Influences that can make all the difference for young people

By ALESSANDRA RUSSO
Lourdes Academy

As 17-year-old Lissette Perez pushes herself to reach the finish line after running for 11 miles, every inch of her body begs her to stop. But she keeps going. She keeps going with the knowledge that her role models have overcome the same obstacles she faces, and this in some way makes her dreams more attainable.

"The person I like to model myself after is Becki Wells, because she's a really dedicated runner. She is a senior at the University of Florida, and she has already been champion of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) twice for running in her division," said Perez.

What is a role model? It can be different things to different people.

For Lissette, it is an accomplished track athlete.

Psychologist Lynn Durel has another definition.

"Role models are the people who are in our everyday lives. They are the ones we will inevitably model ourselves after," said Durel, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Miami.

Durel said people often use the lives of their role models as an example of what not to do in their own lives. For instance, relatives of an alcoholic might not drink because they have seen firsthand the consequences of drinking.

However, a role model's example does not always turn out positively, Durel added.

"Chances are high that a person might learn the wrong things from their role model, thinking it is all right because someone else is doing it," she said.

Durel said her role models when she was growing up were her teachers. It was not common for women to have careers when she was in school, so she admired her teachers for doing so.

In Miami, several programs are available to help children find role models.

Dade County's 500 Role Models program exposes African-American males to mentoring and is a local example of the role model concept. Students from 50 schools participate in the four-year-old program, which matches student "mentees" with older male mentors.

This program holds drug awareness projects, health symposiums and police and youth activities.

Another example of this kind of organization is Role Models Today (RMT). The group recognizes students who are positive influences in their communities at a state conference. The two-year-old event takes place twice a year for elementary to senior high school students.

Students help produce RMT's bi-monthly newsletter which showcases role models from throughout Florida. Two examples of students featured in the publication are a boy who got good grades or a college-bound athlete.

Sixteen-year-old Shira Lasoff, who will be a senior at Miami Killian Senior High School, was one of the student organizers of the 1997 conference.

"Being a staff member of RMT gave me the satisfaction of knowing that I was a part of giving outstanding kids the recognition they deserve," said Lasoff.

The students involved in this program work throughout the year from their own individual schools to publish the newsletters.

This kind of volunteerism is what Maria Alonso-Martinez advocates. She is chairman of the board of the Dade County Children's Services Council, an agency that tries to provide programs for underprivileged children.

She said being a role model or mentor can simply mean exposing children who live with limited resources to things they do not normally see and do. Some of the children she has worked with told her they had never seen a McDonald's or a bank before.

Alonso-Martinez also mentioned that even though a child might not receive any encouragement to succeed at home, a positive role model could teach him or her the importance of things like an education to improve quality of life.

"We try to show these kids that there is another way of life besides the one they're living-- that there is hope. Just changing one kid's life makes a difference," said Alonso-Martinez. "But we usually can only reach children in crisis situations. Many others could still benefit from simply having someone there to be a positive influence."

'Public schools can prepare you for the real world, even though discipline is better in private schools.'

Raul Fuertes,
school counselor

Private and public school policies
establish an ordered environment in class

By CHRISTINA ARGUELLES
Carrollton School

When school disciplinarians walk through the halls of a public high school, they are most likely to deal with Mary who's skipping class, Alex and Jason who were in a fight, and Susan who cursed at her teacher.

When private school disciplinarians walk through the halls of a private school, they are most likely to deal with Ana who has her shirt untucked, Jose who was late to school, and Annette who didn't return a library book.

These hypothetical examples show the difference in behavior problems in public and private schools, administrators agree.

"Kids are the same, but if I were in a private school, I would be more careful of making a mistake because I could get kicked out," said Raul Fuertes, guidance counselor at Miami Palmetto High School.

As a product of private schools himself, Fuertes said he believes students have an "incentive" to behave-- the tuition their parents have paid. If a student at a private school is expelled, his or her parents would be angry because they lost their money. At a public school, there is no financial pressure, and the rules are less stringent.

"Parents expect academic rigidness, character formation and strong discipline from private schools," said Principal Sigrid Bango of Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. She feels it is the school's job to gear the students toward the goals of the school and, in turn, these newly gained insights will help students in the future.

Even the written rules are different.

"Dishonesty is a very serious offense that in no way will be tolerated, as it destroys the openness and trust of the school community. Forms of dishonesty include the following: cheating, plagiarism, forgery, theft, and use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Each instance will be handled individually," states the Carrollton handbook.

The public schools' Code of Conduct states that if a student smokes, the school could "call and talk to parents, meet with a teacher, give detention, or assign work." If a public school student is caught stealing, the school could do all of the above in addition to "reporting the crime to Dade County Public Schools Police and the local police."

Bango feels her school does not have many discipline problems. She said the biggest problems in the school are tardiness, uniform infractions and an occasional disrespectful comment to a teacher. A couple of the more serious disciplinary violations are skipping school, which occurs about once every three years, and the use of alcohol or drugs, which occurs approximately once a year.

Fuertes felt that the greatest problem in his school was lack of respect for authority and society. Even though there are random fights and skipping, the problem is not as prominent as it is in other public schools.

"It all starts with parents. If parents respect authority, then children will respect it, too," said Fuertes.

Bango agrees. She feels parents are vital to the success of their children.

"Communication with parents and the parents' support for school policy is key to our schools' success," said Bango.

Denise Crain, director of students at Carrollton, has constant communication with parents. Every day she calls the parents of every absent student. Parents are also called if, and when, there are excessive tardies or detentions.

At Palmetto, a phone call is placed when students are absent if the school was not previously notified, but because there are so many students, some fall through the cracks.

The two systems also differ in how they handle drug issues. In a public school, if a student is caught with drugs, he or she is "innocent until proven guilty" by the legal system. However, in a private school, if a student is caught with drugs, it is grounds for expulsion.

"Public schools can prepare you better for the real world, even though discipline is better in private schools," said Fuertes.

"As a private school, it is our right to demand such dedication from students," said Bango.

"Even though they are harsh at times, private school rules help you to maintain a disciplined lifestyle, in not only school, but in other aspects of life as well," said Carolina Puerto, senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy.