Teachers as Mentors in a World of Change
http://www.educationbuzz.net/articles/3480/1/Teachers-as-Mentors-in-a-World-of-Change/Page1.html
Lee Griffin
Lee Griffin is a writer for Hertz Furniture, a company dedicated to helping educators motivate students to succeed by creating an atmosphere that enhances the educational experience. Hertz Furniture is the leader in classroom furniture and preschool furniture that fits students needs. By Lee Griffin
Published on 10/27/2009
The link between character and education, and the assumption that the former is no less important than the latter, is something that educators have known for decades: Good teachers strive to inculcate both in their students.
"The strength of the United States is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people." Claiborne Pell, Senator, RI
Those of you out there who are involved in education might recognize the name of the senator who paid such eloquent homage to the importance of education in our country. Claiborne Pell was the founder of the Pell grants, which have done so much to make a quality education feasible for all children, regardless of economic status.
But there is something a bit revolutionary in Pell's quote, something that dedicated educators know but that the public does not always take into account.
The link between character and education, and the assumption that the former is no less important than the latter.
The corollary of this assumption, of course, is something that educators have known for decades: Good teachers strive to inculcate both in their students.
And that brings us to the subject of teachers as mentors.
Time was that teachers as mentors was thought to be an issue mainly for schools with special needs students, or students from families facing severe economic struggles. Those were the populations assumed to be most in need of mentoring and counseling from their teachers. But in today's world, things have changed. The current economic crisis has hit the affluent - or
the formerly affluent, as the case may be - perhaps even harder than the lower income strata. We now find ourselves in an ironic situation where bankers, stockbrokers and top executives are facing real economic difficulties - but the plumbers and electricians are still getting plenty of business.
Our classrooms are seeing students accustomed to an extremely high standard of living who must now acclimate themselves to a new reality. And there is a
new classroom reality, too, that has been brought about by this overturned wheel of fortune: The role of teachers as mentors can no longer be confined to special needs or low income schools. Mentoring is now a crucial element in education, across the board.
Students whose families have experienced financial upheaval may be going through varying degrees of emotional upheaval as well. Feelings like confusion, anger, sadness and resentment all need to be worked through.
Previously unfamiliar words like foreclosure, collection agency, mortgages and bankruptcy need to be explained in a way that youngsters can comprehend. And traits like fortitude, patience, acceptance and optimism need to be cultivated. All this takes dedicated teachers who are can provide mentoring - be it group or individual - to our students.
To those who maintain that this is the parents' job, the reality is that they cannot always fill this role. Many of them may be so preoccupied with meeting their children's physical needs that they don't have the time or the strength to deal with anything else. Our teachers now play a crucial role in our student's lives: helping them to develop emotional stamina and strength of character. Because only if we provide a synthesis of character building and scholastic education will our schools succeed in producing young adults who are prepared, emotionally and mentally, to be America's tomorrow.
America's students need their teachers. Now more than ever.
Those of you out there who are involved in education might recognize the name of the senator who paid such eloquent homage to the importance of education in our country. Claiborne Pell was the founder of the Pell grants, which have done so much to make a quality education feasible for all children, regardless of economic status.
But there is something a bit revolutionary in Pell's quote, something that dedicated educators know but that the public does not always take into account.
The link between character and education, and the assumption that the former is no less important than the latter.
The corollary of this assumption, of course, is something that educators have known for decades: Good teachers strive to inculcate both in their students.
And that brings us to the subject of teachers as mentors.
Time was that teachers as mentors was thought to be an issue mainly for schools with special needs students, or students from families facing severe economic struggles. Those were the populations assumed to be most in need of mentoring and counseling from their teachers. But in today's world, things have changed. The current economic crisis has hit the affluent - or
the formerly affluent, as the case may be - perhaps even harder than the lower income strata. We now find ourselves in an ironic situation where bankers, stockbrokers and top executives are facing real economic difficulties - but the plumbers and electricians are still getting plenty of business.
Our classrooms are seeing students accustomed to an extremely high standard of living who must now acclimate themselves to a new reality. And there is a
new classroom reality, too, that has been brought about by this overturned wheel of fortune: The role of teachers as mentors can no longer be confined to special needs or low income schools. Mentoring is now a crucial element in education, across the board.
Students whose families have experienced financial upheaval may be going through varying degrees of emotional upheaval as well. Feelings like confusion, anger, sadness and resentment all need to be worked through.
Previously unfamiliar words like foreclosure, collection agency, mortgages and bankruptcy need to be explained in a way that youngsters can comprehend. And traits like fortitude, patience, acceptance and optimism need to be cultivated. All this takes dedicated teachers who are can provide mentoring - be it group or individual - to our students.
To those who maintain that this is the parents' job, the reality is that they cannot always fill this role. Many of them may be so preoccupied with meeting their children's physical needs that they don't have the time or the strength to deal with anything else. Our teachers now play a crucial role in our student's lives: helping them to develop emotional stamina and strength of character. Because only if we provide a synthesis of character building and scholastic education will our schools succeed in producing young adults who are prepared, emotionally and mentally, to be America's tomorrow.
America's students need their teachers. Now more than ever.