Mentoring: An Educators Job Beyond the Classroom

                When you were younger, did you wish you had a positive role model in your life outside of family? Someone you could discuss anything with and not have to worry about ones judgments? Well, I did!

 I always wished I had someone who could help me with difficult homework assignments when my mother didn’t always know the answers. I dreamed of a relationship with someone I could call my sister, who wasn’t my sister biologically. Throughout the African- American community there has been a rise in the number of single families and broken homes. Many children who come from these types of families usually do not have a positive role model in his or her life. Because the single parent is forced to take on the responsibility that should be handled by two adults, some parents do not find the time to bond with their children.  As a future educator, I feel that it is my job to help students reach their highest potential even before I reach the classroom. Mentoring programs have had a positive effect on not only the children who participate in them, but also the mentors.

                Mentoring programs have been proven to be successful in low-income environments and also for at-risk youth. Spending just an hour out of a week with mentee’s can have positive effects. An educators success should be proven both inside and outside of the classroom, becoming a mentor is a great way to broadcast your skills.

Here is an article on the effects of mentoring on at- risk youth: http://bit.ly/eT2Erc