The Importance Of Mentoring

887 Words4 Pages
A. It is important to be able to recognize when, you as a mentor, have reached a certain point in your mentoring where you are not able to fully help your mentee. There is nothing wrong with reaching a limitation because no one is perfect and holds all the knowledge they would ever possibly need. It is actually better to admit to a mentee that you're not sure how to answer their questions are handle their situation. In moments like this is it best to be honest with your mentee and say "Hey, I'm not too sure about that but I will keep that in mind and get back to you on that." By saying something like that to your mentee will demonstrate to them that you are there to help them and are willing to invest time outside of your meeting to help them…show more content…
Your job as a mentor is just that, to mentor the student and be their guideline. You are not there to tell them how to fix their problem instead you are there to guide the mentee to let them find a solution on their own. As mentioned in Students Helping Students: A Guide for Peer Educators on College Campuses, Newton and Ender say that "a peer educator is that of provider. A provider may offer a service of a specific nature; this can be information, support, or facilitating action..." (2010, p.07). An example of facilitating action may include helping the student with decision making. This does not mean that you are choosing the decision you think is the correct choice, but instead you want to guide them to come to a decision they think is best for themselves on their own. This way, you are teaching the mentee to utilize their decision-making skills to hopefully promote the student to become an independent individual. Being dependant on another individual will hinder the mentee's personal…show more content…
Another principle to keep in mind as a peer educator in Trailblazers is to keep a non-judgmental mindset and to act with empathy. You never know what is going on in a student's life. Factors such as mental health, family, intimate and personal relationships, school, work, and other stressors all have an effect on the way the student may act/behave. The student speaks with a peer educator because they need help with a situation or need to find a resource and expect to come into a space that is private and free of judgment. You are there to help the student, not to condescend them for decisions or actions. For example, if a student misses a meeting that you both set up then as a mentor you should not look down upon that person. Instead, a mentor needs to keep an open mind and not harbor any negative feelings toward that person if another meeting time is

More about The Importance Of Mentoring

Open Document