Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Importance of Mentoring

There is a saying that says, "It takes a village to raise a child." This is not just a cliche but rather a proven and necessary element for a child's success. The mentoring process can provide guidance for a child in the areas of life, education, career choices, etc. As adults sometimes we take it for granted but we all know that no one can succeed alone. We all need help and support along with the periodic nudge when we start to slack off from the things that make our goals attainable. These are all elements that make the mentoring process necessary for our young men and women to be successful in life as well as achieving their endeavors.

There has to be a process of raising the level of expectations for our youth today. We are in a age of instant gratification and the steps of working towards a goal have been eliminated in the lives of some of our youth. As a mentor we must instill that there are stages of progression which require work. We must nurture and guide this process for those whom we mentor. There has to be adherence to these steps for they will forever create life long learners and achievers. Allow me to share a real life example. The other day in Southeast D.C. I was mentoring and tutoring a male high school senior. He told me that he recently started to raise his level of expectations for himself because of the influence of mentors who expressed high hopes and expectations for him. Unfortunately this young male lost his mother at an early age to the streets. He was raised by his grandmother for a short time. He says that his grandmother told him that he did not have to get A's and B's for her to be happy or for him to be successful. She told him that as long as he earned C's he would be passing. So in turn he says that's what he aimed for....C's. He then lost his grandmother and moved in with his aunt who also expressed similar low expectations. It was when he was influenced by mentors that he realized that he can achieve higher. This young man has been accepted into college due to his hard work and dedication. He now says that he could have been accepted into more colleges along with receiving scholarships if he had higher grades early on. I encouraged him to still apply for scholarships now as well as every year that he is in college. He says that he plans to maintain a high GPA so that he can get more scholarships every year that he is in college. The power of mentoring can change lives just as it is transforming this young man.We need to take the opportunities within our families, neighborhoods, churches, civic organizations etc. to mentor a youth. Mentor a youth today.