There is No True Orator Who is not a Hero.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated that "There is no true orator who is not a hero," and I found that to be the perfect title for this post as I celebrate five young heroes who were indeed heroes this morning. This post is a tribute to all five of them and their parents/guardians. As many of you who follow The Critical Thinker know, I have been on the war path for the last couple of weeks because of a series of events that have caused one to wonder just where is our future going based on what we are seeing with our up and coming generation. There was the young lady in Florida who blatantly disrespected and disregarded a judge to the point where he increased her fine and sentenced her to thirty days in jail due to contempt of court and then there was the story I shared with you on The Critical Thinker Podcast concerning the young man who was in the upscale restaurant I was in on Valentine's Day donning a flipped and twisted baseball cap while no other being in the building had on a cap or was dressed like he was. To make matters worse, he was with a female who didn't know any better either. But alas, listening to these five young heroes this morning let me know that indeed all hope is not lost.

I had been working with these five students for the last couple of months as a part of our oratory club at my church, and today was their day to present to the larger congregation their oratory skills and present they did. Each self-selected his/her topic and was charged over the last few weeks to research and develop it. I served as the head coach along with others who served as coaches as well. There were some nights during practice I felt as if I were Donnie McClurkin and Coach Tiffany was Yolanda Adams or CeCe Winans on BET's Sunday Best. We coached our five students to hone their skills and they took our advice like a duck to water. This morning all of their hard work paid off. I stood and watched them deliver their speeches like a "proud papa."

I thank Stacy, Malachi, Da'Wan, Zhania and Jahlil for letting us all know that our young people can and will produce positively if we continue to work with them, guide them, teach them and believe in them. I don't know if you will take the time to view the entire video(though I wish you would and encourage you to do so), but for however long you choose to watch, you will see students doing something positive and seeking to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others by bettering themselves. I am excited and I welcome your feedback as always in the commentary section of the blog and by visiting the red feedback tab on the right side of your screen. You can follow The Critical Thinker on Twitter @thinkcritical01 and The Critical Thinker Podcast at http://thecriticalthinker.podbean.com/

There is a Time and Place for Everything; There Isn't That Much Cool In The World

Check out The Critical Thinker Podcast. It is the audio format of The Critical Thinker Blog.

http://thecriticalthinker.podbean.com/2013/02/16/there-is-a-time-and-place-for-everything-there-is-not-that-much-cool-in-the-world/

You are invited to join me on Twitter @thinkcritical01 and as always I welcome your feedback in the commentary section and the "Feedback" tab on the right side of your screen.

Look How Far We've Fallen

As I watched the news tonight the clip of the story about the teenager who disrespected a judge came on the air. As I watched the story, the first thing that came to my mind is the title of this post, "look how far we've fallen." In 2013, no one is respected regardless of his/her title or anything else. This young lady did not even have the wherewithal to understand that she was standing in front of someone who had the power to literally put her in jail. She cursed at him, stuck up her middle finger also known as flipping the bird and totally disrespected him with her sarcasm and body language.

 I don't know about you, but when I was a child, we did not dare disrespect an adult let alone one with a title such as a teacher or a judge. My father and mother would have killed me if they had learned that I had disrespected an adult. As a school principal, I see this type of behavior every day as too many of our children disrespect their teachers and making matters even worse is their parents condone it with their words and actions when the child's behavior is explained to them. What type of parenting (if any) did this young lady in the video receive? Where were her parents when she was cursing and flipping the bird at the judge?

It's a sad statement to hear a parent say "That's my child and I cannot do anything with him/her." Can you imagine a parent saying that? An adult saying he/she cannot do anything with a child. I would not be sitting here today if I had even thought about doing some of the things that I see children and teens do today. We are on a continuous downward spiral of our morals and values. I could go on and on, however, I will end this post as I began with, look how far we've fallen. I welcome your commentary in the comment section of the blog and your feedback by visiting the red feedback tab to the right of your screen. I invite you to follow The Critical Thinker on Twitter @thinkcritical01.