One bad apple
What happens when a leadership becomes dysfunctional? What is its impact on the health of the society they rule over? Just as children mimic their parents, do citizens mimic their leaders? Does our need to follow authority make us betray the positive, fundamental values that define our humanity? Asks Latheefa A. Verall
15 Mar 2016, 9:00 AM
By Latheefa Ahmed Verall
There were five children between the ages of three and thirteen behind that door. My attempts to contact the parents over the phone had been unsuccessful. So, I had arrived at the house to inquire why one of my students had failed to turn up to school for three days.
My first impression of the occupants of the house- there were no adults around- created more confusion than provide solutions. The children, crowded round the front door in different stages of undress, held no strong resemblance to each other. Single mother, different fathers perhaps?
The lawn boasting of an entire summer’s growth added to the sense of chaos. A southerly wind pushed a single swing back and forth, back and forth, each time banging into the carcass of an old, abandoned Holden Zephyr partially submerged in the grass. I was glad that the Dean of the Year 9s had accompanied me to the child’s home.
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