What is mentoring? Mentoring pertains to the development of rapport involving a more knowledgeable mentor and a less knowledgeable protégé or mentee. A protégé or a mentee is a person who is guided, supported and protected from an experienced mentor. A mentor is the one who boosts the career of a protégé or a mentee.
What is best practice? Best practice is an organizational idea which states that there is a standard activity, process, method, technique, reward or incentive that is more effectual in accomplishing a specific result. The idea is that a desired result is delivered with few or no unexpected complications and/or problems. Best practices is also described as one of the most effective and efficient way in carrying out a task, based on tried and tested procedures.
Therefore, best practices in mentoring involve the development of an equally beneficial correlation that improves the proficient intelligence of the mentor and the protégé or the mentee. A good mentor usually projects expertness, candidness, affability, and communication skills. Enthusiastic protégés or mentees have a tendency to express desire for knowledge, utmost discipline and self-respect.
A Good Mentor
A good mentor is a mentor who (is):
• Listens well and treats the conversation with the mentee as confidential.
• Determines what is important to a mentee and explore their ambitions, propensities and skills.
• Knows the importance of the learning process by creating a candid and open relationship to promote confidence and trust.
• Accepts the fact that in some cases a mentee may need to seek other sources of assistance and help.
• Appropriately trained and has vast knowledge in mentoring.
• Should have a professional approach in mentor-mentee relationship.
• Refrain from mentoring those who are directly reporting to them, no matter how professional the relationship is, this will avoid other colleagues to think that the mentor may influence some matters pertaining to the issues concerning the mentee’s decision and position.
A Good Mentee
A good mentee is a mentee who (is):
• Very enthusiastic to be taught and trained and is liberated to new ideas or concepts.
• A team-player who can interact well with other people.
• A risk taker who is not afraid to go beyond the boundaries of safety and venture into uncertainties to learn.
• Patient enough to realize that an ambition in life cannot be acquired overnight.
• A positive attitude, even in the midst of a crisis.
• Demonstrates inventiveness and resourcefulness in any task assigned.
• Accepts feedback, negative or positive, about behavior and skills, with an intention to improve and learn from it.
When is a Mentor-Mentee Relationship Good?
A good mentor-mentee relationship is not just gauged by the personality of each that they bring into the relationship, more significantly, the occurrence of proper interaction and behavior is needed all throughout the process. What the mentor accomplishes with the mentee, and how eager the mentee responds and receives it, is what matters most in such a relationship.
A good mentor-mentee relationship cultivates and successfully carries out the following:
• Career Roles:
1. A mentor that introduces new opportunities to the mentee, which the latter believes in.
2. A mentor that coaches and sponsors a mentee, which the latter gratefully accepts.
3. A mentor that protects and challenges a mentee, which the latter understands as part of the relationship.
• Psychological Roles:
1. A mentor who is a role-model, which the mentee looks up to.
2. A mentor who counsels, which the mentee receives wholeheartedly.
3. A mentor who befriend a mentee, but is still focus enough to achieve the goals of the relationship.
4. A mentor and a mentee who accept and confirm each others ideas.
Within this representation, a mentor serves as a leader, a teacher that encourages thinking abilities, an advocate of realistic principles, an overseer, and an analyst. A mentee on the other hand is a student who is willing to be taught and is ready to embark on a journey towards an absolute learning experience.
The youth, it is said that they are the hope of the new generation. But what happens if at an early age they fall victim and/or exposed to a society that is plagued by racial discrimination, use of illegal drugs, pornography that led to rape and unwanted pregnancies, robberies, gang wars in schools that cause death by shootouts, and to many to mention and indeed very depressing. This is the society that youth today see everyday. It is a reality and a sad fact that we must accept as part of our daily lives. What can we do to lessen the effects of the ills of society to our youth? Saving at-risk youth by mentoring may just be the answer, it may not eradicate the problem at once, but it is a start.
Mentoring our children does make a huge difference. It is a way to reintroduce a positive regular activity by a grown-up to a child. Children who are mentored while growing up are unlikely to succumb to using illegal drugs, unlikely to start depending on alcohol, and unlikely to miss out school. If we incorporate mentoring in our home, school and even the church it can, and it will help greatly in decreasing the cause and effect of suspension due to the use of illegal drugs, crimes related to drugs, babies born who are drug affected and possibly more. It is just a matter of how we really want to help eradicate the problems of our youth.
At-risk children badly need the guidance and friendship that youth mentors give. A child will definitely yearn for adult support when faced with parent’s divorce, family heartbreaks, and financial troubles. These children need mentoring with their family problems, school works, peer pressures or just someone who would listen and give an unwavering support.
Regrettably, teachers in school who teach at a crowded classroom will have no time to provide individual attention. Guidance counselors are very busy too, because they deal with the whole population of the school. Most of the time guidance counselors can only give less than four hours of career guidance to a student in their four years in high school (that is just like one hour a year!). There are millions of at-risk young children who desperately need mentoring. Nowadays, communities are seriously looking into setting-up programs for volunteer youth mentors, because they see and understand that need to help these children cope up with their daily lives.
At-risk children who are guided by an efficient role model mentor are more than likely to have a progressive educational performance, self-esteem, good decision-making traits, and a sense of fitting in. Youth who enters mentoring programs will be inclined to have good interactions with their teachers, parents and other siblings as well as their peers. They will also be more inspired to focus on their studies and eventually finish their schooling.
A youth mentor assists at-risk children in setting up their goals and ambitions, resolve their personal problems, and make appropriate decisions and choices in life. However, youth mentors are not there to replace what a parent can give to their children. Youth mentors are simply there to give help and be role models for at-risk children. Simple and easy activities like doing school assignments and projects, going to parks and museums, engaging in some sports and playing games, and doing art and crafts projects is enough for a child who is more that eager to be guided and to feel a sense of security that they are protected from the evils that lurk in the dark. In the end saving at-risk youth by mentoring will have a great impact in the society we live in for years to come.
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