Mentors have become a commodity that is more sought after than gold!

WANTED: MENTORS –well educated, background checked and fingered printed, and ready to help the next... generation!

By Kira Dolley

With the social move to have schools become more of a community, and not isolated to a school parent, teacher, student (PTSA organizations) many business and non-parents (single folks) are deciding to opt out of helping community schools—but lately times could be changing.
It seems to be good that single civic minded adults, and business are taking a vested interest in our school---good…no, great for the common good of us all!

This may have become the case in your community…your next-door neighbor barely knows who you are,

the only time you look out of your window is to (not neighborhood watch) watch what neighbor who is making ALL THAT NOISE!,

your child may catch the bus but you may wait at the bus stop in the car with your child (YOU DON’T KNOW WHO THOSE OTHER KIDS ARE!)…

Yes we all heard this before or said it a time a two.

(AND IF YOU HAVEN’T weeeeeell GOOD FOR YOU live in the country and you are exempt from this blog post!)

For most of us, (whether suburban or urban) our neighborhoods have become a place of the “seldom to never” block parties and more “I don’t know who the heck they are’s”. It is a common phenomenon that is happening around the United States, communities are no longer are interconnected. But times are a changing, and many people believe it could be for the best! With the occurrence of the evil recession, a good point has reared its beautiful head. People have to rely on one another to get by. With this purpose comes the fact that we have to talk to our neighbors. This is great! And what makes it greater is that inside these newly talking communities are schools. Schools with the need of great mentors. But before you run off screaming for the hills saying… I don’t want a stranger with my child, there is nothing wrong with my child to need a mentor, or I am mentor for them they don’t need another adult in their life---STOP!

Schools are forming what many people liken mentoring to being a little kid life coach, tutors, and/or muses to little apprentices. Whatever you want to liken them to, they are what every school in the United States has called “needed”. Even Talented and Gifted students (one most people traditionally don’t consider in need of any help) need mentors. According to Donna Y. Ford, of Ohio State University, “Use mentorships and role models to show students that they can succeed.” This allows students to see people beyond their parents as people doing what is right, civic minded, community conscience.

John F. Feldhusen of Purdue University had this to say about mentors:

“Mentorships afford opportunities for students to learn about careers that match their own talent profiles, to begin to emulate the professional behaviors that characterize the occupations to which they aspire, to develop the motivation for appropriate educational services for targeted professional fields, and to set goals for high-level achievement in those fields. Pleiss and Feldhusen (1995) reported that without mentors who model high-level achievement in fields related to youth’s specific talents, many youth simply take on popular athletic or entertainment figures as their vicarious mentors. Mentors must be carefully selected and trained to model appropriate high-level achievements in youth academic talent domains.”

Before one goes to saying that they don’t have time or that they can’t provide the support. There is always that little time on such technologies as Skype and podcasting. Mentors can not only volunteer their time to the school with one particular student but also work with a classroom teacher. It is the occupation that many students and teachers are interested about. The community has a wealth of knowledge and all many schools want to do is tap into that knowledge.
There are many organizations that you can go to volunteer your time and knowledge as a mentor: Big Brother Big Sisters is the major organization but you can also go to Youth Mentoring Connection or Mentors.net for other options.