need to be corrected. That's where you'll find the root of our spineless youth and the quickly disappearing backbone of America.
Posted by: JB | March 27, 2008 11:19 PM
So this is what the Reagan Revoulution gave to America?
Posted by: jethro | March 28, 2008 1:02 PM