When Odysseus embarked on his mythic journey, he entrusted the upbringing and education of his son to his friend, Mentor. Nearly 2,500 years later, a young man sits in his school library, playing chess and discussing his future with a volunteer from a local business. This modern-day mentor also guides and advises his charge as he moves from student to adult.
Mentoring, at its most basic, is a relationship between an experienced, knowledgeable adult and a younger, less-experienced student. Mentoring spans a variety of relationships—from business leaders mentoring recent college graduates to volunteers spending time with children on the weekend.
Many young people find their mentors by accident—a concerned employer at a part-time job or a spiritual leader at a place of worship. Others participate in formal after-school and weekend programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. But as the benefits of mentoring become more apparent, schools are stepping up to provide mentoring programs for their students.
School-sponsored mentoring is a "success-based strategy to help young people develop self-esteem and personal growth," according to Ann Ensinger, executive director of Mentoring Partnerships of New York. Mentoring builds on students' strengths—their talents, interests, and goals.
A mentor acts as an advisor, coach, advocate, role model, and trusted friend to the student. "Today, a lot of young people find themselves cut off from adults," Ensinger says. A mentor can give the student advice and opportunities that the student might resist if they came from an adult authority figure. "Teachers can talk and talk about career skills or goal setting, and the students won't listen. But if a business person comes into the classroom, it clicks."
Mentoring can take many forms. Typically, the student sets the agenda based on her own goals and interests. The relationship can focus on career goals, community service, cultural enrichment, common heritage, social skills, or talents such as art or sports. Although mentoring does not necessarily focus on academic achievement—and thus differs from tutoring—the student and mentor may jointly decide to work on study skills or classroom projects.
Who Benefits
In fact, the students who may benefit the most from mentoring are not those with serious academic difficulties. Most experts agree that the best candidates for mentoring are the students in the middle—not failing, but not on honor roll; not acting up in class, but not participating in class. Susan Weinberger, president of the Mentoring Consulting Group in Norwalk, Conn., describes these students as those who are unmotivated and unchallenged, unwilling to take risks, insecure, and underperforming in class. They aren't involved in sports teams, band or chorus, or honors classes.
Other students who most need a mentor are those who have lost a parent or have emotional issues outside of the school. Ensinger describes a young boy who lost both his father and his brother in violent circumstances within a short time. This student needed a reliable, positive male role model to guide him through school and help him focus on the future.
Most experts discourage schools from recruiting students who have severe academic problems for mentoring programs; these students generally need tutoring and academic intervention before they are ready for mentoring. The New York City mentoring program targets students who have good academic and attendance records but need encouragement to pursue post-graduation goals and develop social skills. Joyce Stoneham, director of the MentorWorks program in Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, pairs student council members with corporate executives to enhance the students' leadership skills.
The most important characteristic is the student's willingness to be mentored, experts agree. "If the student is resistant, it makes it harder to work together," Ensinger says. "Mentoring needs to be seen as an honor, not as a punishment."
While students of all ages can benefit from positive adult influences, the age to begin mentoring is a subject of debate. Stoneham asserts that elementary age students are responsive to role models and can benefit from a mentor. Weinberger agrees that mentoring can begin at a very early age. Mentoring at the elementary level is focused on building self-esteem and guiding students toward positive choices before they can start down a destructive path. Student-mentor activities include play, arts and crafts, and sharing.
Others believe that mentoring should begin at about the age of 10, when students become aware of their future and are able to set goals. Those who take this view agree that younger students can benefit from spending time with a caring adult, but that the relationship is not mentoring. New York City starts its mentoring program even later—in the 10th grade—and focuses on career skills and the world beyond high school.
The Classroom Effect
Although mentoring is based on the student's interests and goals outside of the classroom, the benefits extend into the school day. According to research by Private/Public Ventures of Philadelphia, Pa., students with mentors participate more often in class, interact better with their teachers, and have an increased interest in reading, writing, and mathematics. Students with mentors also have improved school attendance, higher rates of graduation, and a better attitude toward school. Lori Mastromauro, program manager for the New York City mentoring program, points to increased self-esteem and the confidence to do better in school as the primary benefits of mentoring. "If you feel better about yourself, you do better in school," Weinberger adds.
Getting Started
Given the benefits, it seems a simple choice for schools to offer mentoring programs. "Mentoring is not an issue of should we do this. It's a question of how will we do this," Weinberger says.
There are some things schools need to consider before beginning a mentoring program, though. Stoneham recommends starting small "to give the program 100 percent support." That support comes from the community, local businesses, parents, and the central office. The most successful mentoring programs have businesses or civic organizations nearby to provide volunteers.
Ensinger recommends matching the mentoring program to the instructional plan and goals for the school. "Mentoring should not just be something added on, but something that can help move the school's agenda forward," she says.
All programs, no matter how small or large, need staff to coordinate the program. The New York City mentoring program—which serves 1,250 students in 63 programs in 50 high schools—has a central program manager as well as a coordinator at each school and a mentor liaison at each of their partner companies—local businesses that provide employees with release time to volunteer as mentors. Weinberger stresses the need for each school to identify a point person for the program—usually a guidance counselor, aide, social worker, or assistant principal. This staff person is responsible for screening the mentors (through background checks, reference checks, and interviews) and for pairing mentors with students. In addition, the program coordinator provides training and ongoing support for the mentors and students.
The biggest hurdle for most mentoring programs is finding enough mentors for the demand. "Once kids get the idea [of what mentoring is about], they all want mentors. There is usually a waiting list," says Ensinger. Although most programs recruit mentors from partner companies, other sources of mentors are community and civic organizations, faith groups, retirees and senior citizens, municipal employees, and the military.
Creating a school-based program takes staff, resources, and hard work, but the return on the investment can be extraordinary. "Kids are starving for adult attention," says Weinberger. When they receive that attention, "the kids will just blossom," says Ensinger. As one student wrote in an essay about his mentor, "Everybody should have a mentor because it is fun and everyone should have someone special to care about them."
Resources
Resources
For more information on school-based mentoring programs, visit the following Web sites:
The National Mentoring Partnership www.mentoring.orgFind resources for starting and maintaining a mentor program, as well as a database of existing programs.
Mentor Consulting Group www.mentorconsultinggroup.comIncludes a 16-step guide to starting, maintaining, and evaluating a school-based mentor program.
Private/Public Ventures www.ppv.org/indexfiles/mentor-index.htmlOnline reports include The ABCs of School-Based Mentoring and Contemporary Issues in Mentoring, as well as research syntheses.
MentorWorks www.fcps.k12.va.us/DSSSE/MentorWorks/index2.htmOffers information on how to be a mentor and publishes a monthly mentoring newsletter.