CAN MENTORING REDUCE DROPOUT RATES?

Abby believes that a formalized mentoring program in high schools could reduce these statistics by a quarter, a third, a half, or more. Any significant reduction would be accompanied by a corresponding reduction of costs to taxpayers. That would be a true win-win situation.

?She wants teachers to remember, a mentor is someone who has a positive impact on the lives of others, someone who sees more talent, ability, and “specialness” within their mentee, than the mentee sees in herself, and someone who helps bring out these special traits and characteristics.

?Abby points out that most people have had a mentor at some point in their lives. He or she may have come in the form of a teacher, a parent, a relative, an aunt, uncle, maybe a guardian, an older friend, a counselor, a coach, a minister, priest, rabbi, cleric, tutor, expert – somebody who believed in them, encouraged them to be the best they could be, and someone who had a positive influence on them. Not everyone, however, has been as fortunate, and it is for them that the mentor is here. The mentor now has an opportunity to impact their mentees’ lives.

?Abby read about an actor, Denzel Washington, who believes that his success in life is due to a mentor he had as a teenager in an after-school boys’ club. He was born and raised in a part of New York that was very tough, the streets were tough, gangs were prevalent. He lived in a bad section. And had he taken the wrong path, he certainly would not be the Denzel Washington everyone knows today who is famous and has done such a great job in the movies.

?A couple of years ago, he wrote a book called, A Hand to Guide Me, which showcases how mentors have shaped the lives of people we all know and respect, from baseball legend Hank Aaron, Mohammed Ali, Bob Woodward – Bob Woodward who was a reporter during the Nixon time. He included people such as Yogi Berra, Danny Glover, the actor, Whoopi Goldberg, and over 60 other famous people. Every one of them had a mentor, somebody who believed in them and encouraged them.

?From Greek mythology, the riddle that Oedipus answered when he reached the Sphinx is applicable to mentees. “What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?” This riddle is associated with man. Four legs relate to crawling as a baby (the morning of our lives), two legs for walking at noon (the middle part of our lives), and three legs in the evening (our twilight years) referring to legs plus a cane. A mentor is similar to a third leg for someone who, at this point in his life, cannot stand alone, even though they are in the middle of their lives.

?As Abby frequently stated, “It’s amazing how having somebody believe in you really makes you want to do the best that you can do. Sometimes parents or people who are close are just too busy surviving, earning a living; and that’s where a mentor comes in. That is exactly what high school mentors will be doing – accepting and encouraging mentees to be the best that he or she can be. Young mentors now have an opportunity to impact their mentee’s life.“

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