#role-models

#role-models

What a great piece by Ross Coleman about embarking on his speech therapy programme for stammering (My cultural awakening: Jonathan Groff inspired me to overcome my stammer, 6 December). Coleman was inspired by the example of Jonathan Groff, who is not a stammerer, tackling something head-on. The McGuire Programme that Coleman signed up for seems to have helped many people. While Groff served as his inspiration, there are no shortage of actual stammerers who have compelling stories to motivate people as they navigate the choppy waters caused by their speech.

Feeling isolated after loss from parental death is common for teenagers, but that doesn't make their situation any easier. In fact, it can complicate the grief process even more if teens don't have anyone else close to them in their life who also lost a parent. The loss can suddenly make them feel different from their peers, almost like an outcast. This is where a helpful positive coping mechanism exercise can benefit them.

Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since myself and Ebony Rainford-Brent made our England cricket debuts. It was awesome for us to win World Cups together as the first two female internationals from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Since then, there have been only four others, two with an Indian heritage. When you think of the interest shown in the game by the South Asian community, it is a staggering number.

"I think it's nice that you can be a role model. But at the same time I hope in the long run that it doesn't have to be necessary."

I had a gay professor in college at a time when openly gay folks still weren't out a lot, who became one of my favourite professors and was a great guy and would call me out when I started saying stuff that was ignorant.

When I started my yachting career more than 30 years ago, I'd never seen a woman captain. Women worked on ships, but they were few and far between in the world of yachts, and I'd never seen one at the helm.

"Aspirations to wealth can be positive, but aspiring billionaires risk losing their integrity if they don't choose their role models wisely amidst troubling headlines."

We could hire nearly 1,000 male teachers by the end of this parliament if our state funding was restored.