Gatekeepers They Are, Sleepers Are We, Part 1 

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” is a Latin phrase variously translated as "Who will guard the guards?", "Who watches the watchmen?", "Who shall watch the watchers themselves?", 
or similar.
 Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis,
known in English as "Juvenal," was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juvenal  

When we think of “gatekeeper”, do we think of a bouncer at a bar or a guard at a gate?  “Gatekeeper” can mean much more and, for the exploration in this essay, does mean much more.  A gatekeeper is anybody who, because of his action or inaction, decision or indecision, significantly affects the opportunities for education and advancement of a group of people.  

With that in mind, we see that an adult adviser to a youth club is a gatekeeper.  We recognize the usefulness of a gatekeeper to keeping order, arranging lessons, supervising activities.   However, have we considered the disadvantage of having a gatekeeper?  How?  The personal limitations of a gatekeeper affect what youth do and learn.  

Example.  A gatekeeper is inattentive to responsibilities.  He neglects to buy insurance for an outing.  A youth is injured severely.  He and the parent organization are sued.  His group is disbanded, leaving the youth with too much idle time on their hands.  

Example.  A gatekeeper is poorly organized.  She does not give proper directions to a guest speaker, who never arrives to an event, leaving youth with nothing to do but chat for an hour and then go home.  

Example.  A gatekeeper is wedded to his routine.  He has an invariable “lesson plan” for a year’s activities and resists any ideas from the outside which could benefit the youth under his tutelage.  (So as not to create a local firestorm, I refrain from giving examples from personal experience.) 

Example.  A gatekeeper is inept at time management.  With a good heart, she does not hesitate to promise, but is remiss in fulfilling that promise often enough that the youth are disappointed or disheartened, even disconcerted.  Their interest in the group wanes;  some drift away.  

Montebello is one of many communities in which this occurs.  The occurrence is so frequent, so pervasive, that one has to ask, “When, if at all, does a gatekeeper go beyond the norm and enable youth to realize their potential?”

August 23, 2007