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Outreach - Education: Mentoring Recent Experiences |
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Mentoring - Recent Experiences Dateline: August 7, 2006
In the spring of 2006, the
MIT Alumni of South Texas began a partnership with Spring Branch ISD providing
volunteers for the Gear Up mentoring program. Two of
our volunteers describe their experiences on this page.
Click here for Mentor Experience #1 The experience of mentoring can best be captured in five basic terms: living another life, the beauty of caring, having fun, sharpening skills, and making a difference. Every Wednesday around midday I rush to the school to meet “My Student”. The first protocol in the school is to sign in, and then find “My Student”. Once we are together, we begin our discussion of some important issues: improving his grades and his behavior with the math teacher. We also talk about why he continues to fight with his youngest brother. But “My Student” is not only interested in solving these issues. He wants to make the soccer team and is interested in finding out more about career opportunities. In the company where I work, a young chemist is doing an internship. I invited him to my next mentor session so he could explain to “My Student” what a chemist does and what particular courses he should take in school. The intern decided to try an experiment to impress “My Student” with the brilliance of a chemist. A balloon, a bottle of water, and a package of Tums were his tools. The chemist started throwing tablet after tablet of Tums into the bottle of water. The balloon, which was attached to the bottle, did not inflate since Tums are calcium carbonate, not sodium bicarbonate. What a failure! “My Student” very humbly suggested, “Next time you should try it with Alka Seltzer." “My Student” asked a lot of questions about what a chemist does, and I feel he now has a good understanding of what is involved in being a chemist. One day I called the school, gave them my name, and let them know that I was coming to meet with “My Student”. It took quite awhile for them to confirm whether or not “My Student” was there. They told me I could come but that he was spending the whole day in detention. They did not say what, but said he had done something really bad. On my way to the school, l thought about how I was going to deal with this situation: First let him explain? Then, shall I be compassionate or strong and aggressive? The more I thought about it, the madder I became. How could he do something like this to me after my four sessions of coaching? I arrived at the school and asked for the location of the detention room. I found it, and the student, but his name was not “My Student”. “My Student” was having lunch. I suddenly realized what mentoring “My Student” has meant to me. When traveling, I miss the opportunity of having those sessions with him, since I travel a week every month to South America or Europe. Each time I am going to be away, we discussed where I will be going—a kind of combined geography and history lesson. Because I do not like missing any time with “My Student”, I have proposed to the school that I do virtual sessions when I am away. This would involve installing software and a head phone set on a computer in the school library. I am working on my negotiation skills to convince the school of the benefits of my proposal, especially since it would be on a no-cost basis to the school. I am pleased to say “My Student” now has his priorities in order. He made the soccer team and got all A's in his classes. On the way to the airport the other day, I passed a truck with metal racks which were holding "Product A". The "Product A" might have been prepared by “My Student's” dad. And, I thought about “My Student's" future. I am sure if I continue to give one hour of my week to “My Student”, he will become one of those engineers the United States will be demanding in the future. His family will be so proud of him and I will be full of joy knowing how a small investment of my time made a positive impact in someone’s life. Mine. The MIT Alumni of South Texas in the spring of 2006 began a partnership with Spring Branch ISD providing volunteers for the Gear Up mentoring program. The program mission is to “accelerate academic achievement so more students will graduate from high school and enroll and succeed in college.” Several SBISD schools with on-going Gear Up mentorships report glowing successes. This past spring the program was expanded to include “ABC” Middle School, where I, along with other MIT alumni started my mentorship. The orientation and preparatory session is what finally hooked me into committing myself after seeing countless studies related to education and the need for mentors. What struck me most were the results of one study indicating that children require at least four adult mentors in their stages of development with statistics showing higher number of students who graduate high school and go on to college. I immediately started to count the adults that had a profound influence in my life up till high school: mom, dad, sister, , my 11th grade chemistry teacher, my 12th grade calculus teacher, the head priest at my church, on and on. Many of the children that attend “ABC” Middle School are not so fortunate, which is especially true for my mentee who I’ll call “My Student” for anonymity. Unlike all others in the Gear Up program, in which mentees self select, “My Student” was strongly encouraged to participate by his counselor and principal. Despite his reluctance, he was very cordial and receptive during our first meeting. We met once a week for 30 minutes to an hour on campus either in the cafeteria or library. Interesting to note, the number one reason why students self select and join the program – they just want someone to talk to. “My Student” is older than the average middle school student. He is in the principal’s office at least once a week. On the other hand, he is very bright and has a good sense of humor. His favorite class is gym, of course. Pressing him a bit, he grudgingly said he likes math too, because it’s easy. He dislikes Texas history and sees no point to it. We then had a discussion on how history provides “perspective”. The first meeting, he bolted out of his chair to class as the school bell rang. The next session he bolted again, but I stopped him and offered him a handshake and told him to have a good day. The last session of the year, again the bell rang, he sprang out of his chair, was reaching for the door, stopped, walked back, shook my hand and smiled; a small accomplishment with hopefully more to come. The toughest part of the mentorship is to be a good listener and not judge. Sometimes meeting with me is an accomplishment for him. I am both shocked and heartbroken as to the circumstances under which “My Student” has to endure – which leaves little opportunity to focus on schoolwork. The best thing for me has been to be there for him, be a friend, and set an example of how things could be. I look forward to meeting up with “My Student” again this fall. Finally, by his count, the mentors he has are few, especially since his grandmother’s death. I hope I’m able to add to his count. Of the 50+ “ABC” Middle School students who self selected, only 15 students received a mentor, limited by the number of volunteer mentors.
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