Life
The Truth About Peer Pressure
I remember when I was in Grade 11, I had a math teacher who didn’t like to be challenged. I wasn’t one of those disrespectful students, but if I did not necessarily agree with something you were asking me to do, I would challenge it. Or if you did something to me I didn’t appreciate I would challenge your decision. There was an incident where I was asking to borrow a calculator from the student beside me during his lesson. He stopped the lesson and said (I’ll never forget this, I was so embarrassed) “Chris, you of all people should be paying attention when you’re failing with a 46%”. Naturally, I was quite upset. After class, I asked why he would do that, and we went back and forth. And all I remember his main point being “because he could”. Things just got sour after that.
I’m sure all of our parents have said “you have to listen to me, because I am your parent”. True. But perhaps I should also listen to you because you have a valid point or a fair argument?
As an employer, I encourage my staff to respectfully challenge me. If I have to document them, I allow them to state their case. If I make a decision, I don’t mind if they ask “why”. I want them to think critically. As their leader, I’m not interested in developing drones. I want critical thinkers who respect my authority.
I talk to young people all the time. And whats always recurring is that they don’t think for themselves. But I believe if we invest more into changing their mindset from blind ‘doers’ into ‘thinkers’, we put our youth in a much better much better position equipping them with the tools to take on the challenges of life.
