The process is everything. Mentors love learning. Mentors treasure sharing.
The team picture above is the culmination of hard work and training by all of the individuals in the picture and others not pictured. They say a picture says a thousand words, but a thousand words does not describe the importance of a journey or a process. The personal development that is gained through experience and through informally educating oneself through people of different perspective is the great success that is achieved in "the process" or the journey. So many elements of my life as a teacher and educator have been reinforced in my time at AWP although I have taken this opportunity to be mentored by some great people, I learned so much more about my ability to mentor and what I need to do in the future with my mentorship of others. I always reference "feed a man a fish" when I talk with people, but I do it because it is the ultimate learn from experience quote that can provide a lot of insight to the real stewardship that is teaching and allowing yourself to learn from others.
Mentorship
I received this note from a student before his graduation. I coached this student in two sports and he was named the athlete of the year by our school and our entire city. He is an exemplary young man and his words were really satisfying. Mentorship is exactly what this letter is about, helping someone out. Mentoring is providing knowledge, advice, and infusing confidence into people to help them on their path. Giving people a constancy of purpose and supporting them in their dreams. Mentorship is teaching, but it is also learning. Learning about the protege, learning how to motivate, and in the process the mentor learns about himself.
Mentoring and Parenting
I have mentored students since I began teaching because I cannot help it. It is in my nature, it is how I am wired. So much of mentoring is similar to parenting. My daughter who is 6 months old in the photo above (she is 8 months old now) will be the beneficiary of my time mentoring young people and as I have grown as a father I have reinforced some of my mentoring style, I have altered some of it, and I have thrown some of it out all together. As a mentor you are an advisor, a teacher, a learner. Mentors act as a parental figure, they form self-development programs, and ultimately they are strong and always there for the protege to help them endure all odds, all difficulties, and bask in the glory of successes.
My time as a protege in this mentorship program has helped me further establish who I am as a person. My time as a mentor to not just the people in the photo to the left, but so many more has been a very difficult process for me.
I heard a quote once, "18 years of bad parenting can't be fixed by 4 years of good mentoring" and although one could argue there is truth to it, I will not give up on those I believe in and those I invest in because I owe it to them. My proteges have put in so much time and effort that I cannot walk away until the job is finished. So many coaches say goodbye when the players leave the program, graduate high school and go on to college, but the job is not done yet. Those players go through all kinds of ups and downs in college and many of them have no one to talk to who has experienced it. The mentor is one who provides help on their journey, the shoulder to cry on, the confidence to move forward, the emotional fortitude to stick it out.
I have not just coached kids, I have advised their academics, guided their path, set up schedules for recruitment, talked to coaches, sought advice from other sources, physically trained them, created mental exercises for them to go through, developed their mind, supported their feelings, given advice on girls, acted as a parent. Why? I am just that way. It is who I am. Why would I be around people if I cannot help? Why would I do a job if I kept knowledge to myself? I am a life long learner and I have committed myself to that so I must share the information that I have.
I heard a quote once, "18 years of bad parenting can't be fixed by 4 years of good mentoring" and although one could argue there is truth to it, I will not give up on those I believe in and those I invest in because I owe it to them. My proteges have put in so much time and effort that I cannot walk away until the job is finished. So many coaches say goodbye when the players leave the program, graduate high school and go on to college, but the job is not done yet. Those players go through all kinds of ups and downs in college and many of them have no one to talk to who has experienced it. The mentor is one who provides help on their journey, the shoulder to cry on, the confidence to move forward, the emotional fortitude to stick it out.
I have not just coached kids, I have advised their academics, guided their path, set up schedules for recruitment, talked to coaches, sought advice from other sources, physically trained them, created mental exercises for them to go through, developed their mind, supported their feelings, given advice on girls, acted as a parent. Why? I am just that way. It is who I am. Why would I be around people if I cannot help? Why would I do a job if I kept knowledge to myself? I am a life long learner and I have committed myself to that so I must share the information that I have.