The Mentoring Relationship

There is a vast amount of evidence supporting the positive academic and social impacts of having a caring adult in a child’s life. Mentoring provides a means for developing a relationship between a child and a caring adult at school.

The mentoring relationship is different than a parent-child or teacher-student relationship, which in some ways allows students to feel free to be themselves, have fun, and develop a strong bond with their mentor. Starting a mentor relationship can, however, make even the most seasoned youth workers a bit uneasy. Mentors who are teachers have described the mentor-mentee relationship as very different from the relationships they have with a whole classroom of students. Both mentors and mentees may feel vulnerable at times or have expectations of themselves or the other person in the mentoring relationship.

Throughout a mentoring relationship, the two participants experience the ongoing relationship cycle: starts with a honeymoon, moves into a testing phase, and levels out into a trusting relationship with consistency, training, and support (See Match Support LINK). Despite ups and downs, mentors and mentees are having a great time together in our program, and it works!