American Dream Essay

Tonya Bibby

Professor: Kelly Warren

ENC 1102

5 March 2013

The Importance of Having a Mentor

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin.  I really enjoyed Garcia’s presentation. I think the most important message was when he spoke about having a mentor.  It is important to realize that a mentor is defined as a wise advisor, one who is in a position to provide guidance and advice. Nevertheless, I think having a mentor in life is a great idea, and more people should have them.  Mentors are good for encouragement, honesty, and most of all to be successful. A mentor has to be a good listener, a good speaker, enthusiastic, a self-motivator, and able to make well sound decisions. Moreover, mentors already have the experience of trial and error and they know how to give you motivation and inspiration. Our family and friends are not always available, but mentors are always there and always have advice and a way. They are there to help guide you and to tell you the do’s and don’ts in life. There are many kids today that have chosen bad life styles and they do not want help from others.

Mentors provide encouragement to help you with your self esteem. Sometimes things we do go unnoticed. Everyone needs an extra boost of self esteem and maybe a job well done. If you have a mentor then you are constantly trying to impress them so you go the extra mile to accomplish certain things. In addition, we are all humans, and sometimes we lack confidence. When you doubt yourself, then you lose the energy needed to complete something. If you are a student, a mentor will help you choose your profession and encourage you to make good grades and to finish what you started.  Students that are being mentored will have better attitudes and behaviors towards school and are more likely to attend college than their peers that are not mentored. Youth being mentored by a caring person over time has shown that education will be effective in stopping negative affects on their education.   There are positive results with youth who are mentored being involved in school, changes in their mental health, behavior problems and physical health. Mentoring youth shows positive development in their education and aids in the goal of helping to reduce the number of dropouts. Mentoring also has a positive effect on reducing the number of high school students dropping out of school and absenteeism.  There are many young people that need or want mentoring, but there are very few that are in mentoring relationships. This means that more young people need mentors. The lack of mentors for these young people has become a challenge that needs to be dealt with so that none of our youth has to go without that one individual that could have a long lasting positive effect on their lives.

 Having a mentor in your life also helps you to become honest. They say it’s not what you know, but who you know. If you can build a relationship based on trust, then you are heading in the right direction. Trust is everything when it comes to building a relationship and finding a good foundation. If you ask your friend for guidance, they will tell you what you want to hear. This not a policy of being honest, this is a friend being a friend. A mentor will tell you only the truth and facts. Mentoring has moved from a product-oriented model, characterized by the transfer of knowledge, to a process-oriented relationship involving knowledge acquisition, application, and critical reflection.  Zachary, Lois J. "Chapter 1 - Grounding the Work: Focusing on Learning". The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships. Jossey-Bass.  2000. Books24x7. (Page 22)

If you look at any successful person today, they will tell you that they did not become successful on their own. They had somebody. They had someone who showed them. Who guided them? They had someone positive and influential. They had a mentor. A mentor will let you know their own mistakes and will be sure you do not make the same mistakes in life. Experience is the best teacher if it’s not your own experience. There is not enough time in your life to make all the mistakes and to become successful at the same time. You need the guidance of a mentor to eliminate any weaknesses you may have.

  I think there should be more mentors. If there were more mentors in this world, then I believe people would be more successful, honest, and have the ability to give back. A mentor not only shows you one-way, they teach you how to appreciate others and how to help others reach their goals as well. Eventually you will be in the position to pay it forward and hopefully give advice to others. 

*Research shows that youth who spend time with a caring adult mentor regularly for at least one year are:

1.             46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs

2.             27% less likely to start drinking

3.             52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school

4.             37% less likely to skip a class

5.             More trusting of their parents or guardians 

References:

1.)   "MENTORING." States News Service 10 Apr. 2012. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com.db08.linccweb.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA285975114&v=2.1&u=lincclin_fccj&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w

2.)   An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters by Public/Private Ventures Making a    Difference 1995 http://www.leadershipoakland.com/index.php/mentoring/statistics Web: Accessed 21 Feb 2013

3.)   National Mentoring Partnership, Expanding the World at Quality mentoring http://www.mentoring.org/about_mentor/value_of_mentoring/ Web: Accessed 21 Feb 2013

4.) Zachary, Lois J. "Chapter 1 - Grounding the Work: Focusing on Learning". The Mentor's  Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships. Jossey-Bass. © 2000. Books24x7. (Page 22)