Where Have All The Class Acts Gone? 8.5102Hey everyone, please excuse me while I rant for a minute... But whatever happened to being a "Class Act"?

We send our kids to school to train their brain, to soccer camp for their physical excellence and to church for their spiritual development, but how and where do they learn how to be exemplary human beings?

Surely it's not from television (or from watching us watch television!). It's not a teacher's job to make sure our kids live up to a "higher" standard.  And there are surely no after-school classes I know of that teach or show kids shining examples of what it means to be an outstanding person and contributor.

So then again, it falls to us as parents and uncles and godmothers and Pappys, to help our kids understand the fine art of having "class" - that little something that says to other people around you that you operate on a higher frequency, one of awareness, tolerance, respect, contribution and dignity.

Kids need people like this that they can look up to and role models to learn from. I look around and wonder, where are these people?  It has become a rare sight indeed to find a person that exudes these qualities, so what does that mean for the next generations?

STORY FROM AFRICA: HOW YOUNG ELEPHANTS LOST THEIR ROLEMODELS

Photo by: John Spooner

This reminds me of a story I once heard of a Park in South Africa that was having a huge problem; the adolescent Male Elephants were killing the other animals living in the Park with them.

Now this is not normal elephant behavior. To end this problem, the Park then enlisted the help of a brilliant expert and behavioral consultant who then suggested that the reason they were acting this way is because the park had no fully grown adult Male Elephants.

In the wild, Adult Bulls would serve as role models to the younger elephants, but without this in the Park, the adolescent animals were angry and defiant (sound familiar?).  So guess what, the park brought in Male Bulls from Kruger National Park and within weeks the problem was fixed! No more killings and the younger males had learned the fine art of being an elephant.

So, you may be thinking to yourself right now, "That's a great story Melissa, but why does it matter anyway?"

WHAT WE REALLY WANT FOR OUR KIDS

It matters because we need to look at a person that we would consider to be a class act; look at the type of life they live, the energy they put out, the people they are surrounded with, how others treat them and think, isn't this what we want for our kids?

Wouldn't we want our kids to have the following qualities?

• To treat others and themselves with respect and esteem
• To conduct themselves with style and grace
• To take responsibility for themselves and their actions
• To be appreciative and show gratitude
• To be courteous and kind, even when they are disagreeing with someone
• To act with integrity
• To operate from an inclusive position
• To not dwell in negativity

I believe this is so important because this type of "being" will help a child in so many ways to overcome some the difficulties that may arise in their  life. Our kids will also then, attract to them all kinds of help and resources just because of who they are and how they make other people feel.

Ok, that's it, I appreciate hearing what you all think.

Also, what is your opinion on "class act"? Do you think that it has gone the way of chivalry and post-marital sex?

Thanks