Asking kids to stand and deliver

By Kurt Bradley

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Concerning the recent trouble in the neighborhood around Taylor Elementary School in Cedar Rapids: It is true that lack of parental supervision is at the root of the problem, but it also is true that these kids, like all others, still are looking for “someone” to take a parental role in their life. Not that these kids are necessarily in a “gang” but every group, gang or otherwise, has leadership and rules. Why?

It's what kids (and the rest of us) want.

I remember in our old newspapers reading a call to the average man to step up and mentor the kids who were just hanging around town. This is not a new problem, in fact it is not a problem at all if you see it correctly - it is an opportunity to inspire a generation to greater things. We always rush to the idea of “eliminating” a problem. I think that is a shame - literally.

Specifically, at the school, at the times these kids are hanging out, what if something else was going on at the same time - something that they could choose to get involved in with the right individual encouragement?

What if more local “men of respect” would take turns mentoring our youth? At the very least, if something else was going on at these locations, the kids would go somewhere else.

Somewhere somehow someone has to start redeveloping our forgotten tradition of parenting children as a community. That simply means all of us treating kids the same way. We treat them as kids who not only need, but want a line that is clear in terms of what is expected of them and where their boundaries are. That line must always be drawn with love - if it is not, the children will not respect it.

Is it fair to ask whether we love these “other” kids as much as the kids for whom they are causing problems?

We all know stories of men such as Jaime Escalante (“Stand and Deliver” movie subject), who inspired an entire barrio neighborhood by asking kids to “stand and deliver.” We look at a guy like Jaime and think of him as a hero (and he is), but he is really just a guy who decided to look beyond himself - a guy who decided that maybe he could be a part of the answer; a guy who quit counting on others to solve problems.

Are there not one or two Jaimes in every neighborhood in Cedar Rapids? Are they willing to ask kids to stand and deliver?

Kurt Bradley, of Maryville, Tenn., is a 1976 graduate of Cedar Rapids Washington High School, retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2007 as an Information Manager in a Plans and Intelligence environment. An Iowa history buff, he is currently a volunteer working with at-risk children and families. Comments: cyberpigue@gmail.com