In our communities we tend to advocate and encourage stupidity and ignorance. And, that is what is hampering development and improvement and togetherness.

People in our communities are not getting along, simply because someone is considered to be smart and optimistic about life and the future.

And that is a licence for the ignorant and conservatives to start hating and bad-mouthing others.

However, this idiosyncrasy is perpetuated by young people themselves, who are expected to be against this kind of trend which is anti-development. Young people in our communities and townships tend to seek role models in notorious criminals.

Our children tend to be inspired and motivated by stories they hear about these notorious criminals.

Some of them don't just hear about it, but see it for themselves.

Therefore, they experiment with what they have seen or heard about notorious criminals at school. Hence, the violence in our schools is so alarming and shocking.

We as parents and those who are agents of change have a task to speak with our children about the kind of role models they should imitate and emulate. We are building a nation here - we therefore cannot afford our children to discover their role models in criminals and violent individuals.

Samuel Difoe Magana

Dennilton, Limpopo